How Many Keyword Match Types Can You Run in a Google Ads Ad Group?

When structuring your Google Ads campaigns, understanding match types—and the limits around them—is crucial to balancing reach, relevance, and efficiency. In this post, we’ll cover:

1. The core keyword match types you can use.
2. Google Ads’ overall targeting-item limit per ad group.
3. Best practices for mixing match types to maximize ROI.

1. Core Match Types You Can Combine

Google Ads offers three primary keyword match types—and you’re free to use all of them in the same ad group:

• Broad Match
  Shows your ad for searches that include any terms in your keyword, in any order, plus related variations. Great for broad reach and discovering new queries.
  
• Phrase Match
  Triggers your ad when the search includes your keyword phrase (or close variants) in the same order. Strikes a balance between precision and reach.
  
• Exact Match
  Only shows your ad for searches that exactly match your keyword (or close variants, like plurals). Ideal for targeting highly specific queries with clear intent.
  

You can also layer in negative match types (negative broad, phrase, and exact) to filter out irrelevant traffic.

2. The 20,000-Item Limit

While there’s no separate cap on how many match types you combine, Google Ads enforces a limit of 20,000 total targeting items per ad group. This includes:

• Positive keywords (broad, phrase, exact)
  
• Negative keywords
  
• Any other targeting elements (placements, audiences, etc.)
  

Every single keyword entry—regardless of match type—counts as one “item.” So, theoretically, you could run up to 20,000 keywords in a mix of broad, phrase, exact, and negatives within one ad group.

3. Best Practices for Match-Type Management

1. Start Tight, Then Expand
   

   • Launch with Exact and Phrase match to capture known high-intent queries.
     
   • Review performance and gradually introduce Broad match for discovery.

2. Use Negative Keywords Aggressively
   

   • Pair broad match with a robust negative list to exclude irrelevant terms.
     
   • Regularly mine your search-terms report to add new negatives.

3. Promote High-Performers
   

   • When a Broad-match term converts well, add it as an Exact-match keyword to secure top ad positions.

4. Monitor & Refine
   

   • Set weekly alerts for cost and conversion metrics.
     
   • Shift budget toward the match types and keywords delivering the best ROI.
     

By combining match types strategically, you can boost both reach and efficiency. To further optimize your campaigns, check out this guide on how to search a website for keywords efficiently.

Putting It Into Action

1. Audit your existing ad groups to see which match types you’re using.
2. Streamline any underperforming broad terms with negative filters.
3. Scale effective keywords into more precise match types.
4. Stay under the 20,000-item cap by archiving outdated or redundant keywords.

By strategically combining match types—and keeping an eye on your targeting-item limit—you’ll strike the perfect balance of reach, control, and performance in your Google Ads campaigns.