Experiment context
Hypothesis. Exact Match was expected to produce higher CTR and CR from more precise intent, while Phrase Match could keep reach and cheaper clicks in broader segments.
How the test ran. Both match types were active in the same campaigns; results were compared by region, project and direction.
Comparison design. Exact and Phrase ran together for four weeks; no traffic split was used.
Performance results
N/A means the metric cannot be calculated because the baseline is zero or the metric does not apply; — means no source value was provided.
| Match type | Clicks | Impr. | Cost | Avg. CPC | CTR | Conversions | Conv. rate | Conv. value | Cost / conv. | conv value / conv |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exact | 5,810 | 26,431 | 11,827.45$ | 2.04$ | 21.98% | 295.04 | 5.08% | 18,526.35$ | 40.09$ | 62.79$ |
| Phrase | 1,996 | 11,409 | 3,226.03$ | 1.62$ | 17.49% | 94.67 | 4.74% | 7,560.92$ | 34.08$ | 79.87$ |
Result. DE: Phrase remains preferred because Exact improved CTR and CR but increased CPA 17%.
| Match type | Clicks | Impr. | Cost | Avg. CPC | CTR | Conversions | Conv. rate | Conv. value | Cost / conv. | conv value / conv |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exact | 993 | 3,669 | 1,378.43$ | 1.39$ | 27.06% | 47.17 | 4.75% | 3,455.20$ | 29.22$ | 73.25$ |
| Phrase | 1,357 | 6,294 | 2,111.92$ | 1.56$ | 21.56% | 56.97 | 4.20% | 3,772.99$ | 37.07$ | 66.23$ |
Result. EU: Exact won across CTR, CPC, CR and CPA; roll out Exact.
| Match type | Clicks | Impr. | Cost | Avg. CPC | CTR | Conversions | Conv. rate | Conv. value | Cost / conv. | conv value / conv |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exact | 406 | 2,666 | 956.44$ | 2.36$ | 15.23% | 13.88 | 3.42% | 1,049.66$ | 68.89$ | 75.62$ |
| Phrase | 5,601 | 27,306 | 15,807.37$ | 2.82$ | 20.51% | 308.05 | 5.50% | 19,600.29$ | 51.31$ | 63.63$ |
Result. WW: Phrase won; Exact had 26% lower CTR, 38% lower CR and 34% higher CPA.
| Match type | Clicks | Impr. | Cost | Avg. CPC | CTR | Conversions | Conv. rate | Conv. value | Cost / conv. | conv value / conv |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exact | 4,165 | 18,094 | 17,592.44$ | 4.22$ | 23.02% | 477.31 | 11.46% | 30,154.85$ | 36.86$ | 63.18$ |
| Phrase | 4,807 | 27,136 | 18,151.73$ | 3.78$ | 17.71% | 376.16 | 7.83% | 31,886.05$ | 48.26$ | 84.77$ |
Result. US: Exact won; CTR increased 30%, CR increased 46% and CPA decreased 24%.
| Match type | Clicks | Impr. | Cost | Avg. CPC | CTR | Conversions | Conv. rate | Conv. value | Cost / conv. | conv value / conv |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exact | 1,887 | 23,108 | 2,349.57$ | 1.25$ | 8.17% | 27.42 | 1.45% | 2,432.22$ | 85.69$ | 88.70$ |
| Phrase | 1,060 | 26,229 | 1,314.80$ | 1.24$ | 4.04% | 15.09 | 1.42% | 1,443.75$ | 87.16$ | 95.68$ |
Result. EU: Exact won on service6, with roughly 2× CTR and slightly lower CPA.
| Match type | Clicks | Impr. | Cost | Avg. CPC | CTR | Conversions | Conv. rate | Conv. value | Cost / conv. | conv value / conv |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exact | 1,217 | 17,178 | 3,100.56$ | 2.55$ | 7.08% | 45.07 | 3.70% | 3,737.47$ | 68.79$ | 82.93$ |
| Phrase | 589 | 15,993 | 1,476.93$ | 2.51$ | 3.68% | 21.01 | 3.57% | 2,201.35$ | 70.30$ | 104.78$ |
Result. US: Exact won on service6, with 92% higher CTR and slightly lower CPA.
| Match type | Clicks | Impr. | Cost | Avg. CPC | CTR | Conversions | Conv. rate | Conv. value | Cost / conv. | conv value / conv |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exact | 677 | 4,552 | 1,124.41$ | 1.66$ | 14.87% | 19 | 2.81% | 2,434.86$ | 59.19$ | 128.15$ |
| Phrase | 97 | 1,291 | 145.10$ | 1.50$ | 7.51% | 0.96 | 0.99% | 98.67$ | 151.62$ | 102.78$ |
Result. EU: Exact won strongly; CR was almost 3× higher and CPA was about 2.5× lower.
| Match type | Clicks | Impr. | Cost | Avg. CPC | CTR | Conversions | Conv. rate | Conv. value | Cost / conv. | conv value / conv |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exact | 403 | 3,223 | 1,181.99$ | 2.93$ | 12.50% | 19.39 | 4.81% | 2,261.25$ | 60.96$ | 116.62$ |
| Phrase | 63 | 766 | 162.72$ | 2.58$ | 8.22% | 10.11 | 16.05% | 712.54$ | 16.09$ | 70.48$ |
Result. US: Phrase won; CR was 3.3× higher and CPA was 3.8× lower.
| Match type | Clicks | Impr. | Cost | Avg. CPC | CTR | Conversions | Conv. rate | Conv. value | Cost / conv. | conv value / conv |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exact | 406 | 2,666 | 956.44$ | 2.36$ | 15.23% | 13.88 | 3.42% | 1,049.66$ | 68.89$ | 75.62$ |
| Phrase | 222 | 3,160 | 484.52$ | 2.18$ | 7.03% | 8.38 | 3.78% | 536.85$ | 57.79$ | 64.06$ |
Result. EU: Phrase won; Exact doubled CTR but produced lower CR and 19% higher CPA.
| Match type | Clicks | Impr. | Cost | Avg. CPC | CTR | Conversions | Conv. rate | Conv. value | Cost / conv. | conv value / conv |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exact | 189 | 1,175 | 707.66$ | 3.74$ | 16.09% | 11.18 | 5.92% | 494.58$ | 63.27$ | 44.24$ |
| Phrase | 22 | 352 | 80.81$ | 3.67$ | 6.25% | 4.37 | 19.85% | 74.48$ | 18.51$ | 17.04$ |
Result. US: Inconclusive because Phrase received only 22 clicks; keep both match types until more data is available.
| Match type | Clicks | Impr. | Cost | Avg. CPC | CTR | Conversions | Conv. rate | Conv. value | Cost / conv. | conv value / conv |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exact | 155 | 989 | 192.27$ | 1.24$ | 15.67% | 14 | 9.03% | 634.47$ | 13.73$ | 45.32$ |
| Phrase | 55 | 686 | 68.25$ | 1.24$ | 8.02% | 9 | 16.36% | 147.14$ | 7.58$ | 16.35$ |
Result. EU: Phrase won; its CR was 81% higher and CPA was 45% lower.
| Match type | Clicks | Impr. | Cost | Avg. CPC | CTR | Conversions | Conv. rate | Conv. value | Cost / conv. | conv value / conv |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exact | 100 | 840 | 102.15$ | 1.02$ | 11.90% | 8.29 | 8.29% | 182.94$ | 12.33$ | 22.07$ |
| Phrase | 34 | 294 | 34.98$ | 1.03$ | 11.56% | 1.71 | 5.04% | 37.62$ | 20.41$ | 22.00$ |
Result. US: Exact won; CR increased 64% and CPA decreased 40%.
Conclusions
Overall verdict: market- and direction-specific. Exact won 7 of the 12 geo/direction comparisons, Phrase won 4, and 1 was inconclusive. Exact was consistently strong for project-beta service6, while service3, service9, service11 and project-theta service5 required regional decisions. Keep both match types where the sample is insufficient.
Limitations. Exact and Phrase ran simultaneously without a randomized traffic split. Traffic allocation, query overlap and cannibalization may affect the observed differences.