Exact match is the tightest keyword match type in Amazon and Flipkart ads: your ad shows only when the shopper's search is the same as your keyword, or a close variant such as a plural, a misspelling or a different word order that keeps the meaning. The exact keyword yoga mat 6mm matches yoga mats 6mm but not yoga mat 6mm for women.
With exact match, Amazon shows your ad only when the search means the same as the keyword with nothing added. Close variants are allowed, so plurals, common misspellings and minor spacing differences still match, but extra words do not. On Flipkart, exact keywords in a PLA keyword campaign work the same way.
Worked example: yoga mat 6mm was harvested from an auto campaign where it converted well. As an exact keyword at ₹10 it takes 180 clicks in two weeks for ₹1,800 and returns 18 orders at ₹899, a 10% conversion rate and an ACoS of ₹1,800 / ₹16,182 = 11.1%. Because every rupee here goes to one known search, you can set the bid from that term's own numbers: at 10% CVR and a 35% break-even ACoS, the most a click can cost before losing money is ₹899 x 10% x 35% = ₹31.
That calculation is not possible on broad or phrase keywords, where one bid covers many searches with different conversion rates.
It is where control lives. Exact keywords hold the search terms you have already proven, so they deserve their own budget, their own bids and, where they convert best at the top of the page, a top-of-search adjustment. Most mature accounts spend the largest share of budget on exact match.
Its weakness is reach. An exact keyword will never find the next good search term for you, which is why exact campaigns sit alongside auto, broad and phrase campaigns that keep discovering new terms.
The negative that pairs with each harvested exact keyword.
Learn more →How search terms become exact keywords.
Learn more →Work out the CPC you can afford from price, margin and conversion rate.
Learn more →Filter every keyword and target by ACoS, CVR and spend, then change bids in bulk on Amazon India.
Learn more →It means your ad shows only when the shopper's search is the same as your keyword or a close variant of it, such as a plural or a misspelling. Extra words in the search stop it matching.
Phrase match allows extra words before or after the phrase; exact match does not. Exact reaches fewer searches but gives you a separate bid for each proven term.
Either the exact search has little volume or the bid is below what competitors pay. Check the suggested bid range, and check the search term actually appears in your search term reports.
In a mature account, usually yes, because exact keywords hold the proven search terms. New products need more budget in auto and phrase campaigns until enough terms are proven.
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