Wrapping keywords by hand means typing quotes and brackets around every keyword in a list, the symbols that set its match type in Google Ads. Fill in the keyword wrapper above with a list, and you get every keyword in every match type you pick, plus negative keywords, in 1 copy.
Our keyword wrapper also cleans the list first. It takes out the symbols Google Ads rejects with an error, like ! and ?, removes leftover plus signs from the old broad match modifier, and unwraps keywords that already have quotes or brackets. It can add plural forms to negative keywords, since a negative keyword doesn’t block the plural.
If you paste an unwrapped list into Google Ads, every keyword goes in as broad match, and broad match can show your ad for searches that don’t contain your keyword at all. You pay for those clicks too.
What is a keyword wrapper?
A keyword wrapper is a tool that adds match type symbols to a list of keywords, so you don’t type quotes and brackets around each one by hand. Google Ads reads the symbols when you add keywords: no symbols for broad, quotes for phrase, brackets for exact (Google Ads Help on adding keywords).
A match type decides how close a search has to be to your keyword before your ad can show.
| Match type | How you type it | What it matches |
|---|---|---|
| Broad | roof exhaust fan | Searches related to the keyword’s meaning, even without its words |
| Phrase | "roof exhaust fan" | Searches that include the meaning of the keyword |
| Exact | [roof exhaust fan] | Searches with the same meaning as the keyword |
Google recommends broad match with Smart Bidding, its automated bidding (Google Ads Help on keyword match types). Phrase and exact keep your ads closer to the words you picked.
Which match types to pick
Pick match types by how much control you want over the searches you pay for. The 4 presets in step 2 cover these jobs:
| Preset | Match types | When to use it |
|---|---|---|
| All 3 match types | Broad, phrase, exact | Testing a new list, to compare what each match type brings in |
| Phrase and exact | Phrase, exact | A tight budget, or products with names that mean other things in other industries |
| Broad with Smart Bidding | Broad | Campaigns on Smart Bidding |
| Negative keyword list | Negative phrase, negative exact | Searches you never want to pay for, like “jobs” or “free” |
Symbols Google Ads rejects in keywords
Google Ads rejects a keyword with an error if it contains @, \, ^, a comma, =, !, `, <, >, square or round brackets, %, |, ?, ;, or ~ inside the keyword (Google Ads Help on keyword symbols). Brackets only work around the whole keyword, where they mean exact match.
Other symbols are allowed but change how the keyword matches:
| Symbol | What Google Ads does with it | What the keyword wrapper does |
|---|---|---|
| & and accents, like café | Reads them. “Sidewalk café” and “sidewalk cafe” are 2 different keywords | Keeps them |
| Period | Ignores it. “Fifth Ave.” matches the same as “Fifth Ave” | Keeps it |
| Plus sign | Usually ignores it, except at the end of a word, like C++ | Takes off a plus in front of a word, keeps C++ |
| Asterisk | Allowed in negative keywords only | Keeps it in negatives, takes it out of keywords |
| Minus in front of a word | Ignores that word when matching | Takes off a dash at the start of a line, since that’s how Editor marks a negative |
With Remove symbols Google Ads rejects turned on, the tool swaps each rejected symbol for a space and lists the keywords it changed under Checks. Turn it off, and the Checks box lists them with a button to remove the symbols.
Negative keywords and match types
A negative keyword stops your ad from showing on searches that contain it. Negative keywords use the same 3 match types, but they don’t match close variants, so a negative for “fan” doesn’t block “fans” (Google Ads Help on negative keywords).
| Negative match type | Blocks a search when | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Negative broad | The search has every word, in any order | free |
| Negative phrase | The search has the words in the same order, with or without extra words | "used fans" |
| Negative exact | The search is the exact words, with no extra words | [fan jobs] |
For example, a common mistake is adding a negative keyword in 1 form and expecting it to block the other:
| Before | After | |
|---|---|---|
| Negative keywords | "exhaust fan" | "exhaust fan" and "exhaust fans" |
| Search “used exhaust fans” | Your ad can still show | Blocked |
| Why | Negatives don’t match plurals | Both forms are on the list |
Google Ads Editor needs a dash in front of each negative, before the quotes or brackets: -free, -"used fans", -[fan jobs] (Google Ads Editor Help on match types). Set Paste into to Google Ads Editor, and the keyword wrapper adds it. For a starting list of negatives, checked against your own keywords, use our negative keyword list.
How the keyword wrapper works
The keyword wrapper cleans each line in this order, then wraps it in every match type you pick:
| Step | How |
|---|---|
| Unwraps | Takes off a dash at the start, then quotes or brackets around the whole keyword, so nothing gets wrapped twice |
| Removes broad match modifier | Takes off a plus sign at the start of any word. A plus at the end, like C++, stays |
| Removes rejected symbols | Swaps @ \ ^ , = ! ` < > [ ] ( ) { } % | ? ; ~ and quotes inside the keyword for a space |
| Removes repeats | Keeps the first copy of a keyword, ignoring capitals |
| Adds plurals to negatives | Adds -s, -es, or -ies to the last word, like fan to fans and supply to supplies. Words that already end in s are left alone |
Copy for Google Ads Editor gives you Campaign, Ad group, Keyword, and Keyword match type columns for Make multiple changes. The steps are on our keyword clustering tool page, which also splits a long list into ad groups before you wrap it.
The keyword wrapper formats keywords. It doesn’t tell you which keywords are worth paying for, so check the search terms report after the first week to see what each match type brought in. Our search terms report analyzer adds up the cost of each word in that report and turns the waste into negatives.
Don’t want to deal with any of this? Take a look at our Google Ads management service, and we’ll build the keyword lists and run the ads for you.
Questions we get
Does Google Ads still support broad match modifier?
Google Ads stopped supporting broad match modifier as its own match type in July 2021. Old +keyword entries, like +roof +fan, still run as phrase match, but Google Ads won't take new ones. The keyword wrapper takes the plus signs off any keyword you paste and leaves C++ alone.
Should I add the same keyword in more than 1 match type?
The same keyword in more than 1 match type shouldn't raise your costs, according to Google. Google also says it shouldn't hurt performance. Adding phrase and exact together lets you see which searches each one brings in.
Is my keyword list saved or sent anywhere?
Your keyword list isn't saved or sent anywhere, because the keyword wrapper runs in your browser. The list is gone when you close the page. Use Copy results or Copy for Google Ads Editor to keep it.