Exact Match is a keyword match type designed to show ads for searches with the same meaning or intent as the keyword.
It matters because paid search can spend budget quickly. Knowing this term helps teams control intent, targeting, bidding, creative, conversion tracking, and lead quality instead of optimizing for surface-level clicks.
Example
A florist uses the exact-match keyword [flower delivery]. A close variant with the same meaning or intent may still qualify for the ad. Exact match gives narrower control, but it does not promise that every search will reproduce the keyword letter for letter.