Queries Google treats as matching an exact or phrase keyword despite differences: misspellings, plurals, abbreviations, reordered words, and, since 2018, same-meaning queries. Close variants removed the precision of exact match and are the reason exact match no longer means exact.
Related terms
Used in The Signal
Cite this entry:
Agency Echelon. "Close Variants." Agency Echelon Reference, reviewed September 2026. https://agencyechelon.com/reference/glossary/close-variants/