How to do keyword research for Google Ads

Keyword research for Google Ads (formerly Google AdWords) is distinct from SEO keyword research, primarily because you are paying for clicks, and your goal is immediate conversions, not just organic visibility.

Read more about how to do keyword research:
How to do keyword research for YouTube
How to do keyword research for SEO

It’s about identifying keywords that align directly with user purchase intent, lead to high-quality traffic, and generate a positive return on investment (ROI). This involves a into user psychology, understanding commercial intent, and meticulous budget management.

The emphasis shifts from broad reach to precise targeting and efficiency.

Identifying High-Intent Commercial Keywords

Paragraphs: For Google Ads, the focus is heavily on keywords that signal strong commercial intent – users who are close to making a purchase or taking a desired action. These are typically more specific than general informational keywords and often include terms like “buy,” “price,” “deal,” “discount,” “service,” “hire,” “best,” “reviews” (when combined with a product/service). Identifying these high-intent keywords ensures that your ad spend targets users who are actively looking to transact, rather than just gather information. Broad, informational keywords, while good for SEO, can quickly drain your budget in Google Ads without yielding conversions.

• Instead of “running shoes” (too broad, informational intent possible), target “buy Nike running shoes online” or “best running shoes for flat feet price.”
• Instead of “plumber” (could be looking for information), target “emergency plumber near me” or “24 hour pipe repair service.”
• Instead of “graphic design” (could be learning), target “hire freelance graphic designer” or “affordable logo design service.”
• Action-oriented verbs: “buy,” “order,” “get,” “subscribe,” “sign up,” “download,” “apply.”
• Product/Service specific modifiers: “price,” “cost,” “sale,” “discount,” “deal,” “coupon,” “review,” “vs.”
• Location-based terms: “near me,” “in [city/state],” “[city] services.”
• Problem/Solution terms: “fix [problem],” “repair [item],” “solve [issue].”
• Brand names: If selling specific brands, include them directly (e.g., “iPhone 15 pro max price”).
  Bold Text: Focus on transactional keywords that clearly indicate a readiness to purchase or engage with a service.

Leveraging Google Keyword Planner for Ad-Specific Data

Paragraphs: Google Keyword Planner is your primary free tool for Google Ads keyword research. While it can be used for SEO, its true power lies in providing data relevant to paid campaigns. It offers insights into average monthly searches, competition level (for bidding), and estimated bids (top of page bid range). This information is crucial for budgeting and understanding the cost-effectiveness of your keywords. Unlike general SEO tools that focus on organic difficulty, Keyword Planner’s “competition” metric directly relates to the number of advertisers bidding on that keyword, helping you anticipate potential costs and make informed bidding decisions.

• Input “CRM software” into Keyword Planner. You might see “best CRM for small business” has 1,000-10,000 searches, “high” competition, and a top-of-page bid of $10-$25. This tells you it’s competitive and expensive but has volume.
• It might also suggest “free CRM trials” which could have lower volume but also lower competition and bid, making it a valuable target for lead generation.
• Discover new keywords: Enter your product/service and get keyword ideas.
• Get search volume and forecasts: See average monthly searches and predict performance for your keywords.
• Competition level: “Low,” “Medium,” or “High” indicates advertiser competition.
• Top of page bid (low range/high range): Provides an estimate of what you might pay per click (CPC).
• Keyword ideas by website/category: Explore keywords based on a competitor’s URL or a general category.
  Data/Stats: The “Competition” column in Keyword Planner indicates the number of advertisers bidding on that keyword relative to all keywords across Google. A “High” competition level suggests potentially higher CPCs but also often higher commercial intent. The suggested bid range gives you an upfront cost expectation.

Understanding Keyword Match Types

Paragraphs: A critical aspect of Google Ads keyword research and implementation is understanding keyword match types. These dictate how closely a user’s search query must match your target keyword for your ad to show. Using the correct match type can significantly impact your campaign’s performance, preventing wasted ad spend on irrelevant searches while ensuring you capture relevant ones. There are three main match types: Broad Match, Phrase Match, and Exact Match, with Broad Match Modifier (BMM) being deprecated and its functionality absorbed into Broad Match.

• Broad Match: running shoes (Your ad could show for “athletic footwear,” “jogging sneakers,” “best trail shoes,” “mens nike running shoes”). This is the broadest and most flexible, but can be wasteful if not managed with negative keywords.
• Phrase Match: "buy running shoes" (Your ad could show for “buy running shoes online,” “where to buy running shoes near me,” “discount running shoes for sale”). The phrase or close variations must be present in the search query.
• Exact Match: [buy nike running shoes] (Your ad would show almost exclusively for “buy nike running shoes” or very close plurals/singulars). Offers the most control and highest relevance, but limits reach.
• Broad Match: (keyword) – Widest reach, most flexible, uses synonyms and related searches. Prone to irrelevant clicks if not managed with negatives.
• Phrase Match: “keyword phrase” – Less broad than broad match, includes search queries that contain the exact phrase or a close variation, with other words before or after.
• Exact Match: [keyword] – Most restrictive, only shows for the exact term or very close variants. Highest relevance and click-through rate (CTR), lowest impression volume.
• Negative Keywords: Crucial for all match types, especially broad. These prevent your ads from showing for irrelevant queries (e.g., if you sell new cars, add “used” as a negative keyword).
  Bold Text: Mastering keyword match types is essential for controlling ad spend and maximizing relevance in Google Ads.

Analyzing Competitor Ad Strategies

Paragraphs: Just as with SEO, analyzing competitor ad strategies is vital for Google Ads. Tools like Semrush’s Advertising Research, SpyFu, and Ahrefs’ Paid Search reports allow you to see what keywords your competitors are bidding on, their estimated ad spend, their ad copy, and their landing pages. This intelligence helps you identify high-value keywords they’re targeting, discover gaps in their strategy, and learn from their successful ad copy. It can reveal keywords you hadn’t considered or highlight highly competitive terms you might want to avoid initially. Understanding their approach allows you to refine your own bidding strategy and ad creative.

How to do keyword research for SEO

• If you sell organic dog food, use SpyFu to see if competitors are bidding on “grain-free dog food,” “natural puppy food,” or “hypoallergenic dog food brands.” You might discover they are heavily investing in “dog food subscriptions,” revealing a new opportunity.
• Analyze their ad copy: Do they emphasize price, quality, delivery speed, or unique ingredients? This helps you craft more compelling ad messages.
• Identify top ad competitors: Use tools to find who is consistently bidding in your niche.
• Discover their paid keywords: See which keywords drive traffic to their ads.
• Analyze their ad copy: What offers, benefits, or calls to action (CTAs) do they use?
• Examine their landing pages: Are they optimized for conversion for the specific keywords?
• Estimate their ad spend: Get an idea of the budget required to compete effectively.
• Identify gaps: Are there high-intent keywords your competitors are overlooking?
  Data/Stats: Tools can estimate competitor ad spend and the number of keywords they rank for organically and via paid ads. This data helps you benchmark your efforts and identify areas for improvement or competitive advantage.

Refining Keyword Lists and Negative Keywords

Paragraphs: Keyword research for Google Ads is an ongoing process of refinement. Once you’ve launched campaigns, regularly review your “Search Terms Report” in Google Ads. This report shows the actual queries users typed that triggered your ads, regardless of your match type. This is incredibly powerful for discovering new, relevant keywords to add to your campaigns, and even more importantly, identifying irrelevant queries that are wasting your ad spend. These irrelevant queries become “negative keywords” – words or phrases that prevent your ad from showing. Proactively adding negative keywords is crucial for maintaining ad efficiency and maximizing ROI, especially with broad match campaigns.

• You bid on “digital marketing courses” (phrase match). Your Search Terms Report shows you’re getting clicks for “free digital marketing courses” and “digital marketing course syllabus pdf.” If you sell paid courses, “free” and “pdf” should be added as negative keywords.
• If you sell new cars, you might find searches like “used cars for sale.” Add “used” as a negative keyword.
• Regularly review Search Terms Report: At least weekly, sometimes daily for new campaigns.
• Add new positive keywords: Discover high-performing actual queries that you weren’t explicitly targeting.
• Add negative keywords: Crucial for eliminating irrelevant impressions and clicks. Be specific with negative match types (e.g., negative exact match [free] vs. negative phrase match "free").
• Monitor campaign performance: Track conversions, cost per conversion (CPA), and ROI for each keyword.
• Adjust bids: Increase bids on high-performing keywords, decrease bids on underperforming ones.
• Pause or remove low-performing keywords: If a keyword consistently spends money without converting, pause or remove it.
  Data/Stats: Campaigns with robust negative keyword lists often see significantly lower Cost Per Acquisition (CPA) and higher conversion rates, as ad spend is directed only towards truly interested users. Monitoring your Quality Score for each keyword can also reveal areas for improvement, as higher Quality Scores lead to lower CPCs and better ad positions.