Google Ads Keywords | Research & Keyword Selection Guide

Keywords remain one of the most important targeting controls in Google Ads Search campaigns. They help Google understand the searches you want to compete for, while your bids, ads, landing pages, audience signals and conversion data help determine whether your business should appear in each auction.

However, modern keyword targeting is no longer based on finding every possible wording of a search and placing it into an account. Google can interpret close variants, related meanings and user intent. This creates more reach, but it also makes keyword selection, match types, negative keywords and search-term analysis more important—not less.

An effective keyword strategy therefore needs to answer five questions:

• What is the potential customer actually trying to achieve?

• How commercially valuable is that search to the business?

• How closely should Google be allowed to interpret the keyword?

• Which ad and landing page should answer the search?

• How will the resulting lead or sale be measured?

This guide explains how to research, select, organise and optimise Google Ads keywords without relying on outdated keyword-stuffing methods or handing unnecessary control to automation.

What Are Google Ads Keywords?

A Google Ads keyword is a word or phrase added to a Search campaign to help determine when an advert may be eligible to appear. If somebody searches for something that Google considers a match to the keyword, the advert can enter the auction.

The keyword does not guarantee that an advert will appear. Eligibility and position are also influenced by factors including the bid, budget, location and audience settings, auction competition, advert quality, landing page experience and the context of the individual search.

For example, a plumbing company might add the keyword:

emergency plumber

That keyword may match searches such as:

• emergency plumber near me

• 24-hour plumber

• urgent plumbing repair

• local emergency plumbing service

The searches that users type are search terms or search queries. The advertiser’s targeting entries are keywords. This distinction is fundamental to understanding and optimising Search campaigns.

Keywords and Search Terms Are Not the Same

A keyword is the targeting instruction you give Google. A search term is the actual query entered by a user.

One keyword can match many different search terms. This is why campaign performance should never be assessed from the keyword table alone. The Google Ads Search Terms report shows the queries that produced impressions and helps identify valuable searches, irrelevant traffic and new negative keywords.

Google describes this report as a list of search terms used by a significant number of people that resulted in an advert being shown. It does not necessarily reveal every individual query, so advertisers should combine it with search-term insights, conversion data and wider account analysis.

Why Keyword Selection Matters

Choosing keywords is not simply an exercise in generating traffic. The objective is to reach searches that can produce profitable business outcomes.

Poorly selected keywords can attract visitors who are researching, looking for jobs, seeking free information, searching for a different service or located outside the business’s viable market. Even if these keywords produce clicks, their commercial value may be negligible.

Well-selected keywords can help a campaign:

• reach people actively searching for relevant products or services;

• prioritise high-value commercial intent;

• connect each search with a relevant advert and landing page;

• control how budget is distributed across services and locations;

• generate information about customer language, needs and demand;

• provide a structured foundation for bidding and optimisation.

Search volume is therefore only one consideration. A lower-volume keyword with clear buying intent can be considerably more valuable than a high-volume phrase used mainly for research.

Start With the Business Outcome

Keyword research should begin with the result the business wants, not with a keyword tool.

Define the primary conversions for the campaign, such as:

• ecommerce purchases and revenue;

• qualified telephone calls;

• quote or consultation requests;

• bookings or appointments;

• applications;

• subscriptions;

• qualified leads, sales opportunities and closed customers.

For lead generation, a submitted form is not automatically a successful outcome. A keyword that produces many poor-quality enquiries may look effective when the campaign is optimised only for form submissions. Connecting Google Ads with a CRM and importing qualified-lead, opportunity and customer outcomes can reveal which searches create genuine commercial value.

Our guide to Google Ads offline conversion tracking explains how later sales outcomes can be connected with the original advertising interaction.

Understand Keyword Intent

Search intent describes what the user appears to be trying to accomplish. Several keywords may refer to the same topic while representing very different levels of commercial value.

Informational Intent

The user wants to learn, understand or solve a problem. Common modifiers include “how”, “what”, “guide”, “ideas” and “tips”.

Examples include:

• how does Google Ads work

• causes of low boiler pressure

• best way to clean a conservatory roof

Informational keywords can support awareness and consideration, but they often require educational content and a longer route to conversion. They should not automatically share a budget or target cost per acquisition with bottom-of-funnel searches.

Commercial Investigation

The user is comparing possible solutions, providers or products. Common modifiers include “best”, “reviews”, “compare”, “versus” and “top”.

Examples include:

• best CRM for estate agents

• Google Ads agencies comparison

• heat pump versus gas boiler

These searches sit within the consideration stage. They may convert well when the landing page provides credible evidence, comparisons, pricing context, case studies or a clear reason to choose the business.

Transactional Intent

The user is close to taking action. Common signals include “buy”, “book”, “quote”, “price”, “hire”, “near me” and specific product or service names.

Examples include:

• book emergency electrician

• Google Ads management quote

• buy oak dining table

These searches are usually the natural starting point for direct-response campaigns because the desired action is closely aligned with the business’s offer.

Navigational and Brand Intent

The user is looking for a particular company, product or website.

Examples include:

• One PPC

• One PPC Google Ads services

• [competitor brand] login

Brand searches should normally be analysed separately from generic non-brand demand. They often have stronger conversion rates because the user already knows the business. Combining brand and non-brand traffic can disguise the true performance of customer-acquisition campaigns.

Map Keywords to the Customer Journey

The traditional linear funnel is better viewed as three practical stages: awareness, consideration and conversion. People may move backwards and forwards between them, but the framework is useful for aligning keywords, adverts and landing pages.

For most smaller lead-generation budgets, it is sensible to establish reliable conversion-stage coverage before investing heavily in broader awareness terms. Awareness campaigns can be valuable, but they require appropriate content, measurement and expectations.

How to Research Google Ads Keywords

Keyword research should combine business knowledge, first-party data, Google’s planning tools and live campaign evidence. No single source provides the complete answer.

1. List the Core Products and Services

Start with the language customers use, not only the company’s internal terminology. List:

• products and product categories;

• services and service variants;

• customer problems and desired outcomes;

• industries, audiences and use cases;

• brands, models and compatible products;

• viable locations and service areas;

• commercial modifiers such as price, quote, hire and near me.

For a service business, “commercial roof repair”, “flat roof leak repair” and “emergency roofer” may deserve separate treatment because they imply different needs, adverts and landing pages.

2. Review First-Party Search and Sales Data

Useful sources include:

• existing Google Ads search terms;

• Google Search Console queries;

• website search data;

• CRM lead-source and sales data;

• recorded call themes and sales-team feedback;

• customer emails, chat transcripts and enquiry forms;

• product feed titles, categories and attributes.

Sales conversations are particularly valuable because they reveal the language used by genuine buyers, the problems they prioritise and the differences between qualified and unsuitable leads.

3. Use Google Keyword Planner

Google Keyword Planner can discover related keywords and provide search-volume, competition, bid and forecast information. Research can begin with seed phrases or a relevant website.

Configure the correct country, language and date range before interpreting the results. A UK service company should not use global volume as a proxy for local demand.

Keyword Planner estimates are directional rather than guaranteed. Search volume can be grouped, rounded and affected by seasonality, location and account settings. Forecasts also depend on assumptions about bids, budget and campaign configuration.

4. Examine the Search Results Page

Search the most important terms manually and inspect the results. The page can reveal whether Google interprets a phrase as:

• a product or a service;

• local or national intent;

• business-to-business or consumer demand;

• informational or transactional;

• a particular brand, category or problem.

If the results are dominated by jobs, definitions, directories or a different product, the keyword may not represent the intent you expected.

5. Review Competitor Language Carefully

Competitor websites and adverts can reveal terminology, category structure and offers. They should be used for discovery, not copied without analysis. A competitor may target an unprofitable market, use a different business model or accept leads that your business cannot serve.

6. Build a Negative Keyword List During Research

Do not wait for the campaign to spend money before considering obvious exclusions. Identify unwanted:

• products and services;

• locations;

• employment and training searches;

• free or do-it-yourself intent;

• informational terms where direct response is the objective;

• consumer or business audiences that do not fit the offer;

• support, login and existing-customer queries.

The correct exclusions depend on the business. “Cheap”, for example, may be irrelevant to a premium provider but commercially valuable to a discount retailer.

How to Evaluate and Prioritise Keywords

Avoid choosing keywords solely because they have the highest search volume. Score each theme against business and advertising criteria.

A useful priority model is:

Priority = commercial intent × business relevance × expected value

Search volume then helps estimate scale, rather than deciding whether a keyword is intrinsically good.

Google Ads Keyword Match Types

Match types control how closely a search needs to relate to a keyword before an advert can be considered. Google currently provides broad, phrase and exact match. These are ranges of interpretation rather than literal matching rules.

Google confirms that exact match offers the most steering but less reach, phrase includes the reach of exact plus additional searches, and broad reaches beyond both. Nevertheless, the boundaries overlap and all three can match searches that are not identical to the written keyword.

Exact Match

Exact match is entered inside square brackets, such as [commercial roofer].

It can match searches with the same meaning or intent, including certain close variations. It does not mean that Google will only show the advert when somebody types the keyword word for word.

Exact match is useful when:

• the campaign is new and control is important;

• the search has high commercial value;

• budgets or geographic markets are limited;

• brand and non-brand traffic must remain distinct;

• the advertiser wants clearer insight into proven query themes.

Phrase Match

Phrase match is entered inside quotation marks, such as "commercial roofer".

It can reach searches that include the keyword’s meaning, even when the wording differs or additional words appear. The historic rule that the complete phrase must appear in the same order is no longer accurate.

Phrase match is often a practical balance between coverage and control. It can capture valuable variations without allowing the same breadth of interpretation as broad match.

Broad Match

Broad match is entered without punctuation, such as commercial roofer.

It can consider the keyword, the user’s recent search activity, landing-page content and other signals to interpret relevance. It offers the widest reach and can discover demand that is difficult to predict manually.

However, more reach is not automatically better performance. Broad match can expose a campaign to loosely related or higher-funnel searches, particularly when conversion tracking, bidding signals or negative-keyword coverage are weak.

Broad match is better suited to situations where:

• conversion tracking is accurate;

• the recorded conversions represent genuine business value;

• the campaign has sufficient relevant conversion data;

• conversion-based Smart Bidding is appropriate;

• budgets can support exploration;

• search terms are reviewed and exclusions maintained;

• landing pages and campaign themes give Google clear context.

Google states that broad match is designed to work with conversion-based Smart Bidding. That does not mean every account should adopt it immediately. For new campaigns, lower-volume accounts and lead-generation businesses with unqualified conversions, starting with exact and phrase match can provide greater control while reliable data is established.

Our detailed guide to keyword match types explains how matching has expanded as Google Ads has become more intent-based.

A Practical Match-Type Strategy

There is no universally correct match type. The decision should reflect risk, conversion data, budget and the advertiser’s need for control.

A practical rollout is:

1. Launch the highest-priority themes using exact and phrase match.

2. Confirm that conversions, qualified leads and revenue are measured correctly.

3. Review actual search terms and build negative-keyword coverage.

4. Improve adverts and landing pages around the demand observed.

5. Test broad match in a controlled campaign or experiment when the account has enough reliable data.

6. Compare incremental qualified conversions and profit—not merely additional clicks or form submissions.

Broad match should be evaluated as a testable scale strategy, not enabled simply because it is the default option.

Negative Keywords

Negative keywords prevent adverts from appearing for selected searches. They protect budget, improve traffic quality and help separate different services, audiences or campaign types.

Common negative-keyword categories include:

• jobs, careers, salaries and apprenticeships;

• courses, qualifications and training;

• free, template and download searches;

• definitions, instructions and do-it-yourself queries;

• irrelevant locations;

• products or services the business does not provide;

• repairs, parts or support when the business only sells new products;

• consumer terms for a B2B company, or vice versa.

Negative broad, phrase and exact match behave differently from positive keyword match types. Importantly, negative keywords do not automatically match close variants. If both singular and plural variations are irrelevant, both may need to be excluded.

Apply negatives at the appropriate level:

• Account level: universally irrelevant traffic across eligible campaigns.

• Shared list: reusable exclusions for a group of campaigns.

• Campaign level: searches irrelevant to one campaign or needed to separate campaign themes.

• Ad-group level: precise routing between closely related ad groups, used carefully.

Overuse can remove valuable traffic, so check conflicts and analyse performance before excluding ambiguous terms.

How to Structure Keywords Into Campaigns and Ad Groups

Campaign structure should support budgets, bidding, locations, reporting and commercial priorities. Ad groups should support advert and landing-page relevance.

Create separate campaigns when a theme needs a materially different:

• budget;

• location or language setting;

• bidding strategy or target;

• conversion goal;

• schedule;

• brand versus non-brand treatment;

• product margin or lead value.

Within each campaign, group keywords by a clear search theme. Every keyword in an ad group should be answerable by the same responsive search advert and landing page.

For example, a landscaping campaign might contain separate ad groups for:

• garden design;

• landscape construction;

• garden patios;

• commercial landscaping.

This is a themed ad-group approach, sometimes called STAGs. It provides relevance without the unnecessary complexity of placing every keyword in a separate single-keyword ad group. Excessive fragmentation can split data, create duplicate targeting and make management harder.

Learn more about organising Google Ads ad groups and how they fit within the wider range of Google Ads campaign types.

Align Keywords, Adverts and Landing Pages

A strong keyword cannot compensate for an advert or landing page that fails to meet the user’s need.

The three elements should form one consistent message:

Search intent → advert promise → landing-page evidence and action

If somebody searches for “commercial solar panel installation”, the advert should make the commercial service clear and the landing page should address commercial installations—not send the visitor to a generic home page covering every service.

Good alignment can improve engagement, conversion rates and auction-time ad quality. It also makes performance easier to interpret because each traffic theme reaches an appropriate destination.

Search Terms: Where Keyword Strategy Becomes Real

Keyword research continues after launch. The live Search Terms report is often more valuable than the original planning list because it shows how Google interpreted the keywords and how real users searched.

Review search terms to identify:

• high-converting queries that deserve dedicated exact or phrase keywords;

• irrelevant searches requiring negative keywords;

• new products, services, locations or customer problems;

• differences between keyword match types;

• brand traffic entering generic campaigns;

• queries producing leads but not qualified opportunities or sales;

• language that can improve advert copy and landing pages.

Do not add every successful search term as a new keyword. Add it when doing so provides a genuine advantage, such as clearer reporting, stronger routing, tailored adverts, bid control or strategic visibility.

How to Measure Keyword Performance

Clicks and click-through rate show engagement, but they do not prove commercial success. Evaluate keywords using metrics connected to the campaign’s actual objective.

Core Advertising Metrics

• impressions;

• clicks and click-through rate;

• average cost per click;

• search impression share;

• top and absolute-top impression share;

• conversions and conversion rate;

• cost per conversion;

• conversion value and return on advertising spend.

Lead-Generation Quality Metrics

• qualified-lead rate;

• cost per qualified lead;

• opportunity rate;

• cost per sales opportunity;

• customer acquisition cost;

• sales revenue and return on advertising spend.

Ecommerce Metrics

• purchase conversion rate;

• average order value;

• gross profit or margin-adjusted value;

• new-customer acquisition;

• revenue and return on advertising spend;

• lifetime value where reliably measured.

Use enough data to make a decision. A keyword with one expensive click is not necessarily poor, while a keyword with many low-cost leads can still be unprofitable if none become customers.

Quality Score and Ad Rank

Quality Score is a keyword-level diagnostic rated from 1 to 10. Its three displayed components are:

• expected click-through rate;

• advert relevance;

• landing-page experience.

Google explicitly states that the displayed Quality Score is a diagnostic tool, not a direct auction input. Use it to identify potential weaknesses rather than treating the number itself as the campaign objective.

Ad Rank determines whether an advert is eligible to show and how it ranks relative to other eligible adverts. It is not simply “bid multiplied by Quality Score”. Google’s Ad Rank documentation identifies several factors, including the bid, auction-time advert and landing-page quality, Ad Rank thresholds, competition, search context, and the expected effect of assets and other advert formats.

This means a higher bid can improve competitiveness, but money alone does not guarantee the top position. Relevance, usefulness, landing-page quality and auction context remain important.

Low-Search-Volume Keywords

Highly specific long-tail keywords can be commercially attractive, but excessive granularity can result in “Low search volume” status. Google temporarily makes these keywords inactive until search demand increases.

When many keywords have low volume:

• combine unnecessary wording variants;

• use a slightly broader but still relevant theme;

• check whether location modifiers are too narrow;

• allow exact or phrase close variants to capture equivalent searches;

• avoid building separate ad groups for every minor variation.

Long-tail strategy should focus on specific intent, not the number of words in a phrase.

Common Google Ads Keyword Mistakes

Selecting Keywords Only by Search Volume

Volume indicates potential reach, not profitability. Commercial relevance, customer value and conversion intent should determine priority.

Treating Exact Match as Literal Matching

Exact match can include close variants and searches with the same meaning or intent. Search-term monitoring remains necessary.

Using Broad Match Before Measurement Is Ready

Broad match can scale an effective system, but it can also amplify poor conversion signals. Fix conversion tracking and lead-quality measurement first.

Sending Every Keyword to the Home Page

Generic destinations weaken message alignment. Use the most relevant product, service or purpose-built landing page available.

Building Excessive Single-Keyword Ad Groups

Unnecessary fragmentation increases complexity and divides useful data. Group closely related terms that share an intent, advert and landing page.

Ignoring Negative-Keyword Variants

Negative keywords do not expand to close variants in the same way as positive keywords. Review singulars, plurals, spelling variations and related unwanted terms.

Optimising for Leads Instead of Customers

Low-quality enquiries can train automated bidding to find more low-quality enquiries. Import meaningful CRM stages and revenue where possible.

Mixing Brand and Generic Performance

Brand searches often convert more efficiently. Report them separately so they do not inflate the apparent performance of non-brand acquisition activity.

Making Decisions Too Quickly

Sparse data produces unstable conclusions. Consider cost, conversion delay, value and statistical uncertainty before pausing a keyword.

A Practical Keyword Optimisation Routine

Keyword management is a continuous cycle rather than a one-off setup task.

Weekly or High-Frequency Checks

• Review search terms for irrelevant or unexpectedly broad traffic.

• Add carefully selected negative keywords.

• Check spend spikes, tracking problems and major changes in lead quality.

• Confirm that brand and non-brand traffic are entering the intended campaigns.

Monthly Analysis

• Compare keyword and search-term performance by conversion value and lead quality.

• Promote important proven queries into clearer campaign structures where useful.

• Pause or reduce investment in themes with sufficient evidence of poor commercial performance.

• Review match-type expansion and negative-keyword conflicts.

• Improve adverts and landing pages for valuable themes.

• Compare performance across devices, locations, audiences and time periods.

Strategic Reviews

• Reassess products, margins, locations and sales priorities.

• Test new keyword themes and landing pages.

• Evaluate whether broad match can add profitable incremental reach.

• Connect CRM and revenue data where lead-generation decisions remain based on surface-level conversions.

• Review the wider account with a structured Google Ads optimisation process.

Frequently Asked Questions

How Many Keywords Should an Ad Group Have?

There is no ideal fixed number. Use as many as are needed to represent one closely related search theme. The more useful test is whether every keyword can use the same advert and landing page without weakening relevance.

Should I Use Exact, Phrase or Broad Match?

For many new or tightly controlled lead-generation campaigns, exact and phrase match are sensible starting points. Broad match can be tested when conversion tracking, bidding, budget and query controls are strong enough to evaluate its incremental value.

Is Exact Match Really Exact?

No. Exact match offers the greatest steering of the three positive match types, but it can still match close variants and searches with the same meaning or intent.

Are Long-Tail Keywords Always Cheaper?

No. Specific keywords may have lower volume, but cost per click depends on auction competition and commercial value. A highly valuable niche query can be expensive.

Should Every Search Term Be Added as a Keyword?

No. Add a search term when a dedicated keyword provides a practical benefit, such as reporting, routing, tailored adverts or greater strategic control. Google can already match many variations without duplicating them in the account.

How Often Should Search Terms Be Reviewed?

Review them more frequently after launch, after changing match types or when spend is increasing. Mature, stable campaigns may need less frequent intervention, but they should never be left completely unchecked.

Do Negative Keywords Match Misspellings and Plurals?

Not automatically. Negative keywords do not match close variants in the same way as positive keywords, so important variations may need to be added separately.

Final Thoughts

Successful keyword strategy is not about building the longest possible list. It is about selecting commercially relevant intent, controlling how Google interprets that intent and connecting each search with the right advert, landing page and measurement system.

Begin with the products, services and outcomes that matter most. Prioritise relevance and commercial intent over raw search volume. Use exact and phrase match when control is important, test broad match when the account has the data and safeguards to support it, and treat negative keywords and search-term analysis as essential ongoing work.

Most importantly, judge keywords by the customers and revenue they create—not simply by the clicks or form submissions they generate.

If you need help researching, structuring or improving a Search campaign, One PPC can review the account, identify wasted demand and build a keyword strategy aligned with qualified leads, sales and profitable growth.

Related Google Ads Guides

Continue building and improving your Google Ads keyword strategy with these related One PPC guides:

• Google Ads Keyword Match Types — understand how exact, phrase and broad match interpret search intent.

• Google Ads Search Terms Report — identify the real searches triggering your adverts and refine targeting.

• Google Ads Negative Keywords — reduce irrelevant traffic and protect advertising spend.

• Google Ads Ad Groups — organise related keywords, adverts and landing pages into coherent themes.

• Google Ads Account Structure — structure campaigns and ad groups around budgets, targeting and business priorities.

• Google Ads Optimisation Checklist — establish a repeatable routine for reviewing and improving campaign performance.

• How to Improve Google Ads Lead Quality — optimise beyond basic lead volume by measuring qualified enquiries and customers.

• Google Ads Offline Conversion Tracking — connect clicks and leads with later sales outcomes and revenue.