Keyword research
📖 3 min readUpdated 2026-04-19
Keyword research for paid is different from SEO keyword research. You're not optimizing for volume, you're finding intent-matched queries where you can profitably buy clicks.
The intent hierarchy
- Transactional: "buy X", "X near me", "hire X consultant", highest value
- Commercial: "best X for Y", "X vs Y", evaluation stage
- Informational: "what is X", "how does X work", mostly SEO, expensive paid
- Brand: your brand name or competitors', cheap, highest conversion
Focus paid budget on transactional and commercial. Informational is for content/SEO.
Tools
- Google Keyword Planner (free, built into Google Ads)
- Ahrefs, Semrush, for competitive research
- Search term report from your own campaigns, best source
The competitor angle
What keywords are your competitors bidding on? Their paid keywords reveal what's working in your space. Ahrefs and Semrush have paid-keyword intelligence.
Negative keywords
Just as important as positive keywords. Start with:
- "free" (tire-kickers)
- "jobs", "career", "salary" (not buyers)
- Irrelevant uses of your terms (e.g., if you sell "apple products", exclude "apple fruit")
Volume isn't everything
A high-volume generic keyword with 1% conversion costs more than a low-volume intent keyword with 10% conversion. Buy intent, not volume.
Geographic modifiers
For local services, "[service] + [city]" or "[service] near me" are usually the highest ROI keywords. Bid on them specifically.
What to do with this
- Buy intent, not volume, a high-volume generic keyword at 1% conversion costs more per customer than a niche 10%-conversion term
- Start with bottom-funnel queries (with "best", "review", "pricing", brand + competitor names), expand upward only after the basics profit
- Review the search terms report weekly, add negatives for irrelevant queries, broad match + smart bidding needs active negative-list management
- For local services, always include geographic modifiers as their own keywords, "[service] near me" and "[service] + [city]" are the highest ROI queries
- Don't run all keywords in one ad group, group by intent and theme so ad copy + landing page can match the query tightly