Conducting PPC Keyword Research to Enhance Campaigns

Step 1: Set the research constraints (goal, conversion, economics)

Keyword research gets easier when you decide what “good traffic” means before you open Keyword Planner.

1) Pick the primary conversion event(s)

• Examples: demo request, trial signup, purchase.
• Define “qualified.” For lead gen, that might mean: form fill + firmographic filters, or becomes SQL within X days.

2) Lock geo/language (and any audience constraints)

• Geo and language change query patterns (“near me,” city names, spelling variants).
• If you only sell to specific industries, note it now. Industry modifiers often become your best qualifiers.

3) Set basic economics: target CPA or ROAS

• Your target determines what CPC you can tolerate.
• If acceptable CPA is $200 and conversion rate is ~5%, an average CPC much above ~$10 will struggle without strong downstream value.

4) Write one intent boundary: what you will NOT advertise for

Examples: “free only,” DIY/how-to, jobs/careers, definitions, students, or competitors (if you’re excluding them).

Step 2: Build seed keywords from your offer + intent (not from tools)

Tools expand lists; they don’t know your margins, positioning, or what you refuse to sell. Start with seeds anchored to what you offer.

Pull 5–10 seeds per offer from:

• Product/service names (and common synonyms)
• Problem statements (the pain the buyer wants gone)
• Use cases (what they’re trying to do)
• Industries (if you specialize)
• Modifiers that change intent: pricing, cost, software, tool, platform, agency, consultant, services, provider, near me, for \[industry\]

Map seeds to intent bands so you don’t treat every query like it’s purchase-ready:

• Informational: learning/definitions (“what is…”, “examples”, “how to…”)
• Commercial investigation: comparing options (“best…”, “reviews”, “vs”, “for small business”)
• Transactional: ready to act (“pricing”, “demo”, “buy”, “quote”, “hire”, “\[service\] near me”)

Micro-example:

• “crm software pricing” → commercial/transactional (often PPC-friendly)
• “what is crm” → informational (often better for SEO or tightly controlled remarketing)

Finally, force landing page alignment. For each seed cluster, name the landing page you’ll use (or plan to build). If you can’t point to a relevant page, that cluster isn’t ready.

Step 3: Expand & qualify with tools + SERP checks

Expand each seed theme into a candidate universe, then pressure-test intent against the real SERP.

Use a mix of sources:

• Google Ads Keyword Planner (or Microsoft Advertising tools) for variants and directional volumes
• Competitor domain research to spot themes (use as input, not copy/paste)
• Internal site search terms (often reveals buyer language)
• Search terms reports (if you have history): start with converting queries, then look for patterns

Capture a few fields for each candidate keyword:

• Avg. monthly searches (directional demand)
• Suggested bid / CPC range (directional cost)
• Competition / competitiveness (as provided)

Then do a fast SERP check in an incognito search. Scan top ads and top organic results. If you see definitions, job boards, courses, templates, “free,” “pdf,” or “salary,” you may be looking at a “false friend” that doesn’t match your offer.

Step 4: Filter, prioritize, and turn keywords into ad group themes

The goal is a short list you can launch, not a master database.

Filter hard. Remove keywords that are:

• Ambiguous on intent (mixed meanings, mixed SERPs)
• Poor commercial fit (unlikely to convert or low LTV vs expected CPC)
• Irrelevant categories (education, careers, definitions, DIY if you don’t serve that)
• Unserviceable by a landing page (no page that matches the promise)

Prioritize clusters using a simple mix:

• Intent strength (transactional > commercial > informational for most PPC)
• Expected CPC (higher is fine if conversion rate + value can support it)
• Conversion likelihood in your funnel (sales cycle, deal size, qualification friction)

Directional benchmark: Google notes that keywords with more commercial intent often enter more competitive auctions—expect higher CPCs, but also higher conversion rates when the offer matches the intent.^[1]

Turn the survivors into ad group themes. Build tight semantic clusters where one ad and one landing page can honestly match the query set. Keep themes separate when intent differs (pricing vs comparison vs “near me”), the landing page differs, or geo/industry requires different proof points.

Match type planning stays high-level: in most accounts I’ve run, starting with Exact + Phrase on the highest-intent themes keeps learning clean. Add Broad after you have conversion proof and a disciplined negative keyword process.

Conclusion: Your launch-ready keyword research outputs

You should now have (1) a prioritized set of keyword clusters mapped to conversions, geo, and economics; (2) a starting match-type approach (often exact/phrase first for control); (3) an initial negative keyword set based on your “won’t advertise for” boundaries and SERP signals; and (4) ad group themes that map cleanly to specific landing pages.

Next step: pick your top 1–2 clusters, build one ad group per theme, and write ads that mirror the cluster language and point to the most relevant page. Launch, then review the search terms report on a fixed cadence (weekly at first) to add negatives and promote converting queries into their own tighter themes.

Sources

1. About keywords (Google Ads Help)