Keyword research builds the foundation for your Google Ads campaign. Without a strong foundation, your campaign will crumble, delivering poor performance and irrelevant traffic. Keyword research is simple to understand but hard to master. It takes a lot of testing and optimizing to get right, and even then, it is nearly impossible to perfect. While Google Ads offers a variety of tools and options for identifying effective keywords, it’s essential to approach keyword research strategically to ensure your ads are reaching the right audience.
Here are three effective strategies to help you conduct keyword research for Google Ads and maximize the effectiveness of your campaigns:
1. Leverage Google’s Keyword Planner Tool
Google’s Keyword Planner is a powerful free tool that helps you find relevant keywords for your business. It's a great starting point for anyone conducting keyword research for Google Ads, especially if you're new to the platform. SEMRush, on the other hand, is a great paid tool, and you may find the results and insight are worth the price. For the sake of today, we will be focusing on Google's Keyword Planner.
Here's how you can use it effectively:
Start with Broad Terms: Start by entering broad terms related to your products or services into Keyword Planner. For example, if you sell an organic energy drink, you may start with keywords like "organic energy drink" or "best energy drink." The tool will generate a list of related keywords, alongside search volume and competition data.
Analyze Search Volume and Competition: Use the data from the previous step to gather insight related to your keywords. Ideally, you want to focus on keywords with a good balance of high search volume and low to medium competition. High-competition keywords are more expensive, so targeting medium-competition keywords can provide a more cost-effective strategy. Your decision-making should revolve around the size and authority of your business. If your business has a seasoned website with strong backlinks, you may be able to compete with high-competition keywords. On the other hand, if your business is new to the industry, you may find more success focusing on low-competition keywords.
Identify Long-Tail Keywords: Google Keyword Planner also helps you discover long-tail keywords—more specific phrases that often result in higher conversion rates. For instance, instead of just “energy drink,” consider “best vegan energy drink with caffeine” or “organic energy drinks for working out.” These phrases tend to have lower competition and are more likely to attract users who are closer to making a purchase. These phrases are more specific to the user's search intent.
By using Google’s Keyword Planner, you can create a well-rounded keyword list that aligns with your business goals and target audience.
2. Analyze Competitors' Keywords
One of the best ways to identify valuable keywords is to analyze your competitors' campaigns. By understanding the keywords your competitors are bidding on, you can gain insights into which keyword terms are most valuable in your industry. Here's how you can approach this strategy:
Use Auction Insights in Google Ads: Once you’ve launched a campaign, the Auction Insights report provides valuable information about how your ads are performing relative to your competitors. While it doesn't directly show you your competitors’ exact keywords, it can give you insight into which businesses are competing for the same audience. You can then infer which keywords might be driving traffic to their websites, and make decisions that increase your likelihood of success.
Tools and Competitive Research: As previously mentioned, tools like SEMrush allow you to perform competitor keyword research. These platforms can show you a competitor's top-performing keywords, ad copy, and search volumes that will enable you to identify which keywords are likely generating traffic for them. By analyzing this data, you can refine your keyword strategy and potentially bid on high-converting terms that your competitors are targeting or other opportunities in the industry.
Review Organic Search Results: Another way to see what keywords your competitors are ranking for is by looking at their organic search performance. A tool like Google Search Console can show you the exact terms driving organic traffic to a competitor’s site. While you can’t directly use these organic keywords in your Google Ads campaigns, they can give you valuable clues for further paid keyword research. For example, they can allow you to identify the search intent of customers, and what factors they prioritize when making a buying decision.
By understanding the keywords your competitors are targeting, you can gain an edge and potentially identify gaps or opportunities in the market.
3. Utilize Search Query Reports and Customer Insights
Search Query Reports (SQRs) are one of the most overlooked yet powerful tools for refining your Google Ads keyword strategy. These reports show the exact search queries that triggered your ads, helping you understand what users are actually searching for when they find your ads (aka search intent).
Here’s how to use them effectively:
Refine Your Keyword List: SQRs can reveal search queries that are driving relevant traffic to your site. You may discover new, high-converting keywords that you hadn’t thought of before or overlooked. If you notice specific search terms that align with your business objectives, consider adding them to your keyword list. For example, if you’re advertising handmade bags but see that users are also searching for “organic energy drinks with low sugar,” this could be an opportunity to target that term in your campaign.
Identify Negative Keywords: Search Query Reports also help you identify irrelevant queries that are wasting your ad spend. These are the terms that you don’t want to show up for, such as "caffeine-free organic energy drinks" when you an organic energy drink with caffeine. Adding these as negative keywords ensures your ads won’t show to users who aren’t likely to convert, saving you money and resources (ex. labor).
Customer Feedback and Surveys: If you have a list of customers, you can also gather insights directly from them to understand what terms they used to find your products or services. Conducting surveys or reviewing customer feedback can provide additional clarity on the language your target audience uses, which can guide your keyword selection. If you have a newsletter, and one that consists of customers with high brand loyalty, this could be a great resource for you to gather further insight.
I hope you enjoyed these tips on how to effectively identify keyword phrases for your Google Ads. Remember, the name of the game is to test and optimize. Be patient with yourself, but also be aware of trends and opportunities in the market. More often than not, your Google Ad campaign will be a long-term medium for advertising your product or service, so do not get discouraged if you do not find initial success.
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