What Are the Best Strategies for Finding Keywords for Google Ads?

Start With Strategy: What “Good Keywords” Actually Mean in Google Ads

Build keywords around intent first, not word lists

The best keyword strategy starts by getting brutally clear on what you’re trying to buy: awareness clicks, qualified leads, or revenue. Two keywords can look similar but behave wildly differently because the searcher’s intent is different. A practical way to keep this simple is to label every keyword idea with an intent bucket—research, comparison, or “ready to buy”—and then decide what you’re willing to pay for each bucket. If you skip this step, you’ll usually overpay for vague traffic or underfund the high-intent terms that actually drive results.

When you’re brainstorming, think in customer language, not internal language. Use the category terms customers use (for example, “hiking boots”), then layer in the minimum detail needed to clarify what you sell (for example, “wedding venue,” not just “wedding,” but also not something overly long and hyper-specific that limits reach). If you sell well-known brands, include those brands early because they often produce clean, high-intent themes that are easy to group and measure.

Map each keyword theme to a single best landing page

A keyword is only “good” if you have a page that can satisfy the promise of the ad. Before you add a new theme, decide which landing page is the best match. If you can’t pick one confidently, that’s a signal you either need a better page, or the keyword is too broad to be cost-effective. This one habit prevents a huge percentage of wasted spend and keeps Quality Score-related issues from creeping in over time.

Understand modern match types so you don’t research the wrong way

Keyword research today isn’t about building an exhaustive list of every variation. Close variants are eligible by default across match types and there’s no opt-out, so you’re better off focusing on clear themes and letting the system cover reasonable variations. Also, phrase match behavior has been updated (broad match modifier was folded into phrase match back in 2021), so phrase match is meaning-based, not a strict “words-in-order” filter like many advertisers still assume. That matters because it changes how you interpret “coverage” during research—your goal is not to list every word order, but to cover intent clusters cleanly.

Where to Find Keywords: The Highest-ROI Sources Inside Google Ads

Keyword Planner: your starting engine for volume, cost, and structure

Keyword Planner is still the most efficient way to go from “we sell X” to a usable keyword plan with estimated demand and cost. Two workflows consistently outperform everything else: starting with keywords (seed terms) and starting with a website (yours or a relevant page). In practice, you’ll get the best breadth by combining a seed keyword plus a relevant URL; this typically generates more ideas than using a URL alone. Be aware that Keyword Planner access requires completing account setup with billing information, and some terms won’t be discoverable or forecastable if they have very low volume or are considered sensitive.

Once you have ideas, don’t just download and launch. Use filters to narrow toward what you can actually afford and what you actually want, then refine by categories/themes to remove irrelevant segments. Forecasts are refreshed daily and are based on recent data (last 7–10 days) with seasonal adjustments, so treat forecasts as directional planning inputs rather than guaranteed performance—especially in volatile markets or seasonal categories.

If you’re working in English, the “organize keywords into ad groups” workflow can be a quick accelerator when you’re building from scratch. It’s not a substitute for strategy, but it’s a solid way to get a first draft of ad group themes that you can then tighten based on landing pages and intent.

The Search Terms report: the most “real” keyword source you have

If your account already has traffic, your highest-quality keyword ideas typically come from actual searches that triggered ads. The Search Terms report shows what people typed (or the closest reportable equivalent), and it also helps you interpret how queries relate to your keywords via the “search term match type.” This is important because the match type shown for a search term in the report may not be the same as the match type of the keyword that triggered it; broader match keywords can match searches that get categorized more narrowly in reporting.

Use this report in two directions. First, promote winners: when you see a converting search term (or a term that consistently produces high-quality leads), add it as a dedicated keyword in the most relevant ad group and align ad copy and landing page tightly to it. Second, prune waste: when you see irrelevant intent (the classic example is “wine glasses” triggering an eyeglasses advertiser), add negatives quickly so you don’t keep buying the same mistake.

One nuance to keep in mind: some campaign types and targeting methods don’t use keywords the same way. For example, Dynamic Search Ads and Shopping targeting don’t use keywords, and searches attributed there can show differently in reporting (including how match type is displayed). That’s not a reporting bug—it just means you should treat “keyword discovery” and “keyword targeting” as two separate skills.

Performance Max search themes: keyword discovery when you’re running keywordless targeting

Even though Performance Max is keywordless, you can still steer it and learn from it. Search themes are one of the most practical tools for this: you provide words and phrases that describe what customers are likely to search for, and that extra context can help the system reach the right queries faster—especially if your site doesn’t clearly communicate a niche, a new offering, or a specific use case.

The highest-performing search themes usually add incremental information the system can’t easily infer from your pages or assets. Keep them distinct (avoid duplicates and close variants), and use broad themes rather than long-tail specifics. If you have time-sensitive demand (seasonal or event-driven), add specific event themes so the system can adjust faster. Operationally, you can add up to 50 search themes per asset group, which is enough to cover core categories plus a few strategic niches without turning it into another keyword dump.

Turn a Raw Keyword List Into a Profitable Keyword Set

Pick match types based on how much control you need (and how you’ll bid)

Broad match can show on searches related to your keyword and may use additional signals like recent search activity, landing pages/assets, and other keywords in the ad group to interpret intent. It’s powerful, but it’s also the easiest way to pay for the wrong intent if you don’t have strong conversion signals and disciplined negative keyword hygiene. Phrase match is meaning-based and often a good “middle lane” when you want reach but still want clearer relevance. Exact match gives the tightest steering (same meaning or intent) and is ideal for your most valuable, highest-certainty themes.

In real accounts, the match type decision and the bidding decision are inseparable. Automated bidding generally performs best when it has room to learn (which broader targeting can provide), but that only works if conversion tracking is clean and you’re actively excluding irrelevant intent. If you can’t confidently defend your tracking and lead quality, start tighter and expand deliberately.

Use negatives like a scalpel, not a sledgehammer

Negative keywords are essential for ROI because they let you exclude searches that don’t fit your business. The key is to use them precisely. Negative keywords don’t match to close variants or other expansions, which means you may need to add singular/plural versions or synonyms if you truly want to block a concept. On the plus side, negatives automatically account for casing and misspellings, so you don’t need to add those separately.

For efficiency and governance, account-level negative keywords can be a game changer because one list can apply across relevant Search and Shopping inventory in multiple campaign types. That said, the limit is finite (1,000 account-level negatives), so reserve account-level exclusions for truly universal blockers (employment/job queries, free/how-to intent if you don’t want it, competitor support terms, adult intent if brand safety is a concern, and so on). Keep campaign-level negatives for campaign-specific cleanup.

For Performance Max specifically, be cautious. Negative keywords can restrict the system and hurt performance if overused. Use them for essential brand safety needs or completely irrelevant intent, and use brand exclusions when your goal is simply to avoid paying for your own brand demand. Also note that Performance Max can support large negative sets (up to 10,000 negatives), but “can” doesn’t mean “should”—volume limits aren’t a strategy.

Organize by themes so ads and landing pages stay aligned

Keyword organization is where most accounts quietly lose performance over time. Group similar keywords into ad groups based on a single product/service theme and a single landing page destination. Avoid adding “duplicate” keywords that are just word order flips; very similar keywords can be treated as duplicates, and only one will effectively win the auction based on Ad Rank. Your structure should make it easy to write ads that mirror the searcher’s intent and to see performance differences at a theme level.

Finally, watch keyword status as a feedback loop. If keywords are marked “low search volume,” they simply may be too specific or unusual; when volume increases they can reactivate, but you should usually treat that status as a sign to broaden the theme. If keywords are “rarely shown due to low quality score,” it’s often more productive to replace them with a more relevant theme and fix ad-to-page alignment than to keep forcing traffic through a weak match.

Most effective keyword research workflow (the version you can repeat every month)

• Start with 5–10 customer-language category terms, then expand in Keyword Planner using both seed terms and a relevant URL; filter and refine until each theme has a clear landing page.
• Launch with a controlled mix of exact/phrase for your highest-intent themes, then expand with broader targeting only when tracking and lead quality are proven.
• Every week early on (then monthly once stable), mine the Search Terms report: promote converting queries into dedicated themes and add negatives for irrelevant intent.
• For Performance Max, add search themes that are incremental (not duplicates), and keep negative keywords limited to brand safety or clearly irrelevant intent.

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Finding strong Google Ads keywords starts with defining what “good” means for your business (intent first, split into research/comparison/ready-to-buy), then mapping each keyword theme to a landing page that can actually deliver on the ad’s promise so relevance and Quality Score don’t slip. From there, use Keyword Planner to estimate demand and shape an initial, theme-based structure (treat forecasts as directional), lean on modern match types by focusing on intent clusters rather than endless permutations, and build a steady habit of mining Search Terms to promote converting queries while adding precise negatives to cut waste. If you want help turning this workflow into repeatable, day-to-day actions, Blobr connects to your Google Ads account and runs specialized AI agents like Keyword Ideas Finder and Negative Keywords Brainstormer to surface new opportunities, clean up irrelevant traffic, and keep your keyword strategy aligned with landing pages—while you stay in control of what gets applied.