What’s one piece of advice you’d give for effectively using keyword research in paid advertising campaigns? We asked 10 advertising and marketing leaders, and their insights reveal practical strategies to maximize campaign success.
- Focus on User Intent Over Search Volume
- Test Keywords in Small-Scale Campaigns
- Anticipate Buyer’s Journey
- Use Exact Match Keywords
- Target Long-Tail Keywords
- Prioritize High-Intent-Driven Keywords
- Do Manual Searches and Use Search Console
- Group Keywords by Intent and Funnel Stage
- Understand Informational and Commercial Intent
- Analyze Competitors’ Strategies
10 Tips for Conducting Keyword Research for Paid Ads to Boost Conversions
Focus on User Intent Over Search Volume
The number one piece of advice I have regarding keyword research for paid ads campaigns is about user intent vs search volume. Advertisers instead fumble the ball as they chase the most trafficked keywords without even asking whether those terms are what their dream customer might be searching for. A key term that gets searched 10,000 times a month isn’t worth a hill of beans if it generates irrelevant clicks that don’t convert.
Get out of the gates by getting into your audience’s needs and behavior. True magic happens when you use this data with a basic understanding of your customer journey. Consider: What problem is this particular audience trying to solve? Are they at what stage in the buying process? A user searching for keyword phrases like “best digital marketing agencies near me” is someone looking to take action so this is a good candidate for a keyword with high intent worth targeting in your campaigns.
After you identify intent-driven keywords, group them into tightly themed ad groups to make your campaigns more target-specific. This enables you to create hyper-targeted ad copy and landing pages that directly address the searcher’s intent, significantly improving your chances of generating conversions. For my part, ad groups that are tightly themed improve click-through rate (CTR) by, on average, 20-30%.
A second tip is to take advantage of negative keywords wisely. If your business is a high-end service provider, for example, you will want to exclude “cheap” or “free” from your campaigns so as not to waste money on clicks that lead to conversions. Monitoring your search term reports on a regular basis will allow you to build your negative keyword list faster and more effectively increase your ROI.
Lastly, don’t balk at the initial research process. Keyword trends are constantly changing, and what works today may not work tomorrow. Keep testing performance, changing things up, and using things like A/B tests to highlight just how much of a difference small tweaks can make. Keyword research is not a “one and done” task, It’s an ongoing process that, if done thoughtfully, can lead to long-term gain.
The bottom line? Select the keywords that match what your audience wants, optimize campaigns around the terms and then evolve your approach over time. That’s how you convert clicks into conversions and get the best return on your paid ads.
Darryl Stevens
CEO, Digitech Web Design
Test Keywords in Small-Scale Campaigns
Test your keywords in small-scale campaigns before scaling up, as not all high-intent terms perform the same way across audiences. We once discovered that “best SEO tools” underperformed compared to “affordable SEO tools for startups” in a pilot test, despite having higher search volume. Let data guide your decisions, not assumptions.
Include location-based keywords if your business or client targets specific regions—terms like “top web designers in Los Angeles” deliver highly qualified leads. In one campaign, adding geo-specific phrases improved click-through rates by 25% because they directly addressed users searching for nearby solutions. Localized keywords aren’t just effective; they’re necessary in niche markets.
Jason Hennessey
CEO, Hennessey Digital
Anticipate Buyer’s Journey
Based on my experience, I think companies should stop looking for keywords with volume, but anticipate the buyer’s journey and select keywords that capture the intent at every stage. Semantic clusters is one strategy that is often overlooked. It means grouping related terms together to boost your reach, without having to spread your budget too thin. For example, instead of focusing on one keyword like “fitness gears,” I’ll say focus on keywords that reflect the intent like “best gym clothes for men,” or “affordable workout clothes for beginners.”
One clever tip to boost your ad conversions is to match your keywords to your ad copy and landing page language exactly. Don’t just add a keyword and call it a day. People seek relevance and if they are searching for “best yoga mats,” your ad should speak that language. Use that exact phrase in your headline, and make sure that landing page continues the conversation.
Also, pay attention to negative keywords. They are often ignored but can save you from wasting money on irrelevant clicks. The less clutter on your campaigns, more the chances of boosting your conversions.
Raviraj Hegde
Svp of Growth & Sales, Donorbox
Use Exact Match Keywords
I’m a digital marketing specialist and for the past 15 years, I’ve run my own agency. Keyword research for paid ads, specifically on Google is one of our core services. However, most of the time, a lot of people keen on conducting such research tend to overthink it. While keyword research takes varying degrees of time, depending on whether you’re conducting research for just one product or for an entire international market, the key success factor is to always go for exact match keywords.
Don’t use broad match keywords, be specific from the very start. Think how your audience searches for your specific product or service offering. Utilize various keyword research tools to find search terms that your ideal audience and competitors currently use. For instance, if you’re a cat food distributor, don’t create content titled “what can cats eat” and then list ten different cat food brands. Chances are your audience is not looking for that. They want something more specific. Likewise, create small radius bubbles within specific targeted areas and evaluate which locations get you more clicks for specific keywords and adjust your campaign accordingly.
Ajay Chavda
CTO, Mojo Dojo
Target Long-Tail Keywords
One best key tip is to focus on long-tail keywords that match your audience’s intent. We’ve found that targeting phrases like “affordable motion graphics for startups” or “animated explainer videos for tech companies” brings in more qualified leads compared to broad terms like “motion graphics.”
These keywords may have lower search volumes, but they capture users who are closer to making a decision. Combine this with ad copy that highlights unique benefits—like our ability to simplify complex ideas through visuals—and you’ll see higher conversions and better ROI.
Dewi Saklina
Search Engine Optimization Specialist, Explainerd
Prioritize High-Intent-Driven Keywords
Keyword research can be one of the most critical steps in creating your PPC advertising campaigns, and thorough research is essential. One key piece of advice for using keyword research effectively is to focus on high-intent-driven keywords, prioritizing terms and phrases that will drive conversions and returns for your products or services.
Always start by researching and understanding your ideal audience, focusing on their needs and priorities. Think about the phrases they would use when searching for your product or service and identify the intent behind those searches. Understand whether your audience is in the awareness, consideration, or purchase stage of their customer journey, and focus on keywords that will drive either consideration or conversions, depending on what you are hoping to achieve.
Use multiple tools to expand and refine your keyword lists rather than relying on just one, and consider doing some competitor research to identify additional keywords and phrases your competitors may be targeting.
Incorporate long-tail keywords that are less competitive and often have a higher intent across your campaigns. These keywords may not drive a huge amount of traffic, but they will often produce higher-quality results and conversions.
Make sure to identify any negative keywords and phrases and add them to your campaigns. These keywords can drain your budget by driving irrelevant traffic and prevent you from reaching your ideal customer.
Ensure your ad text and landing pages are aligned with the keywords and phrases you’re targeting. This will help improve your Quality Scores, lower your CPCs, and drive more intent-driven traffic that is more likely to convert on your site.
Kathryn Pearson
Head of PPC, The SEO Works
Do Manual Searches and Use Search Console
Don’t limit yourself to keyword tools. Try doing manual searches yourself to see what comes up and assess whether the search intent aligns with your conversion goals. Additionally, dig into your Google Search Console data to uncover how users are currently finding your business. These simple steps can reveal unexpected, high-converting keywords and help fine-tune your targeting strategy.
Karyna Veisberg
Growth Marketer, Full Scale SaaS
Group Keywords by Intent and Funnel Stage
After you do the normal keyword research, group keywords by intent and funnel stage (Awareness, Consideration, Decision). Think of what queries they might trigger, confirm that the actual search intent is the same as the one you’re looking for (especially if you’re planning on using broad or phrase match), and add them as negatives if they’re irrelevant.
Another piece of advice is to just use your gut feeling. It’s a little less technical, so try to move away from tools and processes, put yourself in the shoes of a potential client, and think about what you would search for. This has often brought better results than traditional keyword research.
Adrian Salcu
CEO, PPC Specialist, ADDEN Agency
Understand Informational and Commercial Intent
When you get started on keyword research for your paid ads, it is important to understand which keywords will fall into informational and commercial intent so that you can group them in more specific clusters. Informational keywords are what people search for when they’re seeking more information. For example, if you work in the baking industry, informational keywords could be “how to bake a chocolate cake” or “best icing recipes.” On the other hand, commercial keywords are those that people use when they’re about to spend money, so terms like “order chocolate cake online” or “custom birthday cake order.”
This allows you to develop specific ad groups that resonate with user intent, enabling higher conversions while also making your campaign more efficient.
David Rubie-Todd
Co-Founder & Marketing Head, Sticker It
Analyze Competitors’ Strategies
When it comes to effective keyword research for paid advertising, analyzing your competitors’ strategies is crucial. By understanding what keywords your competitors are bidding on and ranking for, you can gain valuable insights into what’s working in your industry and identify potential opportunities to improve your own campaigns.
For example, you can use tools to see which keywords are driving traffic to your competitors’ sites and analyze their ad copy to understand how they are positioning themselves. This information can help you refine your own keyword selection, identify gaps in your current strategy, and even uncover new keywords you may not have considered before.
Don’t just blindly follow your competitors, though. Use the insights you gain to differentiate yourself and craft compelling ad copy that resonates with your target audience. Competitor keyword analysis is like having a roadmap to success in paid advertising. It provides valuable direction and helps you make informed decisions to drive conversions and maximize your return on investment.
Elliott Kosmicki
Founder & President, Major Impact
