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Playbooks

Paid search keywords

A practical playbook for paid search keyword research - intent-first selection, match-type strategy, negative seeding, and the ROAS-aware filtering that keeps Google Ads from draining your budget.

Updated

Before you start

  • An active or about-to-launch Google Ads account
  • Defined conversion tracking in Google Ads (purchases, leads, signups - whatever maps to revenue)
  • A target CPA or target ROAS you can defend with finance
  • SEMrush, SpyFu, or Google Keyword Planner for research; ideally one of the first two

The playbook

8 steps

0/8

  1. Lead with intent, not volume

    Paid search keywords aren't ranked by volume; they're ranked by intent quality × your conversion rate × your margin. A 1,000-search-per-month transactional keyword ('buy ergonomic chair') beats a 50,000-search-per-month informational keyword ('what is an ergonomic chair') every time for direct response. Build the keyword list by intent tier first; let volume break ties within tier.

    Expected outcome

    An intent-tiered shortlist (transactional, commercial, informational) with volume as a sub-sort.

  2. Mine competitor paid keyword data

    SEMrush -> Advertising Research -> Competitor's paid keywords. SpyFu -> 'PPC Keywords' tab on a competitor domain. Both show which paid terms a competitor is bidding on, the ad copy they run, and the landing pages they send traffic to. Competitor lists are the fastest way to find profitable keywords - if they've been bidding for 90+ days, the keyword is paying out.

    # SpyFu - one of the fastest ways to find competitor PPC terms
# 1. Type competitor domain in search bar
# 2. Click 'PPC Research' tab
# 3. Sort by 'Ad Spend' desc
# 4. Filter to keywords with 60+ days of advertising history
# Those are the profitable ones (no one burns budget on losers for 60 days)

    Expected outcome

    Competitor-validated keyword shortlist - 100-500 candidates with proof of paid-channel ROI.

  3. Expand with Google Keyword Planner for forecasting

    Keyword Planner is weak for discovery but strong for forecasting. Drop your shortlist in. It returns estimated impressions, clicks, CPC range, and conversion forecasts at different bid levels. This is your budget-planning input. The volumes are bucketed (not exact) but the relative ordering is reliable.

    Expected outcome

    Per-keyword forecast: estimated CPC, impression share at target bid, projected daily spend.

  4. Classify by match type strategy

    In 2026, Google has functionally consolidated match types - broad match with smart bidding is increasingly Google's default. But mechanically: **exact match** = highest control, lowest reach. **Phrase match** = balanced control + reach. **Broad match** = highest reach, lowest control (use only with Smart Bidding and tight negatives). Start with phrase match on new keywords; promote winners to exact; reserve broad match for proven categories.

    TipBroad match without aggressive negatives is the single most common reason new Google Ads accounts burn cash. Default to phrase match unless you have 30+ days of conversion data to feed Smart Bidding.

    Expected outcome

    Every keyword tagged with intended match type; broad match flagged for tight negative pairing.

  5. Build the negative keyword list from day zero

    Negatives prevent your ads from showing on irrelevant queries. Seed with: 'free', 'cheap' (unless that's your positioning), 'how to', 'what is' (informational queries you don't want to pay for), competitor brand names (unless you're explicitly running competitor campaigns), job titles ('jobs', 'careers'). Then add weekly from the Search Terms report - any query that triggered an ad without converting is a negative candidate.

    // Starter negative list (account-level)
// free
// cheap
// jobs
// careers
// salary
// definition
// what is
// how to
// download
// torrent
// pdf

    Expected outcome

    Account-level negative list seeded; weekly maintenance cadence established.

  6. Set match-type-aware bids and budgets

    Exact match keywords on bottom-funnel terms get the most aggressive bids - they convert best, you want top placement. Phrase match gets moderate bids. Broad match gets conservative bids with Smart Bidding (Target CPA or Target ROAS) doing the heavy lifting. Daily budgets per campaign should be at least 10x your target CPA so Smart Bidding has signal to optimize against.

    Expected outcome

    Bid strategy mapped per match type; budget sized to give Smart Bidding learning room.

  7. Audit the Search Terms report weekly

    Google Ads -> Keywords -> Search Terms. This shows actual queries that triggered your ads. Review weekly. Promote profitable queries to exact-match keywords (lock in the win). Add unprofitable queries to negatives (stop the bleeding). The Search Terms report is the highest-leverage 15 minutes you spend in Google Ads.

    TipWithout the Search Terms audit, broad match becomes a money pit. With it, broad match becomes a discovery engine. The audit is the difference.

    Expected outcome

    Weekly cycle: promote winners to exact match, demote losers to negatives. Keyword list compounds in quality.

  8. Layer Performance Max for category-level coverage

    Once your keyword-targeted Search campaigns are profitable, layer Performance Max for the long-tail and incremental reach. PMax uses your existing creative + product feed + audience signals to find conversions across Search, Shopping, YouTube, Display, Gmail, and Discover. Don't replace keyword Search with PMax; layer it on top so you keep the bottom-funnel control and gain top-funnel discovery.

    Expected outcome

    Hybrid campaign structure: keyword-targeted Search for control, PMax for incremental reach.

Shuttergen

Paid keywords picked. Paid creative shipped.

Once your keyword list is profitable, the next bottleneck is creative volume. Shuttergen generates ad variants tuned to your highest-ROAS keyword themes so creative testing keeps pace with budget.

Generate paid creative freeCompetitive audit framework →

Pitfalls

What goes wrong

  • Starting with broad match for new accounts

    Broad match needs 30+ days of conversion data to optimize properly. New accounts running broad match from day 1 spend that month overpaying for irrelevant clicks. Start with phrase match; graduate to broad once you have signal.

  • Ignoring negatives until the Search Terms report screams

    Negatives prevent 30-50% of wasted spend in untuned accounts. Seed them from day zero; maintain weekly. The teams who skip negatives are the teams who blame Google Ads for being expensive.

  • Bidding on competitor brand names without ROAS math

    Competitor brand bidding can work but has terrible Quality Scores (low ad relevance, low landing page experience) which means high CPCs. Test it small, measure ROAS, scale only if it pays out. Don't assume.

  • Picking keywords by volume, not by intent

    Volume is seductive. A 50K-volume informational keyword looks bigger than a 1K-volume transactional one. The transactional keyword will convert 5-20x better. Intent first; volume second.

  • Not separating brand and non-brand campaigns

    Brand keywords (your own brand name) have 50%+ conversion rates and inflate non-brand campaign data when mixed. Always run a dedicated brand campaign so the ROAS math on non-brand is clean.

Limits

When this playbook won't work

  • Your category has effectively no commercial search demand (very early-stage products in undefined categories)
  • Your conversion event takes 30+ days to fire (Google Ads optimization needs faster signal; use micro-conversions)
  • Your margin can't support paid CPC pricing (some commoditized categories have CPCs > unit margin)
  • Your landing page conversion rate is below 1% (fix the page before scaling spend; bad pages compound losses)

Paid search keyword research vs SEO keyword research

Same word, different sport. SEO keyword research optimizes for keywords you can rank for organically over 6-18 months. Paid search keyword research optimizes for keywords where the unit economics work today - if CPC × clicks needed per conversion is less than your margin, you bid; if not, you don't.

SEO research filters by ranking feasibility (KD vs DR). Paid research filters by ROAS feasibility (CPC vs conversion value × CVR). They produce overlapping but different keyword lists. The keyword you can't rank for organically might be profitable to bid on; the one you do rank for might still be worth bidding to defend.

Bid on keywords where you already rank organically? Yes, for branded and high-intent transactional terms. Studies consistently show paid + organic together generate more clicks than organic alone - the brand owns more SERP real estate and competitors are squeezed out of the auction. Don't bid on informational keywords you rank for; you'll cannibalize free clicks.

Paid keywords picked. Paid creative shipped. Once your keyword list is profitable, the next bottleneck is creative volume. Shuttergen generates ad variants tuned to your highest-ROAS keyword themes so creative testing keeps pace with budget.

Generate paid creative free

Match type strategy in 2026

Google has been gradually consolidating match types since the introduction of Smart Bidding. Phrase match now triggers on close variants and semantically related queries. Broad match relies heavily on the bidding signal, not the keyword string. Exact match remains the most literal match type but even it triggers on close variants (singular/plural, minor word order).

Recommended structure for most accounts in 2026: start every new keyword in phrase match. Once it accumulates 30+ conversions, evaluate. If it's converting consistently, leave it in phrase match or promote to exact. If it's expanding into adjacent profitable queries via close variants, leave it in phrase match. If you want maximum reach with Smart Bidding handling targeting, promote to broad match - but only with aggressive negatives and a Target ROAS bid strategy.

Exact match is for defending winners. Once a query is proven profitable, lock it in with exact match and a high bid to dominate position 1. Phrase match is for discovery and steady-state. Broad match is for category-level reach with machine learning doing the work.

Internal: adwords-competitor-keywords, competitor-ppc-keywords, keyword-analysis-in-seo.

FAQ

Frequently asked

What are paid search keywords?
Keywords you bid on in paid search platforms (Google Ads, Microsoft Ads) to trigger your ads in search results. Distinct from organic keywords you rank for via SEO - paid is buy-the-position, organic is earn-it.
How do I research paid search keywords?
Three sources: competitor PPC tools (SEMrush, SpyFu) for what's already proven profitable; Google Keyword Planner for forecasting bids and impressions; Search Terms report inside your live Google Ads account for actual triggering queries. Combine all three.
What's the best tool for paid search keyword research?
SpyFu for competitor PPC discovery (cheapest); SEMrush for depth and integrated SEO + PPC view (more expensive); Google Keyword Planner for forecasting (free, weaker for discovery). Most serious accounts use SpyFu or SEMrush plus Keyword Planner.
Should I use broad, phrase, or exact match?
Start every new keyword in phrase match. Promote proven winners to exact match for lockdown. Use broad match only with Smart Bidding (Target CPA or Target ROAS) and aggressive negatives, on categories with 30+ days of conversion history.
How important are negative keywords?
Critical. Negatives prevent 30-50% of wasted spend in untuned accounts. Seed from day zero (free, cheap, jobs, careers, definition, etc.); maintain weekly from the Search Terms report.
How do I know if a keyword is worth bidding on?
ROAS math: (conversion value × estimated CVR) > (estimated CPC × clicks needed per conversion). Use Keyword Planner forecasts and your historical CVR to model this per keyword. If the math doesn't work at any bid, skip it.
Should I bid on my brand name?
Usually yes. Brand search has the highest CVR in your account and bidding protects against competitors squeezing into your branded SERP. Run brand and non-brand in separate campaigns so the math on non-brand stays clean.

Related

Keep reading

Resource

Adwords competitor keywords

Mining competitor paid keywords.

Resource

Competitor ppc keywords

Sister keyword variant.

Resource

Keyword analysis in seo

Organic-side methodology.

Resource

Spyfu competitors

Using SpyFu specifically.

Research

Anatomy Of Good Meta Ad Library

Paid creative competitive framework.

Paid keywords picked. Paid creative shipped.

Once your keyword list is profitable, the next bottleneck is creative volume. Shuttergen generates ad variants tuned to your highest-ROAS keyword themes so creative testing keeps pace with budget.

Generate paid creative freeCompetitive audit framework →