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11. Broad match type
Develop campaigns using broad match type terms without negative keywords to find new keywords from search term reports.
A valuable tip is to separate these campaigns to ensure your entire budget isn’t consumed by irrelevant keywords.
Dig deeper: Broad match keywords: When to test and when to avoid
Don’t limit yourself to one keyword research tool.
Consider using a combination of tools, such as Semrush, Ahrefs or Moz Keyword Explorer, to uncover different perspectives and insights on potential keywords for your campaigns.
13. Google Trends
Use Google Trends to identify popular search terms and their search volume over time.
This tool can also show related queries and geographic data, giving you a more comprehensive understanding of user behavior.
14. Analytics data
Dive into your website analytics data to see which organic keywords are driving traffic to your site. This can give you a good starting point for identifying relevant keywords for your paid search campaigns.
Don’t rely solely on Google Analytics. Explore other tools like Adobe Analytics, too.
15. Customer persona research
Create customer personas based on demographic, psychographic and behavioral factors.
Use these personas to guide your search for new keywords that align with their interests and behaviors.
16. Customer demographics analysis
Many customers will search in their native language and still make purchases from a website in the local language. In the U.S., for example, you’ll notice many searches in Spanish.
Bilingual customers are often tolerant of conducting business across languages. Don’t let the absence of a fully translated website prevent you from bidding on keywords in your native language.
I worked with a healthcare client who added Cantonese and Punjabi keywords and ads, which performed quite well despite the website being in English.
17. Customer reviews
Pay attention to the language used in customer reviews to identify commonly used keywords and phrases related to your products or services.
This can provide additional insights into your customers’ search behavior and help you uncover new keyword opportunities.
18. Collaborate with your team
Don’t overlook the valuable input from your team members, whether it’s colleagues in different departments or external agencies. They may have unique perspectives and ideas for relevant keywords that you may not have considered.
Dig deeper: How to maximize PPC and SEO data with co-optimization audits
19. Stay up-to-date
Regularly review industry news, updates and trends to stay current on any emerging topics or terms that could potentially be relevant for your campaigns.
This can help you stay ahead of the competition and continue to refine your keyword strategy.
Dig deeper: Top 5 ways to stay up to date on paid search trends
Leveling up your PPC query mining strategy
There are many techniques and tools available to conduct keyword research and discover new opportunities for paid search campaigns.
Additional strategies include:
Semantic keyword research, which explores related terms and synonyms to expand your keyword list.
Topic modeling, which uses advanced tools to identify underlying themes in your website content or customer feedback.
Seasonal keyword research, which allows you to adjust your strategy for trends like “Black Friday” or “Cyber Monday” and capture additional traffic during peak times.
Suggestions from the paid search community include using Performance Max search categories (as noted by Guillermo Pareja) and tools like Answer the Public for question-based queries (recommended by Neelam Shahzadi).
Many experts also suggest leveraging AI tools like ChatGPT to generate new keyword ideas by seeding prompts with well-performing terms.
Traditional keyword research methods are valuable, but they only scratch the surface of potential opportunities.
By combining these techniques with AI tools, you can uncover hidden gems and optimize your campaigns for maximum ROI.
Whether you’re looking to expand or refine your campaigns, these strategies will help you create a comprehensive keyword approach that goes beyond the limitations of traditional planners and drives business growth.
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