Keyword research is the foundation of any successful PPC campaign. By identifying the right keywords, advertisers can reach their target audience, maximize ad relevance and control costs.
This guide covers everything you need to know about keyword research in PPC – from understanding match types to using tools and refining your keyword strategy for optimal ad performance.
What is keyword research in PPC?
Keyword research involves creating a list of keywords searchers use to find information on a specific topic. It also includes gathering insights into each term’s search volume and, depending on the tool used, the level of competition.
Over time, PPC keyword research has evolved, with Google introducing automation, broader match types and campaign consolidation. These changes have shifted how PPC marketers approach keyword research and the factors they must consider.
Beyond search campaigns, keyword research can also help build audiences for display and video ads. Marketers can expand their reach across multiple ad formats by targeting users who are either searching for specific terms or engaging with content related to those keywords.
Types of keywords
In search advertising platforms like Google Ads and Microsoft Ads, there are four types of keywords, known as match types.
These match types determine how closely the keywords you choose align with a user’s search query, affecting when and how your ads appear.
The match types are divided into positive and negative categories, each with its own level of specificity and reach.
Broad match
These keywords will match to searches related to the keyword, but the user’s search doesn’t necessarily have to contain the keyword.
You should use broad match sparingly as it has the most reach and it should always be used in conjunction with smart bidding.
My recommendation would be to introduce broad match as an experiment once your account has some data behind it.
Phrase match
These keywords will match to searches that contain the keyword meaning. This means that the user’s search will contain a variation or synonym of the seed keyword.
Use phrase match for seed keywords that are between one to three keywords long. Google will then expand on this to relevant searches that mean the same.
Exact match
These keywords will match to user’s searches that share the same meaning. This means that the user’s search could contain a variation or synonym of the seed keyword, the same as phrase match. For example Google would see ‘near’ as having the same intent and meaning as ‘close by’.
Use exact match in support of phrase match for longer-tail specific keywords.
Below is an example of how Google could use the three positive match types if the seed keyword is “garden furniture.”
Negative keywords
These keywords prevent ads from showing for irrelevant searches.
They help reduce wasted ad spend by blocking specific terms.
Choosing the right keywords for your PPC campaigns
Keyword research is one core element of PPC that overlaps with SEO. The teams can collaborate on this in multiple ways, from utilizing the same tools to thinking more strategically around keyword gap analysis.
When it comes to determining which are the right keywords to target, you need to consider:
The product and/or service offering.
Your campaign objective and goals.
What funnel stage the user is at.
Competitor activity.
Suitability for advertising (e.g., price point).
Associated costs and marketing budgets.
Your target audience.
Your organic rankings.
Keywords can be broken into key overarching themes:
Brand terms: Directly related to your own brand (e.g., JD Sports).
Competitor terms: Your direct competitors’ brand names (e.g., Footasylum).
Third-party brand terms: Connected to brands you sell (e.g., Nike).
Generic product category terms: Connected to your product or service offering (e.g., running shoes).
Generic product-specific terms: Specific product models/types (e.g., Nike Invincible 3).
Related top-of-funnel terms: Relevant to the user’s challenge (e.g., What are the best running shoes?).
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How to conduct keyword research for PPC
Step 1: Identify seed keywords
Your list of seed keywords is there as a starting point to prompt the keyword research tools in the right direction. Your seed keywords are usually broader, 1-3 words in length.
To determine your seed keywords, you must first identify:
The products and/or services you will be promoting: Will you be promoting your whole offering, or are there certain areas in which you wish to focus? This can depend on budget availability, competitiveness in different areas and price points/margins for different products/services.
The objectives/goals of the campaigns you will run: Are you focusing purely on the bottom of the funnel where users show high intent and are ready to convert? Or will you also target the top of the funnel where users are just starting their journey, and will your focus be on awareness and consideration?
Step 2: Use keyword research tools to expand your seed list
When it comes to keyword research, well-known and lesser-known tools can help you build your target keyword list. Here are some of the tools I frequently use:
Google Keyword Planner tool, a free tool built into Google Ads, offers suggestions of keywords based on up to 10 base keywords you input or a website URL. For the website URL, you can use both your own and that of your competitors if they have better website content.
AnswerThePublic offers up to three free searches per day, but you can also sign up for their premium subscription. The tool is great for finding top-of-funnel searches as it looks at questions, prepositions and comparisons such as who, what and how.
Semrush (disclosure: Semrush owns Search Engine Land) can be used for SEO analysis, competitor analysis and keyword research.
Google autocomplete can give you insight into which terms for a given topic are trending and popular. To activate this, just start typing a search into Google.
ChatGPT can help you expand on initial seed keywords. You can ask the tool to give you back a specific number of keywords or focus on specific types of terms.
Dig deeper: 19 keyword mining tools and strategies for PPC campaign growth
Step 3: Analyze keyword metrics
Another important element of keyword research is analyzing the metrics to determine the search volume, competition levels and PPC expectations.
Step 4: Review SEO keywords
Liaise with the SEO team to share existing keyword lists.
This can reduce task duplication and help you identify where website content may be optimized for certain terms, improving your quality score.
Review the existing keywords in use for SEO purposes to identify any gaps.