How to Choose Keywords for Google Ads in 2026?

Running Google Ads without using the right keywords is a sure-shot way to waste your advertising budget and limit business growth. Keywords determine when your ads appear and who sees them. That is why keyword selection plays an important role in setting up and launching successful Google Ad campaigns. You should approach this step carefully. 

This blog will help you understand how to choose keywords for Google Ads with some clear, practical, and actionable strategies. We will discuss how, during keyword research and selection, you should think like your customer, focus on intent, and even use tools such as the Keyword Planner to find relevant and cost-effective keywords.

Moreover, we will also discuss how to choose keywords from your competitors’ ads and common mistakes to avoid when selecting keywords.

These insights will help you refine your targeting and minimize wasted spend. So, shall we begin? 

Also Read: Google Ads Glossary

What Makes a Google Ads Keyword Good? 

It is important to note that not all keywords support strong advertising results or business growth. Some will attract traffic and help you complete conversions, while others will fail.

Therefore, it is important to understand the characteristics of “good” keywords, which include: 

1. High Relevance: The keyword will closely match the product or service that you are offering and what your target customers are actively searching for. Highly relevant keywords ensure that your ad aligns with the user’s intent, which further improves Quality Score and conversion potential. 

Example: A bakery might find “sugar-free chocolate cake” more relevant (with better chances of converting) than a generic term like “dessert.” This is primarily because the former matches what they are offering to customers. 

2. Sufficient Search Volume: Good keywords will have enough users searching for them, indicating the potential to drive traffic.
3. Clear User Intent: Users always search with a goal in mind. Great keywords clearly and accurately reflect this intent. 
4. Cost-Effective: Such keywords fit within your target cost per click (CPC) range. They are effective in generating conversions without exhausting your advertising budget. 
5. Strong Alignment With Ads and Landing Pages: Good keywords align closely with ad copies and landing page content (for applicable campaigns, eg, Search). This consistency improves the post-click experience and supports higher Quality Scores, which can help reduce cost-per-click. 
6. Conversion Potential: Lastly, valuable and good keywords will also help you attract only those users who are ready to take action. They will enable you to focus on traffic quality rather than sheer volume. 

How to Find Keywords For Google Ads? 

With a clear understanding of what makes a keyword valuable for Google Ads, let’s now understand how to find keywords for Google Ads, i.e., which channels can specifically help you with that. 

1. Google Keyword Planner

Keyword Planner helps you research high-potential keywords primarily for your Search campaigns. 

To use it, simply enter a seed keyword, a specific URL, or your entire site, and the tool will generate keyword ideas along with search volume, competition, and bid estimates. 

2. Third-Party Tools (Ahrefs, Semrush)

Ahrefs and Semrush are third-party tools that can help you find profitable keywords for your Google Ad campaigns. 

Both tools help you with PPC keyword research, get a paid search overview of any website, and also identify which keywords your competitors are bidding on.

3. Google Autosuggest and Related Searches

Type your seed keyword into Google Search and check what autocomplete suggestions appear. These are popular searches related to your query that you can use for your ads. 

Similarly, you can also scroll down on any Google search result page and check the “People also ask” and “Related searches” sections to identify terms people frequently search that are related to your keyword.

Both are great sources of real user query data. 

4. Search Terms Report 

If you are already running ads, you can use your search terms report to identify which terms are triggering your ads and how they are performing. This report can reveal some new, innovative, and high-value keyword opportunities that users prefer to use, and you may have missed identifying earlier. 

Bonus: Just like the Search Terms report, even your Search Console report can help you identify new keywords for your ads.

5. Google Ads Transparency Center

The Google Ads Transparency Center is a hub for ads run by verified advertisers. While you will not get a direct list of keywords for any ad on the platform, you can analyze ad copies and infer what keywords your competitors might be targeting. 

6. Social Media Platforms 

Platforms like Instagram, X, etc., can always help you identify trending keywords that you can use in your ad to reach more users. 

7. Google Trends 

It is useful for finding seasonal and trending keywords. 

8. Forums and Communities 

Even forums and communities such as Reddit, Shopify Community, and Google Ads support communities can be useful for discovering real user language and search behavior. They can reveal how users describe problems and ask questions. 

While they may not provide you with “exact” keywords, they would definitely share some ideas that you can search further to shortlist keywords for your Google Ads. 

9. AI ChatBots and LLMs

Even LLMs and chatbots like ChatGPT, Perplexity, etc., can give you some keyword ideas that you can validate through keyword research via specialized tools. 

Bonus: You can also use our top e-commerce keywords guide, which includes more than 1,000 keywords for different product categories.

Top 13 Strategies For Choosing Keywords For Google Ads 

In the previous section, we covered the different channels and tools that can help us find keywords for Google Ads. Now we will learn how to choose keywords for Google Ads from those sources to create effective campaigns. 

1. Align Keywords With Ad Campaign Objective

You need to ensure that the keywords that you select for your Google Ads align with your campaign objective. This means if you have an awareness-focused campaign, you can go ahead with broad, informational keywords. They will help introduce your brand to new users.

Whereas, if your campaign’s objective is sales, then you select high-intent, action-driven keywords. They will help your ads reach those users who are closer to making a purchase decision.

2. Think Like Your Customers 

To choose the best keywords, you must put yourself in your customers’ shoes. You should consider who they are and what they want to find. Based on that, you should focus on the exact words or phrases they would search on Google to look for products or businesses similar to yours.  

For example, if you sell affordable, premium-looking cotton clothes, your customers may search for terms like: 

• “organic cotton clothes”
• “premium organic cotton clothes”
• “organic cotton clothing” 

Shortlist such relevant seed keywords, as using them will enable your ads to appear for targeted searches and attract the right audience. 

3. Expand Seed Keywords Into High-Intent Long-Tail Keywords

Once you have a list of seed keywords, you can take a step further and expand them to high-intent, long-tail keywords. These keywords will be more specific to signal buying intent. 

For instance, you can expand “organic cotton clothes” to “buy organic cotton clothes online.” That will help you attract users who are ready to take action and complete a purchase. 

4. Include Branded Keywords 

Do not overlook your own brand name, product names, or trademarks while building your Google Ads keyword list. This is because by using branded keywords, you can specifically target those users who already know your business, show strong intent, and also convert at a higher rate. 

💡By bidding on branded terms, you can also protect traffic from competitors.

5. Select Your Competitor’s Most Valuable Keywords 

Tools like Spyfu allow you to download your competitors’ most profitable keywords and ads. This data reveals the Google Ads keywords they actively invest in and rely on to drive strong campaign performance. These keywords often have a proven track record of success.

Shortlist the ones that align closely with your campaign goals, products, and business, and use them to create Google Ads that are likely to deliver strong results. 

6. Take Advantage of Keyword Match Types  

When choosing keywords for Google Ads, ensure that you select the right match type for each of them. Match types control how closely a search query should align with your keyword for your ad to appear. Moreover, it also influences your ad’s relevance and cost. 

Use ‘Exact match’ for high-value keywords when you want precision. These keywords will trigger ads only for those searches that are closely related, and also help control ad spend.

Use ‘Phrase match’ if you are comfortable with moderate reach but still want to keep the intent intact.

Go with ‘Broad match’ when wider visibility is your goal.  

7.  Include Keyword Variations, Synonyms, and Modifiers 

We also recommend you include different variations of the same term when you are building a keyword list for Google Ads. This is primarily because customers often search using different words for the same product or service. 

For example, some users will search for “sofa” while others might search for “couch”, where both words denote the same thing. Choosing both keywords will be a smart strategy that helps ensure you are not missing out on relevant traffic. 

In addition to synonyms or variations, also choose keywords with modifiers. Words like “best,” “affordable,” or “near me” often signal stronger intent. These modifiers help refine keywords and improve relevance.

8. Consider Seasonal and Trending Keywords 

When selecting keywords, do consider seasonality and search trends. Some keywords are only going to perform better during specific times of the year. Thus, choosing them at the right time will help ensure that you get the maximum value out of them for your campaigns. 

For example, people search for “christmas gifts” more in December, and “swimwear” in summer. Selecting these keywords when their demand and interest are high will help you get more traffic and better results. 

Additionally, when the season ends and people stop searching for those terms, it’s wise to drop or deprioritize them. That will help you ensure that your keyword list is aligned with current user interest and campaign performance. 

9. Block Irrelevant Terms 

Exclude keywords that are not relevant to your business by adding negative keywords. These prevent your ads from appearing on unwanted or misleading queries, saving your ad budget for high-intent clicks. 

For example, if you are into the business of selling luxury furniture, then you should add “cheap” or “free” as negative keywords. This is to ensure that your ads don’t trigger for a query like “cheap furniture,” which will end up attracting bargain hunters who aren’t going to convert. 

10. Choose Keywords With Supported Symbols Only 

Only select those keywords that have supported symbols. Google treats some symbols as part of the keyword, while others are not allowed. 

For example, keywords with accent marks or ampersands will be treated as different variations (such as sidewalk café and sidewalk café). 

Whereas, if you try to add keywords with backslashes, commas, or even grave accents, Google will display an error message, and they won’t be accepted. 

11. Select Keywords with Location 

You should choose those keywords that include a location, especially in those cases where you are advertising to users who aren’t in the same location as your product or brand. 

For example: “sneaker stores in ohio.”

12. Maintain the Right Level of Keyword Specificity

Keywords should clearly describe your offering without being too broad or too narrow. Overly general terms lack intent, while overly specific ones limit reach.

13. Consider Using Keywords That Reflect Customer Pain Points

Select keywords that reflect the problems your customers want to solve. Pain point-based keywords attract users actively looking for solutions. They often lead to higher engagement and better conversions.

Pro tip💡:  Group Similar Keywords  When preparing a list of keywords for your Google Ads, we recommend grouping similar keywords based on shared themes (such as products, services, etc.). That’s because later you can place them into a single ad group and maintain strong relevance.  If multiple keywords in an ad group match a particular search intent, then they don’t compete with each other in an auction. In such cases, Google selects the most relevant keywords to display your ad.

How to Conduct Keyword Research For Google Ads Using Tools?

In this section, we will discuss how to do keyword research for Google Ads using two types of tools: 

1. The Native Google Ads tool, i.e, Keyword Planner 
2. Third-party SEO and PPC research tool, Ahrefs, in our case. 

Google Keyword Planner 

1. Create a Keyword Plan 

• Access the Keyword Planner tool in your Ads account by going to “Tools” > “Planning” > “Keyword Planner.” 
• Select ‘Discover new keywords’ to start research. 

• Enter the seed keywords related to your products or services. 
• Here, you can also enter a specific page URL (from your site) or your website URL. 
• Click on ‘Get results,’ and that will generate keyword ideas. 
• Review suggested keywords for your input.
• Use the filters provided by Google to remove irrelevant or low-value keywords. 
• Select relevant keywords and add them to your saved keyword plan. 

2. Understand Your Keyword Forecast 

• Open the Forecasts tab within your keyword plan. 
• Review forecasts based on your selected keywords and spend.
• Check expected clicks, impressions, or conversions. 
• Then, change the forecast metric between clicks or conversions if available. 
• Make adjustments to your daily budget to see forecast changes. 
• Review performance over different date ranges. 
• Use forecasts to evaluate keyword potential before you create your campaigns. 

3. Organize Keywords Into Ad Groups 

• Within the Keyword Planner tool itself, click on the ‘Organize keywords into ad groups’ option. 
• Enter the keywords related to your products or services. Remember, you can also upload or paste a list. 
• Then click on the ‘Auto-organize’ keywords to generate ad group suggestions. 
• Review the suggested ad groups for relevance and accuracy. 
• Edit ad groups as needed before using them in campaigns.

Ahrefs 

1. Identify Relevant and Cost-Effective Keywords

• Open the Keywords Explorer feature in Ahrefs. 
• Enter seed keywords that are relevant to your products or business in general.
• Select your target country where you want to run Google Ads. 
• Open the Matching terms report to view related keywords. 
• Filter keywords by their commercial or transactional intent. 
• Here, you should also remove those keywords for which your site is already ranking at the top. 
• Moreover, you must use the CPC filter to exclude those keywords that exceed your advertising budget. 
• After this filtering and analysis, add the remaining keywords to a list for further evaluation. 

2. Add High-Potential Competitor Keywords 

• Open Site Explorer in Ahrefs. 
• Add any competitor’s domain. 
• Navigate to the Paid keywords report. 
• Apply a maximum CPC filter to ensure keywords fit within your budget. 
• Exclude competitor brand names from the list. 
• Review the keywords your competitors are actively bidding on. 
• Add the relevant ones to the list you prepared in the last step. 
• Repeat the same process for any other competitors you wish to include. 

3. Refine and Prioritize Keywords

• Review keywords based on buying intent and product relevance.
• Exclude keywords that do not align with your advertising goals. 
• Finalize the ones that strike a balance between intent and cost. 

4. Translate Keywords for Multiple Markets (Optional) 

• Use the translate option to localize keywords for different regions.
• Review variations and select relevant terms.

5. Prepare Keywords for Google Ads 

• Group keywords based on search intent and meaning.
• Format selected keywords for exact match targeting.
• Identify negative keywords that signal low intent.
• Export the final keyword list for creating your Google Ads campaign.

Bonus: Learn how to add keywords to Google Shopping ads.

How to Find and Analyze Competitors’ Google Ads Keywords? 

We will now go through the exact step-by-step process to check which keywords your competitors are using in their Google Ads using the SpyFu tool. 

Note: We are using SpyFu for demonstration purposes only to cover the process. You can also use other third-party tools.

1. Open the SpyFu tool or website. 
2. At the top, you will find a search bar to enter a domain, URL, or keyword. Within that, add your competitor’s domain. For example, ‘amazon.com.’

3. Click on ‘Search.’
4. You will get all the data related to Amazon’s organic and paid keywords. 
5. At the top, you will see six tabs in total. From those, hover over ‘PPC Research’ and select ‘PPC Keywords.’

6. This will generate a list of Google Ads keywords that Amazon is currently using. Moreover, you will also gain access to essential metrics for those keywords, such as their volume and CPC. 

Based on that list, you can shortlist keywords that might also be useful for your business. 

Note: SpyFu is a reliable tool, and many industry experts use it. However, you shouldn’t expect 100% accuracy.

Tools for Finding and Choosing Google Ads Keywords

We have already discussed some great native Google and third-party tools for Google Ads keyword research. 

Below, we will be listing down some more options that you can explore: 

1. keywordtool.io 
2. Wordstream’s free keyword tool
3. Surfer SEO 
4. lowfruits.io 
5. clicks.so 
6. Ubersuggest 
7. Keywords Everywhere 
8. AnswerThePublic
9. AlsoAsked
10. Keysearch 

Common Google Ads Keyword Research Mistakes to Avoid

Here are some common mistakes that you should avoid while finding and choosing keywords for your Google Ads campaigns: 

1. Chasing Volume Over Intent: Don’t choose any keyword only because it has a high volume. Such keywords are often broad and will also attract users with low intent, and waste your ad budget. Always prioritize relevance and buying intent before considering volume.
2. Ignoring Negative Keywords: If you don’t leverage negative keywords, then your ads will also appear for those searches that are irrelevant to your business. Thus, always exclude keywords that are of low quality or have low intent. 
3. Overlooking Long Tail Keywords: Focusing only on short keywords is a mistake, as it ignores valuable long-tail opportunities. Long-tail keywords typically have less competition and convert more effectively because they are quite specific. Thus, do include them during your research and campaign setup stages. 
4. Bidding on Competitor Terms Without Strategy: If you simply bid on a competitor’s brand name without a plan, then it can turn out to be expensive and will yield low results. Rather, when you target competitor keywords, do it selectively and create your ads in a way that highlights your specific USP. 

For example, “Looking for [Competitor]? See why we are rated as the #1 alternative.”

Moreover, monitor the performance of such ads closely. If you aren’t getting the desired results, reallocate your budget. 

How Often Should Keywords Be Reviewed and Updated? 

Keyword performance changes over time. Thus, regular reviews are essential. 

As a best practice, review your Google Ads keywords at least once a month. This will help you identify which terms are driving strong results and which ones are underperforming. 

Apart from that, you should also review keywords right after a seasonal or time-bound campaign ends. That will help you pause irrelevant terms (which were valuable only for a specific duration) and refocus your ad spend on better keywords. 

Most importantly, during each review, add new high-performing keywords and refine match types or bids. 

Essentially, treat your Google ad keyword list as a living asset that needs ongoing optimization to maintain relevance and performance.

Conclusion and Key Takeaways

Choosing the right keywords for Google Ads is the foundation of effective targeting and consistent campaign performance. When done correctly, it helps your ads reach users who are more likely to convert.

The key takeaways from this blog include:

• Profitable, good Google Ads keywords focus on relevance, intent, and conversion potential, not just search volume. They closely match what users want and what your business offers.
• You can find such keywords using different tools or channels, such as Google Keyword Planner, third-party tools, Google Ads Transparency Center, search reports, forums, etc.
• Some valuable strategies for choosing Google Ads keywords include:

1. Align keywords with your campaign objective. 
2. Choose keywords based on customer intent and search behavior.
3. Expand seed keywords into high-intent long tail keywords.
4. Use branded and proven competitor keywords selectively.
5. Apply the right match types and negative keywords for control.

• Keyword selection is not a one-time task. Regular reviews and updates help remove poor performers, add new opportunities, and keep campaigns efficient.

Good luck! 

Also read: 17 Google Ads Keyword Status Explained! Google Ads Campaign Status Explained What are URL Parameters in Google Ads? Google Ads Call Tracking: Step-by-Step Setup Guide 2026 What is Google Ads Conversion Tracking and How to Set it Up?

FAQs

1. How to target keywords in Google Ads?

To target keywords in Google Ads, first, research relevant terms using the Keyword Planner. Then, organize them into themed ad groups and finally add them to your campaign, applying keyword match types (Broad, Phrase, Exact) to control search query relevance. Use negative keywords to filter out unwanted traffic for improved performance. 

2. How to decide which keyword to use?

Choose keywords based on relevance, intent, and campaign goals. Start by checking whether the keyword matches what you sell and what users want to find. Then prioritize keywords that clearly show buying or action-driven intent. 

Finally, review cost and competition to ensure the keyword fits your budget and campaign objectives.

3. What are Google Ads keyword examples?

Google Ads keyword examples include “buy wireless earbuds online,” “affordable office chair,” “email marketing software pricing, “best office chair,” or “email marketing tools.”

4. How to choose keywords for Google Ads for free?

You can choose Google Ads keywords for free using Google Keyword Planner, Google Autosuggest suggestions, and ‘Related searches’ on a search results page. Apart from that, you can also use free keyword research tools to discover keyword ideas, analyze search interest, and shortlist relevant keywords without any cost.