Keywords and search terms are not the same thing
A keyword is what you add to a campaign. A search term is what a person really types into Google. Your keyword makes an ad eligible for a range of search terms, and the two rarely match word for word. You choose keywords, but you pay for search terms. Anyone who reviews the keyword list and never the search terms has no idea where the budget actually goes.
Paid keywords also behave differently from organic ones. In SEO you publish content that earns visibility over months; in Google Ads you buy visibility per click on searches you define, and you can change that definition tomorrow. Our comparison of SEO and PPC looks at how the two work together.
Start with intent, not search volume
Volume is a tempting place to begin, but it says little about what the searcher wants. Popular, generic searches often bring expensive clicks from people a long way from buying. Sort candidate keywords by intent instead. A private dental practice makes a useful example.
- Transactional. The person wants to buy or book: "emergency dentist open today", "dental implants consultation", "invisalign cost near me". Nearly every campaign starts here.
- Comparative. The person is weighing options: "composite vs porcelain veneers", "implant or bridge". Worth bidding on if the landing page genuinely helps the comparison.
- Informational. "Why do my gums bleed". Usually costly relative to what it returns in paid search, and often better served by useful content on your site.
- Navigational. Searches for your practice name. Usually cheap, and worth covering if competitors bid on it.
Regulated sectors add another filter. A dental practice, for instance, should keep ad claims consistent with GDC guidance and the CAP Code, which affects the keywords you can sensibly serve. A good list starts small and commercial, then grows from what the data shows.
Using Google Keyword Planner
Keyword Planner sits inside your Google Ads account under the tools menu, so you need an account first; our guide to Google Ads campaign setup covers that. It does two jobs:
- Discover keywords. Enter a few words or a web address and receive related ideas.
- Get volumes and forecasts. Paste a list to see estimated monthly searches, competition and a range of what advertisers bid for top-of-page placement.
Treat the figures as direction, not fact. Volumes are averages; bid ranges are estimates, and your real cost appears only once a campaign runs. Google notes that its forecasts are refreshed daily, and that very low-volume or sensitive keywords may not be forecastable at all. The ideas themselves are based on relatedness, not on whether a search fits your offer, so filter them hard. Add other sources: questions customers ask on the phone, wording in enquiry forms, your Search Console queries and, most reliable of all, search terms from live campaigns.
Match types: broad, phrase and exact
The match type tells Google how loosely it may interpret a keyword. According to Google's article on keyword matching options, all three work on meaning rather than literal wording, and broader types capture everything narrower types would, plus more. Broad match is the default if you do not specify another type.
| Match type | How you enter it | Searches it can match | Control |
|---|---|---|---|
| Broad match | emergency dentist | Searches related to the keyword, which may not contain its words; Google also uses other signals | Low; needs strong conversion data and active exclusions |
| Phrase match | "emergency dentist" | Searches that include the meaning of the keyword, often with extra words | Medium |
| Exact match | [emergency dentist] | Searches with the same meaning or intent as the keyword | High; less reach |
Broad match with Smart Bidding: when it works
Google states that it is critical to pair broad match with Smart Bidding, because each search carries different signals at auction time. The idea is sound: a broad keyword gives the system room to find converting searches you would not have listed. It works under four conditions.
- Conversion tracking is reliable and measures real value, not trivial micro-steps.
- The campaign gathers enough conversions to learn from.
- The bid strategy optimises for conversions or conversion value, not manual bids.
- Someone reviews search terms and excludes what does not fit.
If one condition is missing, as in a new account or a small niche, broad match tends to buy a lot of irrelevant traffic. Start with phrase and exact, collect data, then test broad in a controlled part of the account. Our guide to Google Ads bidding strategies explains the link between bidding and match types.
Negative keywords: what you exclude matters as much
Negative keywords stop ads appearing on searches that do not fit. For many accounts they are the fastest way to cut waste.
Where to add them
- Ad group level to route traffic to the right group when themes overlap.
- Campaign level for terms that never fit that campaign.
- Shared lists applied to several campaigns, for standing exclusions such as "jobs", "salary", "free" or "course".
- Account level for terms you never want, including in campaign types with less control.
How they behave
Negatives do not match close variants. Google's documentation says you need to add synonyms and singular or plural forms yourself, while casing and misspellings are handled automatically. Negatives have their own match types too: a broad negative blocks searches containing all its words in any order, a phrase negative blocks that exact word sequence, and an exact negative blocks only that precise search. Do not overdo it. Excluding "cheap" makes sense for a premium practice; excluding "cost" turns away people who are seriously comparing.
The search terms report: where the real work happens
The search terms report lists the searches that triggered your ads, with cost and conversions for each. In the first weeks of a campaign, check it often; after that, on a fixed day each week or fortnight depending on volume. For each term, ask three questions:
- Does it fit what we sell? If not, exclude it.
- Does it produce results? A term that converts repeatedly can become its own keyword, perhaps with a dedicated ad and page.
- Does it cost too much for what it returns? Look at bid, ad and landing page before excluding it.
Not every term is visible. Google omits low-volume searches for privacy reasons and groups some into themes, but the visible share is normally ample for sound decisions.
Keyword themes in Smart campaigns
If you use a Smart campaign, you do not add keywords in the usual way. You choose keyword themes, short phrases that each stand for a group of similar searches; Google's own example is a theme such as "bakery" covering searches like "local bakery" or "cake shop". Themes are convenient, but control is coarser, so the same discipline applies: keep themes close to what you actually sell and review which searches they trigger. Accounts that outgrow Smart campaigns usually move to standard Search campaigns for finer control.
Organising keywords, and the mistakes to avoid
Keywords belong in ad groups with one clear theme, ads written for that theme and a landing page that answers the question behind the search. The closer that fit, the more relevant your ad, which feeds into Quality Score and so into Ad Rank and cost per click; see our guide to Google Ads Quality Score. Group by meaning rather than spelling, use negatives to stop groups competing for the same searches, and send each group to a page about that subject rather than the home page. A dedicated page from our landing page design work raises both relevance and the chance of an enquiry.
Common mistakes
- Launching with hundreds of keywords, so no single one gathers enough data.
- Broad match without reliable measurement.
- Never opening the search terms report.
- Choosing on volume rather than intent.
- Using trade jargon instead of customers' own words.
- Ignoring your brand name while competitors bid on it.
If you suspect your account suffers from these, a Google Ads audit shows where the budget goes.