When running Google Ads search campaigns, the most important “creative” is not the image or video — it’s the keyword.
Search ads appear based on what users search for, so your keywords directly affect traffic quality, CPC, and conversions.
Many beginners simply add keywords with high search volume, but this often leads to wasted budget: clicks increase, while conversions stay low.
A good keyword is not just searchable — it must also be highly relevant to your product.
A Good Keyword Must Meet Two Core Conditions
In Google Ads search campaigns, not every keyword is worth targeting.
Before a keyword enters your campaign keyword list, it should meet at least two basic conditions.
Enough Search Volume
First, a keyword must have search demand.
If the search volume is too low, your ads may struggle to get impressions, clicks, and conversions.
This is especially important for new accounts. Low-volume keywords can make it difficult for campaigns to spend budget and collect enough optimization data.
However, higher search volume does not always mean better performance.
Popular keywords often have stronger competition, higher CPC, and broader intent, which can lead to low-quality traffic and poor conversions.
That’s why search volume alone is not enough — we also need to consider the second condition.
Highly Relevant to the Product
A keyword must closely match your product, service, or user intent.
High-volume keywords with weak relevance often bring low-quality traffic. For example, if you promote an AI video generation tool, broad terms like “AI tool” or “video app” may get clicks, but the intent is unclear.
In short, good keywords should meet two conditions:
They need search volume, and they must be highly relevant to your product.
Three Main Types of Keywords: Brand Keywords, Competitor Keywords, and Function Keywords
When building a keyword list, keywords can usually be divided into three categories: brand keywords, competitor keywords, and function keywords.
This helps organize campaigns more clearly and match different user intents.
Brand Keywords
Brand keywords include your own brand name, such as “A,” “A official,” “A pricing,” or “A review.”
These keywords usually have high conversion intent, but for new websites, search volume is often limited because brand awareness is still low.
Even so, brand keywords are still important. As users discover your brand through Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, SEO, or other channels, they may later search for your brand on Google. Running ads on your own brand keywords also helps prevent competitors from taking that traffic.
Competitor Keywords
Competitor keywords include competitors’ brand or product names.
Competitor keywords can help attract users by highlighting differences in pricing, features, or user experience. However, CPC is often higher, and ad copy should avoid misleading trademark usage.
Function Keywords
Function keywords are usually the core of Google Search campaigns. These keywords focus on user needs and product functions.
Users searching these terms usually have clear intent and are actively looking for a solution, which makes function keywords one of the strongest sources of new users.
For new websites, the early focus is typically on function keywords and competitor keywords:
- Function keywords help reach target users directly
- Competitor keywords help capture users already interested in similar products
Where to Find Keywords
Keyword research should not rely only on guesswork.
Many advertisers simply brainstorm keywords based on product features, but this is often incomplete.
In practice, keyword sources mainly come from:
- Third-party analysis tools
- Google’s own tools
Third-Party Tools: Research Competitor Keywords
Common tools include:
- Similarweb
- Semrush
- Ahrefs
These tools help analyze competitors’ traffic sources, organic keywords, paid keywords, and ad traffic share.
One important point: choose competitors with real traffic and active ad data. Otherwise, the insights may have limited value.
Don’t Only Analyze Paid Keywords
Many advertisers only study competitors’ paid keywords, but that is not enough.
First, third-party tools cannot capture every keyword accurately, so valuable keywords may be missing. Organic keywords are also worth analyzing.
Second, mature brands often spend heavily on brand keywords. If you only copy these terms, your keyword strategy can become too narrow.
Besides competitor terms, you should also include:
- Function keywords
- Scenario keywords
- Demand-based keywords
Competitor keywords are useful references, but they should not be your only keyword source.
Use Google Keyword Planner to Verify Keywords
After collecting keywords from competitor research, the next step is to verify and expand them using Google Keyword Planner.
Keyword Planner mainly helps with:
- Checking search volume, competition, and CPC
- Finding related keyword ideas
For example, after collecting AI video keywords from Similarweb, you can use Keyword Planner to analyze their performance in markets like the US, UK, or Canada.
You can also enter a competitor’s website to generate additional keyword suggestions.
This step matters because the same keyword may perform very differently across countries, languages, and markets. Keyword decisions should be based on real market data, not intuition alone.
How Should You Group Keywords?
My recommendation is:
First group by category, then further divide by search volume and relevance;
The second layer can be based on search volume;
The third layer can be based on relevance and user intent.
After grouping keywords this way, each ad group has a clearer theme, and the ad copy can be more precise.
The more precise the keyword group is, the easier it is to match ad copy with search intent, and the clearer the conversion path becomes.
Keywords Are Not About Quantity, but Accuracy
In Google Ads search campaigns, keyword selection determines what kind of users your ads will reach.
A good keyword is not only one with search volume. It must also be highly relevant to your product.
In practice, you can start with competitor research. Use tools like Similarweb and Semrush to check competitors’ organic and paid search keywords. Then use Google Keyword Planner to verify search volume, competition level, CPC range, and related keyword suggestions.
After collecting keywords, do not put all of them into one ad group.
You should group them based on brand keywords, competitor keywords, function keywords, scenario keywords, search volume, and relevance.
Clear keyword grouping makes your ad copy more precise, budget allocation more reasonable, and future analysis and optimization much easier.
Search advertising is not just about buying traffic. It is about buying user intent.
The more accurate your keywords are, the clearer the intent you capture.
The better your keyword grouping is, the more precise your ad messaging becomes.
The more systematic your keyword library is, the more room you have for future campaign optimization.
For account ownership, onboarding and funding questions, explore our Google Ads account opening and funding support.
Official Reference
For platform-specific details and current guidance, consult Google Ads keyword matching options.