The Ultimate Guide to PPC Keyword Research in 2024

Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising is one of the most effective ways to drive targeted traffic to your website and generate leads and sales. But without the right keywords fueling your campaigns, you could blow through your budget with little to show for it.

That‘s where PPC keyword research comes in. By identifying the search terms your ideal customers are using to find products or services like yours, you can craft compelling ads, bid strategically, and make every click count.

So how do you uncover those high-intent, high-ROI keywords? In this guide, I‘ll walk you through the fundamentals of PPC keyword research, share advanced tips and tactics, and reveal some of my favorite tools for the job. Get ready to take your campaigns to the next level!

Mastering the Fundamentals of PPC Keywords

First, let‘s clarify exactly what we mean by a "keyword" in the context of PPC. Essentially, it‘s a word or phrase that a user types into a search engine when looking for information, products, or services. As an advertiser, you bid on these terms in platforms like Google Ads, and your ad has the chance to display in the results.

But not all keywords are created equal when it comes to PPC. It‘s important to understand the different types and attributes so you can be strategic with your targeting.

Keyword Search Intent

Before you can select the right keywords, you need to think from the perspective of the searcher. What is their ultimate goal?

We can classify search intent into four main categories:

• Informational: The user wants to learn about a topic or find the answer to a question (e.g. "what is inbound marketing")
• Navigational: The user wants to visit a specific website or webpage (e.g. "hubspot login")
• Commercial: The user is researching products or services with the intent to purchase, but not necessarily right away (e.g. "best crm software")
• Transactional: The user is ready to buy now (e.g. "buy hubspot sales hub")

For PPC campaigns, commercial and transactional keywords tend to perform best since the searcher is further along in the buying journey and more likely to convert after clicking your ad. However, bidding on your own brand terms (navigational) can also be valuable to dominate the search results and fend off competitors.

Keyword Length and Specificity

Another important attribute is the number of words that make up a keyword phrase. We can breakdown keywords into two categories here:

• Short-tail (or "head"): These are very broad keywords, usually just one or two words, with high search volume but also high competition. Examples include "shoes" or "marketing software".

• Long-tail: These are more specific, lower-volume keywords that usually contain at least 3-5 words. Long-tail keywords are often less competitive (and therefore less expensive) and tend to convert better because of their specificity. Examples are "mens leather dress shoes" or "marketing automation software for small business".

When selecting keywords, you‘ll generally want to aim for a mix of short-tail and long-tail. Short-tail terms have the potential to drive a lot of traffic, but long-tail terms can generate highly qualified leads at a lower cost-per-click.

Keyword Match Types

Once you‘ve identified relevant keywords, you‘ll need to decide how precisely you want to target them using keyword match types. In Google Ads, you have four options:

• Broad match: Your ad may show when a search includes any words in your key phrase, in any order, and may include related terms. This is the default and reaches the widest audience.

• Phrase match: Your ad may show when a search includes your exact keyword phrase or close variations of the phrase with additional words before or after. The phrase needs to appear in the exact same order.

• Exact match: Your ad may show only when someone searches for your exact keyword or close variations (such as plurals or typos) with no other words before or after.

• Negative match: Prevents your ad from showing for searches that include the terms you specify. Useful for filtering out irrelevant traffic and controlling spend.

As a general rule, it‘s best to start broad with your match types and then get more specific as you gather data and notice certain keywords or terms that aren‘t performing well. Add poor matches as negative keywords so you stop wasting money on bad clicks.

How to Conduct PPC Keyword Research Step-by-Step

Now that you understand the basics, let‘s walk through the actual process of researching keywords for your PPC campaigns. I‘ll be focusing on Google Ads, but most of these principles also apply to other platforms like Microsoft Advertising (Bing Ads).

Step 1: Set up your Google Ads account

If you don‘t already have one, head over to ads.google.com and click "Start Now" to create your Google Ads account. You‘ll need to enter some basic information about your business, including your website URL and time zone.

Step 2: Navigate to Keyword Planner

Once your account is set up, click the tools icon in the top navigation bar and select "Keyword Planner" under the Planning column.

Important: Make sure you have Expert Mode turned on (not the default Smart Mode) to access Keyword Planner and other advanced features. You can toggle modes from the Settings menu in the top right corner.

Step 3: Use Keyword Planner to discover new keywords

From the Keyword Planner home screen, click "Discover new keywords". Enter a few relevant phrases, your website URL, or even a competitor‘s URL to generate keyword ideas.

For example, let‘s say we sell project management software. We might enter terms like "project management tool", "task management software", "project planning", etc.

Step 4: Refine your keyword list

After clicking "Get Results", Keyword Planner will return a list of keyword ideas along with search volume and competition data. To narrow down the list:

• Look at the Refine Keywords panel on the left side. Here you can filter out overly general keywords (e.g. "management") or irrelevant terms (e.g. "free") using the checkboxes.

• Enter words or phrases in the "Filter keyword text" field to remove keywords containing those terms.

• Sort the list by clicking the column headers. Pay attention to the Avg. Monthly Searches and Competition columns to prioritize high-volume, low-competition keywords.

• Check the Top of Page Bid (high range) column to get a sense of which keywords will likely be the most expensive.

Step 5: Select and save your target keywords

Check the boxes next to the keywords you want to target. I recommend choosing 10-20 keywords to start, focusing on those with higher commercial or transactional intent.

Once selected, click "Add to", enter an Ad Group name (keep it descriptive), and click "Save". Repeat this process to build out additional Ad Groups within the same campaign or for separate campaigns.

Step 6: Review forecasts and continue to optimize

Under the Keywords view, you can toggle over to the Forecast tab to get search volume and cost estimates for your selected keywords. Keep in mind these are only directional, but can help you set expectations and budgets.

This is just the beginning of your PPC keyword research process! Make sure to continually monitor your search term reports (under the Keywords tab) to uncover new keyword opportunities and single out irrelevant terms that are wasting spend. Stay proactive and willing to experiment.

Beyond Google: Other Keyword Research Tools to Consider

Google‘s Keyword Planner is an essential starting point, but there are several other powerful tools that provide additional data and features for supercharging your PPC keyword research. Here are a few of my favorites:

SEMrush

SEMrush has an extensive suite of PPC tools that allow you to research keywords, snoop on competitors‘ best keywords, and manage your keyword list more efficiently. Features like Keyword Magic Tool, PPC Keyword Tool, and Keyword Manager make it a must-have for any serious PPC marketer.

SpyFu

As the name implies, SpyFu specializes in competitive intelligence for PPC and SEO. You can type in a competitor‘s domain to see which keywords they‘re bidding on, how much they‘re spending, and how their ad copy has evolved over time. A great way to "spy" on the competition and reveal lucrative keyword opportunities.

Ahrefs

While primarily known as an SEO tool, Ahrefs offers robust PPC keyword data as well. The Keywords Explorer alone has a database of over 7 billion keywords across 10 search engines. You can easily see search volume, clicks, CPC, and PPC competition for any keyword. Ahrefs also provides helpful keyword metrics like Clicks Per Search and Return Rate to gauge the value of keywords.

Keywords Everywhere

This handy browser extension shows you search volume, CPC, and competition data right on the search results page as you browse Google and other sites. Just search for your product or service as a user would and see keyword insights at a glance. At just $10 for 100,000 credits, it‘s one of the most affordable PPC keyword research tools out there.

Go Forth and Conquer With Data-Driven PPC Keywords

Keyword research is one of the highest value activities you can invest time in as a PPC marketer. By understanding what your ideal customers search for at each stage of the buying journey and how to smartly target those terms, your campaigns will become exponentially more effective and profitable.

But PPC keyword research is not a "set it and forget it" activity. It requires ongoing analysis, experimentation, and optimization to keep uncovering the best keywords as trends and your business evolve over time.

So what are you waiting for? Fire up Google Ads, dig into the Keyword Planner, and start building your ultimate list of PPC keywords to dominate the competition in 2024 and beyond. The ROI will be worth it!