Keyword research
Build Search coverage around intent, not just volume.
Good keyword work starts with the reader's problem, the landing page promise, and the terms that should be excluded before spend begins.
Research method
Map each keyword group to a clear page and decision stage.
Operators start with seed phrases from the guide topic, page headings, search intent notes, and competitor language. Each group is labeled by intent so ad copy and landing page expectations stay aligned.
Negative keyword candidates are captured before launch. This keeps informational, employment, support, free, unrelated brand, and low-value phrases from consuming early budget.
Intent classification
How to separate research queries from buying intent.
Not every keyword that matches a product belongs in a Search campaign. Operators classify each phrase by likely next action: buying intent (includes brand name, model number, or "buy/order/price" modifiers — the searcher is ready to purchase), comparison intent (includes "vs", "best", "review" — the searcher is evaluating options), and research intent (includes "how to", "what is", "tutorial" — the searcher wants information, not a product page).
Only buying-intent phrases go into the campaign keyword list. Comparison and research phrases are added as negative keywords to prevent budget from reaching users who are unlikely to convert on a product landing page. This classification is documented per keyword group so future search term reviews can reference the original intent decision.
Negative keywords
Writing negative keyword lists before launch.
Pre-launch negative keyword lists cover five categories: informational queries (how, what, tutorial, guide), job and career terms (jobs, hiring, salary, career), competitor brands that share generic terms with the target product, free and coupon seekers (free, coupon, discount code), and unrelated verticals that share a word with the product but target a different audience entirely.
Each negative keyword entry includes the reason for exclusion. When a search term review surfaces a new irrelevant query three months later, the operator can check whether similar terms were already considered and why. This prevents re-adding previously excluded terms and keeps the negative list consistent across operators.
Keyword expansion
When to expand a keyword set after the first week.
Expansion should wait until three conditions are met: search term quality is stable (fewer than 20% of impressions go to irrelevant queries), CPC is within the approved ceiling (no auction pressure pushing bids past the profitability threshold), and landing page engagement is acceptable (bounce rate, time on page, and conversion signals match expectations from the brief).
New keywords come from the search term report — terms that triggered the ad, matched the landing page, and led to engagement. Operators add them as exact match first, monitor for one week, then consider phrase match if volume is too low. Each expansion is logged with the source search term and the performance data that justified the addition.