Optimizing Google Ads keywords

Keyword optimization is one of the highest-impact activities for improving Google Ads performance. ConvertMate helps you discover new keyword opportunities, improve quality scores, and eliminate wasted spend on irrelevant searches.

Before you start

You need:

• A connected Google Ads account with at least one active campaign
• Some performance history (ideally 2-4 weeks of data)
• Starter plan or higher to access keyword analysis

Connect your Google Ads account in Settings → Connections.

Why keywords matter

Keywords control:

• Who sees your ads - Only people searching for your keywords see your ads
• How much you pay - Better keywords = higher quality scores = lower costs
• Conversion rates - Relevant keywords attract buyers, not browsers
• Budget efficiency - Remove bad keywords to reallocate spend to winners

Small improvements in keyword targeting can significantly impact profitability.

Analyzing keyword performance

To review your keywords:

1. Go to Insights → Google Ads
2. Select Keyword performance
3. Choose your date range
4. Optionally filter by campaign
5. Click Analyze

This costs 15 credits and typically takes 15-20 seconds.

Understanding keyword metrics

Each keyword shows:

Keyword text - The actual keyword you're bidding on. Match type - How closely the search must match your keyword:

• Exact match - Search must exactly match your keyword or close variant
• Phrase match - Search must contain your keyword phrase in order
• Broad match - Search can be related to your keyword in any way

Quality score - Google's 1-10 rating of your keyword quality. Scores above 7 are good, above 8 are excellent. Low scores mean higher costs and worse ad positions. Quality score components:

• Expected CTR - Whether your ad is likely to get clicked
• Ad relevance - How well your ad matches the keyword
• Landing page experience - Quality and relevance of your landing page

Bid amount - What you're willing to pay per click. Higher bids win more auctions but cost more. Average CPC - What you actually pay per click. Often lower than your bid due to auction dynamics. Impressions - Times your ad was shown for this keyword. Clicks - Times people clicked your ad after searching this keyword. CTR - Click-through rate. Higher rates indicate relevant, compelling ads. Conversions - Sales, leads, or actions from this keyword. Conversion rate - Percentage of clicks that converted. High rates indicate strong intent. Cost per conversion - What you paid to acquire each conversion. Must be less than customer value to be profitable. Conversion value - Revenue generated by this keyword. ROAS - Return on ad spend. Higher is better.

Finding winning keywords

Look for keywords with:

High conversion rates - People searching these terms are ready to buy. Even if volume is low, these keywords are valuable. Consider increasing bids to capture more traffic. Low cost per conversion - Getting customers cheaply. Scale these up by raising bids or expanding to related keywords. High impression share - You're already capturing most available searches. These represent tested, proven keywords worth expanding. Improving trends - Keywords where performance is getting better over time indicate opportunities.

Expand successful keywords by:

• Creating close variations (singular/plural, different word order)
• Adding long-tail versions (more specific, often lower competition)
• Building dedicated ad groups around top performers
• Increasing bids to capture more traffic

Identifying problem keywords

Watch for:

Low quality scores (below 5) - You're paying more per click and showing in worse positions. Fix expected CTR by writing better ads, improve ad relevance by tightening keyword-to-ad matching, or enhance landing pages for better experience. High cost per conversion - Spending too much to acquire customers. Lower bids, improve landing pages, or pause if unprofitable. Zero conversions with significant spend - Keywords attracting clicks but no sales. Often informational searches or wrong audience. Pause or add negative keywords. Low CTR (below 2%) - Ads aren't compelling or targeting is too broad. Rewrite ads or switch to more specific match types. Declining performance - Keywords that used to work but don't anymore. Increased competition, changing search behavior, or creative fatigue. Refresh ads or adjust bids.

Options for problem keywords:

• Lower bids to reduce cost
• Improve quality score through better ads and landing pages
• Change match type (broad to phrase or phrase to exact)
• Pause temporarily while fixing quality issues
• Delete permanently if unfixable

Search terms analysis

Search terms show the actual queries that triggered your ads. This reveals:

New keyword opportunities - High-performing search terms you're not explicitly bidding on. Add these as new keywords with appropriate match types. Irrelevant searches - Queries that shouldn't trigger your ads. Add these as negative keywords to prevent wasted spend. Match type effectiveness - See how broad, phrase, and exact match are performing. Broad match might bring in irrelevant traffic or discover valuable new searches.

To analyze search terms:

1. Go to Insights → Google Ads
2. Select Search terms report
3. Set your date range
4. Filter by campaign if needed
5. Click Analyze

This costs 15 credits.

Review search terms weekly to:

• Add high-performing terms as new keywords
• Add irrelevant terms as negative keywords
• Identify themes for new ad groups

Adding negative keywords

Negative keywords prevent your ads from showing for specific searches. This:

• Reduces wasted spend on irrelevant clicks
• Improves CTR (better quality scores, lower costs)
• Increases conversion rates
• Makes budget go further

Common negative keywords:

• "free" - People looking for free products won't buy
• "job" or "jobs" - Looking for employment, not your product
• "how to" - Informational intent, not buying intent
• Competitor names - Unless you're specifically targeting competitor traffic
• "cheap" or "cheapest" - Price shoppers with low conversion rates
• "review" or "reviews" - Still in research phase

Add negatives at campaign level to block across all ad groups, or at ad group level for more precision.

Build a negative keyword list of common exclusions to apply across all campaigns.

Improving quality scores

Quality score directly affects:

• Cost per click - Higher scores = lower costs
• Ad position - Better scores = higher placement at same bid
• Impression share - More chances to show your ads

To improve quality score:

For expected CTR (below average):

• Write more compelling ad copy with clear benefits
• Use emotional triggers or urgency when appropriate
• Include numbers, prices, or specific offers
• Test different headlines and descriptions
• Add ad extensions (sitelinks, callouts, structured snippets)

For ad relevance (below average):

• Tighten keyword groupings (fewer keywords per ad group)
• Include keywords in ad headlines and descriptions
• Match ad messaging to keyword intent
• Create separate ad groups for different keyword themes
• Ensure ads directly address the search query

For landing page experience (below average):

• Improve page load speed (aim for under 3 seconds)
• Make pages mobile-friendly
• Ensure content matches ad promise
• Make the conversion action clear and easy
• Add trust signals (reviews, security badges, guarantees)
• Reduce distractions and keep focus on conversion goal

Focus on keywords with below-average scores first for maximum impact.

Match type strategy

Each match type serves different purposes:

Exact match [keyword]:

• Highest control and relevance
• Best conversion rates typically
• Lower volume but higher quality
• Ideal for proven, high-intent keywords
• Start here for new campaigns

Phrase match "keyword":

• Balance between control and reach
• Captures variations and modifiers
• Good for expansion after exact match proves profitable
• Monitor search terms to find irrelevant matches

Broad match keyword:

• Maximum reach and discovery
• Finds unexpected relevant searches
• Requires active negative keyword management
• Works best with conversion tracking to train Google's algorithms
• Higher risk of irrelevant traffic

Recommended approach:

1. Start with exact match for core, proven keywords
2. Add phrase match for successful keywords to expand reach
3. Test broad match for discovery with close monitoring
4. Use search terms report to identify what's working
5. Add winners as exact/phrase, negatives for losers

Keyword research and expansion

Beyond existing keywords, discover new opportunities:

Search terms report - Your best source for proven keywords. People already clicked your ads for these terms, so you know there's interest. Competitor research - Analyze what keywords competitors might be bidding on. Look at their ad copy for clues about their strategy. Related searches - Google's "related searches" at the bottom of search results pages shows what else people search for. Customer language - How do your customers describe their problems? Use their words, not your industry jargon. Long-tail keywords - More specific, often lower competition. "running shoes" vs. "women's trail running shoes size 8" - latter has better intent. Product/service variations - Different names for what you sell. "lawyer" vs. "attorney", "couch" vs. "sofa". Problem-focused keywords - What problems does your product solve? People search for solutions, not products.

Build keyword lists methodically:

1. Start with 10-20 core keywords (proven performers)
2. Expand each core keyword with variations and modifiers
3. Group related keywords into themed ad groups
4. Test new groups with small budgets
5. Scale winners, pause losers

Keyword organization

Structure keywords into campaigns and ad groups:

Single keyword ad groups (SKAGs) - One keyword per ad group with highly specific ads. Maximum relevance and quality score but time-consuming to manage. Themed ad groups - 5-15 related keywords per ad group. More efficient while maintaining good relevance. By match type - Separate ad groups for exact, phrase, and broad match. Makes performance tracking and bid management easier. By intent stage - Research keywords (low bids) vs. buying keywords (high bids) in different ad groups.

Choose structure based on campaign size and management time available. Themed ad groups work well for most businesses.

Bid optimization

How much to bid on each keyword:

Start conservatively - Begin with bids that achieve top-of-page placement but not position 1. Often the sweet spot for cost-efficiency. Adjust based on performance:

• High conversion rate + profitable ROAS = increase bid to capture more volume
• Low conversion rate = decrease bid or pause
• Good conversion rate but high CPC = improve quality score rather than raising bids

Consider position:

• Position 1 gets most clicks but may not be most profitable
• Positions 2-4 often provide better ROI
• Bottom of page is cheap but gets few clicks

Use bid adjustments:

• Increase bids for high-converting devices, locations, and times
• Decrease bids for underperforming segments
• Test and measure impact of adjustments

Automated bidding considerations:

• Target CPA (cost per acquisition) - Set your desired cost per conversion
• Target ROAS - Set desired return on ad spend
• Maximize conversions - Spend budget to get most conversions
• Manual bidding gives more control but requires active management

Most businesses should start with manual bidding to understand keyword economics, then test automated strategies after gathering conversion data.

Monitoring and maintenance

Weekly tasks:

• Review search terms report
• Add 5-10 negative keywords
• Add 1-3 new keywords from search terms
• Pause keywords with zero conversions after 100+ clicks

Monthly tasks:

• Comprehensive keyword performance review
• Quality score audit and improvement plan
• Bid adjustments based on performance trends
• Keyword expansion based on successful themes

Quarterly tasks:

• Major campaign restructuring if needed
• Competitive keyword research
• Strategic planning for seasonal changes

Credit costs

Keyword analysis reports cost:

• Keyword performance: 15 credits
• Search terms report: 15 credits
• Quality score details: 10 credits

Most businesses need weekly search terms reviews and monthly keyword performance analysis.

Common questions

How many keywords should I have?

Depends on budget and management capacity:

• Small budget ($500-2000/month): 20-50 keywords
• Medium budget ($2000-10000/month): 50-200 keywords
• Large budget ($10000+/month): 200+ keywords

Quality beats quantity. Better to manage 30 keywords well than 300 poorly.

What's a good quality score?

7-10 is good, 8-10 is excellent. Below 7 indicates opportunities for improvement. Industry averages are around 5-7, so scores of 8+ give you a competitive advantage.

How long before I see results from optimization?

Quality score improvements can take 1-2 weeks to reflect in your account. Performance improvements from bid changes and new negatives show within days. Give changes at least one week before judging success.

Should I delete low-performing keywords or pause them?

Pause first. You can always unpause if conditions change or you want to retry with different approaches. Delete only if you're certain the keyword will never be relevant.

What if I don't have enough data?

With limited data:

• Start with exact match on proven keywords
• Set conservative bids
• Be patient - wait for 30+ clicks before making decisions
• Focus on a few core keywords rather than spreading budget thin

More questions? Use the chat widget in the bottom-right corner or email support@convertmate.io.