Google Ads
Google Ads Keyword Strategy
By Adedon · Updated 2026-08-14
How should you build a Google Ads keyword strategy?
A Google Ads keyword strategy starts from the intents you can fulfill, grouped into themes that can share an ad and a landing page. You cover those intents with a sensible mix of match types, harvest real queries from search terms, and use negatives to drop the rest. Volume of keywords is not the strategy. Alignment between query, ad, and page is.
Map intents, not a thesaurus
List the jobs: emergency, comparison, near me, pricing, competitor, brand. Each job may need its own ad group or campaign. Stuffing every synonym into one ad group makes RSAs generic and Quality Score harder.
Let search terms upgrade the list
Launch with a focused set. Every week, promote converting queries to keywords if they fit a theme, and negative the rest. The account should get more precise with time, not more cluttered.
Brand is a separate conversation
Brand keywords protect your name and often convert cheaply. They are not proof that non-brand works. Strategy should say whether you will defend brand and how you will measure non-brand on its own.
Negatives are strategy
Jobs, DIY, wholesale, cities you do not serve, and competitor exclusions (when you choose not to bid) belong on shared lists. A keyword strategy without negatives is a wish list.
Feeds and PMax change the keyword job
Shopping and Performance Max do not use keywords the same way. Your ‘keyword strategy’ for those is query insights, brand exclusions, and feed titles. Do not pretend PMax is a keyword planner.
Frequently asked questions
Should I buy every competitor name?+−
Only with a legal and brand-risk review, a landing page that compares fairly, and a bid you can justify. Competitor terms can be expensive and politically loud.
How often should keywords be added?+−
On a cadence with the search terms report — weekly at meaningful spend — not whenever someone has a brainstorm in Slack.
Are long-tail keywords dead?+−
Specific queries still convert. Match types and close variants mean you do not need to list every long tail by hand. You still need to negative the long tail you do not want.
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