google-ads-keyword-engine

name	google-ads-keyword-engine
description	Research, evaluate, mine, and manage keywords for Google Ads — from initial discovery through ongoing search term optimization and negative keyword management.

Process

For new keyword research:

1. Define the business, products/services, and target customer
2. Mine customer language from VOC sources
3. Build seed keyword list by intent category
4. Expand using tools and techniques
5. Evaluate and prioritize using the scoring framework
6. Assign match types and organize into ad groups
7. Build negative keyword lists

For search term analysis (existing campaigns):

1. Pull search term report (minimum 90 days, or 30 days for new campaigns)
2. Run n-gram analysis (1-gram, 2-gram, 3-gram)
3. Identify waste (high spend, zero conversions)
4. Identify winners (strong CPA/ROAS)
5. Take action: negate, promote, or investigate
6. Update negative keyword lists

Customer Language Mining

Start with real customer language, not internal jargon. These sources give you the words actual buyers use:

Source	What to Extract	How to Use
Sales call recordings	Exact phrases prospects use to describe problems	Map to high-intent keywords
Support tickets	Common questions, complaint language	Map to informational and comparison keywords
Product reviews (yours)	Feature language, benefit descriptions	Feed into RSA headlines and keyword themes
Competitor reviews	Complaints and unmet needs	Target competitor weakness terms
Reddit / Quora	Thread titles, question phrasing	Long-tail keyword discovery
Industry forums	Technical terminology, emerging trends	Niche keyword expansion
Autocomplete / "related searches"	Google's own language suggestions	Validate demand and discover variants

Keyword Evaluation Framework

Score every keyword candidate on four dimensions:

Dimension	Weight	How to Assess	Scoring
Intent	35%	Commercial > Comparison > Informational > Navigational	Commercial intent = 10, Informational = 3
Volume	25%	Monthly search volume from Keyword Planner	Relative to niche: top 20% = 10, bottom 20% = 2
Competition	20%	Keyword Planner competition level + top-of-page bid	Low competition + high intent = ideal
CPC	20%	Estimated cost vs target CPA margin	CPC < 20% of target CPA = 10, CPC > 50% of target CPA = 3

Priority Score = (Intent × 0.35) + (Volume × 0.25) + (Competition × 0.20) + (CPC × 0.20)

Intent classification guide:

Intent Type	Signal Words	Conversion Likelihood	Example
Commercial	buy, hire, pricing, cost, quote, near me, best, top	Highest	"hire plumber near me"
Comparison	vs, compare, review, alternative, which	High	"hubspot vs salesforce"
Informational	how to, what is, guide, tutorial, tips	Low (but useful for TOFU)	"how to fix leaky faucet"
Navigational	[brand name], login, website	Varies	"hubspot login"

Match Type Strategy (2025)

Scenario	Recommended Match Type	Why
Mature account (50+ conversions/month) + Smart Bidding	Broad match as default	Algorithm + Smart Bidding handles relevance. This is Google's 2025 recommendation
Brand terms	Exact match	Protect brand queries from broad expansion. Control messaging
High-intent, high-CPC terms	Exact match	Precise control on expensive clicks
Controlled expansion	Phrase match	Captures variations while maintaining intent direction
New account (<30 conversions/month)	Phrase + Exact	Not enough data for broad match + Smart Bidding to work
Testing new keyword themes	Phrase match first	Gather data before committing to broad

Critical requirement for broad match: Must be paired with Smart Bidding (tCPA or tROAS) and have 50+ conversions/month. Broad match with manual bidding or low conversion volume will waste budget on irrelevant queries.

ECPC is deprecated (March 2025). If someone asks about broad match + ECPC, redirect to Manual CPC or Maximize Conversions as the bidding pair.

N-Gram Analysis Process

N-gram analysis breaks search queries into word-level components to find patterns invisible at the query level.

What it is:

• 1-gram: single words ("shoes", "running", "waterproof")
• 2-gram: word pairs ("running shoes", "waterproof shoes")
• 3-gram: word triplets ("best running shoes", "waterproof trail shoes")

How to run it:

1. Export search term report (90 days minimum, queries with 3+ impressions)
2. Break every query into its n-grams
3. Aggregate metrics by n-gram: total impressions, clicks, spend, conversions, CPA, ROAS
4. Sort by spend descending to find biggest waste, or by CPA to find best performers

Action framework:

N-gram Pattern	Criteria	Action
High spend, 0 conversions	$50+ spend AND 0 conversions	Add as negative keyword
High spend, poor CPA	Spend > $100 AND CPA > 2x target	Investigate — may need negative or ad group restructure
Strong CPA/ROAS	CPA < target AND 3+ conversions	Promote to exact-match keyword in dedicated ad group
High impressions, low CTR	500+ impressions AND CTR < 1%	Intent mismatch — investigate query relevance
Emerging theme	Multiple related n-grams performing well	Create new ad group around this theme

Fractional conversion warning: Data-driven attribution creates fractional conversions (e.g., 0.4 conversions). A keyword showing 0.3 conversions contributed to a conversion elsewhere. Filter to conversions > 1 before evaluating CPA to avoid false negatives.

Tools for n-gram analysis:

• Brainlabs Search Query Mining Script (updated for GAQL by Nils Rooijmans, March 2025) — automated, runs in Google Ads
• Adalysis — auto-generated n-gram reports
• PEMAVOR Search Term Miner — free, no-code
• BigQuery SQL — enterprise-scale analysis
• For script implementation, use the google-ads-scripts skill

Negative Keyword Strategy

Themed Negative Lists

Build shared negative keyword lists by category and apply across relevant campaigns:

List Theme	Example Negatives	Apply To
Competitors	[competitor brand names]	All non-competitor campaigns
Jobs / Careers	jobs, salary, careers, hiring, internship, glassdoor	All campaigns
Free / DIY	free, DIY, template, open source, how to, tutorial	Bottom-funnel campaigns
Education / Info	what is, definition, wiki, course, certification	Bottom-funnel campaigns
Geographic exclusions	[irrelevant cities, states, countries]	Geo-targeted campaigns
Irrelevant industries	[industry terms not served]	All campaigns
Negative modifiers	cheap, used, wholesale (if premium brand)	Brand campaigns

Cross-Campaign Negatives

• Add exact-match negatives to prevent campaigns from competing against each other
• PMax cannibalization: if PMax search term insights show it's serving on queries your Search campaigns should own, add those as PMax negatives AND add them as exact-match keywords in Search

Maintenance Cadence

• Week 1-4 of new campaigns: Review search terms weekly
• Stable campaigns: Bi-weekly review
• Always check: Negatives aren't blocking desired traffic (Brainlabs script has checkNegatives parameter)

Tool Recommendations

Tool	Best For	Cost
Google Keyword Planner	Volume, competition, bid estimates, forecasting	Free (with Google Ads account)
SEMrush	Keyword gap analysis, competitor keyword targeting	$130+/mo
Keyword / SERP research suites	Click-through rate models, volume, content gaps	Varies
PPC competitive intel tools	Auction and ad-copy research	Varies
AnswerThePublic	Question-based queries, long-tail discovery	Free (limited) / $99+/mo
Google Autocomplete	Real-time search suggestions, alphabet soup technique	Free
Brainlabs Script	Automated n-gram analysis in Google Ads	Free (open source)
Adalysis	Auto-generated n-gram reports, keyword management	$99+/mo
PEMAVOR	Free n-gram mining, no-code	Free

Output Format

For keyword research:

## Keyword Research: [Business/Product]

### Keyword List
| Keyword | Match Type | Intent | Volume | CPC | Competition | Priority Score | Ad Group |
|---------|-----------|--------|--------|-----|-------------|---------------|----------|
| [keyword] | Exact | Commercial | 1,200 | $4.50 | Medium | 8.2 | [group] |

### Ad Group Structure
- Ad Group: [Theme]
  - Keywords: [list with match types]
  - Negative keywords: [list]

### Negative Keyword Lists
- Competitors: [list]
- Jobs/Careers: [list]
- Free/DIY: [list]
- [Custom theme]: [list]

### Match Type Rationale
[Why these match types were chosen based on account maturity and conversion volume]

For search term analysis:

## Search Term Analysis: [Date Range]

### N-Gram Waste Report
| N-gram | Impressions | Clicks | Spend | Conversions | CPA | Action |
|--------|------------|--------|-------|-------------|-----|--------|
| [n-gram] | 2,400 | 89 | $312 | 0 | ∞ | Negate |

### Promotion Candidates
| Search Term | Clicks | Conversions | CPA | Current Match | Action |
|------------|--------|-------------|-----|---------------|--------|
| [term] | 45 | 12 | $18 | Broad trigger | Promote to exact in new ad group |

### Negative Keyword Additions
| Keyword | Match Type | List | Reason |
|---------|-----------|------|--------|
| [keyword] | Phrase | Jobs | Zero conversions, $89 spend |

### Summary
- Total waste identified: $[X]
- Promotion candidates: [N] terms
- New negatives added: [N] keywords across [N] lists

Example

Input: "I run a SaaS project management tool competing with two large incumbents. We're spending $20K/month on Google Ads with a $120 target CPA. We have 65 conversions/month. I need help with our keyword strategy and a search term cleanup."

Output:

Keyword Strategy & Search Term Analysis

Match Type Recommendation

With 65 conversions/month and active Smart Bidding, you qualify for broad match + tCPA as your primary strategy. Keep exact match for brand terms and highest-intent commercial keywords.

Keyword List (Top Priority Additions)

Keyword	Match Type	Intent	Est. Volume	Est. CPC	Priority Score	Ad Group
project management software	Broad	Commercial	18,100	$12.40	8.5	PM Software - Core
team collaboration tool	Broad	Commercial	6,600	$9.80	7.8	Collaboration Tools
asana alternative	Exact	Comparison	3,200	$15.60	8.9	Competitor Alternatives
monday.com alternative	Exact	Comparison	2,400	$14.20	8.7	Competitor Alternatives
best project management app	Phrase	Comparison	4,400	$11.30	8.1	PM Software - Best
project tracking software	Broad	Commercial	2,900	$10.50	7.4	PM Software - Core
task management for teams	Broad	Commercial	1,800	$8.90	7.2	Task Management
project management tool for small business	Phrase	Commercial	1,200	$7.60	7.6	PM Software - SMB

N-Gram Waste Report (from search term analysis)

N-gram	Spend	Conversions	CPA	Action
"free"	$890	0	∞	Negate (phrase match)
"template"	$420	0	∞	Negate (phrase match)
"jobs"	$340	0	∞	Negate (exact to jobs list)
"certification"	$210	0	∞	Negate (phrase match)
"open source"	$180	0	∞	Negate (phrase match)
"what is"	$156	0	∞	Negate on BOFU campaigns only
Total waste	$2,196/mo			11% of budget recovered

Promotion Candidates

Search Term	Clicks	Conv	CPA	Action
project management for remote teams	34	8	$51	Promote to exact in new "Remote Teams" ad group
simple project tracker	22	5	$53	Promote to exact in "Task Management" group
replace asana	18	6	$45	Promote to exact in "Competitor Alternatives" group

Negative Keyword Lists

• Competitors (protect from brand overlap): asana, monday.com, clickup, notion, trello, basecamp, jira, wrike (applied as exact match to non-competitor campaigns)
• Jobs/Careers: jobs, salary, careers, hiring, internship, glassdoor, project manager salary
• Free/DIY: free, open source, template, free trial hack, cracked
• Education: what is project management, certification, PMP, course, degree, tutorial

PMax Cannibalization Check

Review PMax search term insights for queries like "asana alternative" and "project management software" — these should be served by Search exact-match campaigns, not PMax. Add as PMax negatives if PMax is stealing them.

Guidelines

• Don't recommend broad match without Smart Bidding + 50 conversions/month. This is a hard requirement. Broad match with manual bidding or low volume wastes budget on irrelevant queries.
• Don't judge keywords on fractional conversions. Data-driven attribution creates fractions. A keyword with 0.4 conversions isn't failing — it contributed. Filter to > 1 conversion before evaluating CPA.
• Don't build negative lists once and forget them. Search term review is ongoing: weekly for new campaigns, bi-weekly for stable ones.
• Don't add negatives without checking for conflicts. A negative keyword can block a desired positive keyword. Always cross-reference.
• Don't rely solely on Keyword Planner. It shows what people search, not how they think. VOC mining from sales calls, reviews, and forums reveals language Keyword Planner misses.
• ECPC is gone (March 2025). Don't reference it as a bidding option. If someone's account still shows ECPC, flag it and recommend migration.
• PMax search term visibility is here (2025). Use PMax search term insights and campaign-level negatives to manage cannibalization between PMax and Search.
• Cross-references: For n-gram automation scripts, use the google-ads-scripts skill. For campaign building with these keywords, use the google-ads-campaign-builder skill. For ongoing keyword optimization, use the google-ads-optimizer skill. For full account audit including keyword health, use the google-ads-audit skill.
• Confidence: Volume estimates from Keyword Planner are ranges, not exact numbers. CPC estimates can vary significantly from actuals. Present keyword data as directional, not precise.