Paid search success doesn’t come from the volume of keywords you target—it comes from intentionality. Many advertisers throw broad match terms into Google Ads and hope something sticks. But wishful thinking isn’t a strategy. In fact, broad match without structure often leads to ballooning costs, low-quality traffic, and missed conversions. While broad match without strategy is risky, it can have a place in early campaign ideation.
If you want to win in 2025’s competitive paid search landscape, you need to craft high-intent keyword themes that align with real user goals—and then match them with tailored ads and relevant landing pages.
Understanding High-Intent Keywords
High-intent keywords are the cornerstones of effective search advertising. These keywords reflect a user’s readiness to act—whether that action is making a purchase, booking a consultation, requesting a quote, signing up for a service, or scheduling a demo. Unlike informational or navigational search terms, high-intent keywords align with the bottom of the marketing funnel, where user intent is clearest and conversion likelihood is highest.
At their core, high-intent keywords serve as digital signals of a user’s commercial or transactional intent. They indicate that someone has already done the research, compared options, and is now seeking to take the next concrete step. From a paid search perspective, these are the gold-standard keywords—less about casting a wide net, and more about precision targeting.
What Makes a Keyword High-Intent?
Several key characteristics differentiate high-intent keywords from generic or informational terms:
Action-Oriented Language
High-intent keywords almost always include action verbs that imply the user wants to do something now. These include terms like:
- “Buy,” “purchase,” or “order”
- “Hire,” “book,” or “schedule”
- “Get a quote,” “compare plans,” or “sign up”
These signals are unmistakable. A user searching “buy ergonomic desk chair with lumbar support” is expressing vastly more intent than one searching “types of ergonomic chairs.”
Specificity and Context
High-intent queries are usually long-tail—phrases that are more specific and detailed than general terms. These users aren’t just browsing; they have a very particular need. Consider the difference:
- Low Intent: “marketing agency”
- High Intent: “B2B digital marketing agency for SaaS startups in Austin”
That added context helps you not only match their query with the right ad and landing page, but also signals that they’ve moved from general curiosity to solution hunting.
Temporal or Geographical Urgency
Urgency is another strong indicator of intent. Keywords that include terms like “today,” “now,” or specify a location often signal a higher likelihood of immediate action. For example:
- “Emergency HVAC repair near me”
- “Dentist open Saturday Washington D.C.”
- “Same day carpet cleaning Houston”
These users are likely to convert quickly—if your ad appears and your offer matches their expectations.
Bottom-of-Funnel Relevance
High-intent keywords are almost always associated with bottom-of-funnel (BOFU) content and CTAs. They often reflect someone who is ready to engage with a pricing page, lead form, or product comparison sheet. Unlike top-of-funnel keywords (“what is a CMS?”), these are profit drivers, not just traffic generators.
Start with Seed Terms, Not Guesswork
Your keyword strategy is only as strong as its starting point. That’s where seed terms come in.
Seed terms are foundational, broad-level words and phrases that describe your products, services, and value propositions. They’re not campaign-ready, but they are the raw materials from which high-intent keyword themes are refined.
Harvest Seed Terms from Your Business Reality
Avoid making assumptions. Instead, start by mining real data and business insights:
- Website Navigation: Look at how your services are categorized and described.
- Sales Conversations: What phrases do customers use when describing their needs?
- Service Page Content: What are the core pain points and solutions offered?
- Internal Search Terms: What are users typing into your site’s search bar?
Your list might include terms like:
- “nonprofit CRM integration”
- “Drupal 10 upgrade services”
- “fast WooCommerce hosting”
Don’t aim for completeness at this stage—aim for relevance.
Validate and Expand with Google Tools
Once you have your initial list, plug them into:
- Google Keyword Planner for keyword ideas, average monthly searches, and competition level.
- Google Search Console to see terms your site already ranks for organically.
- Google Trends to check seasonal or emerging interest.
- Autocomplete and People Also Ask for expanding with natural phrasing.
These tools reveal how real users talk—not how marketers write.
Segment by Intent: Informational, Navigational, Transactional
You now have dozens or hundreds of keyword ideas. How do you prioritize? Start by classifying keywords based on user intent.
Informational Intent (Top of Funnel)
These are broad questions or research terms. Users are not yet ready to buy but are exploring their options.
Examples:
- “What is a headless CMS?”
- “Benefits of custom web design vs. template”
These can be used to build remarketing lists or feed content campaigns—but they’re not ideal for conversion-focused ads.
Navigational Intent (Middle of Funnel)
These users are exploring specific brands or categories. They may be comparing options and are further down the funnel.
Examples:
- “New Target case studies”
- “Salesforce CMS for nonprofits demo”
Use these to support branded or competitor campaigns.
Transactional Intent (Bottom of Funnel)
The gold standard for PPC. These users are ready to engage.
Examples:
- “Get a quote for nonprofit website redesign”
- “Schedule accessibility audit for government site”
Transactional intent is where your primary ad spend should go—because that’s where conversions happen.
Cluster into Keyword Themes
A high-performing account isn’t a dumping ground for hundreds of keywords. It’s a collection of tight keyword themes, each aligned with a specific user journey and landing experience.
What Is a Keyword Theme?
A keyword theme is a focused grouping of keywords that:
- Serve a similar purpose or intent
- Can be served by the same ad copy
- Point to the same landing page
For example, a theme around “nonprofit web redesign” might include:
- nonprofit website redesign
- website redesign for charities
- redesign my nonprofit site
- affordable nonprofit website agency
This theme can power one ad group or campaign.
Why Thematic Clustering Works
Thematic clustering:
- Improves Quality Score by increasing ad and landing page relevance
- Boosts CTR by matching ads to user expectations
- Saves budget by avoiding diluted spend on loosely related keywords
Most importantly, it aligns with how Google’s AI increasingly evaluates context—not just keywords in isolation.
Use Match Types Strategically
In Google Ads, match types determine how broadly or narrowly your keywords trigger ads. They’re critical levers in controlling cost and quality.
Match Type Primer
- Broad Match: Captures all variations and related ideas. Risky, especially with low-intent terms.
- Phrase Match: Triggers when the exact phrase is part of the query. Balanced control and reach.
- Exact Match: Triggers only on near-identical queries. High precision, low noise.
Tiered Match Strategy
Start your campaigns with exact match keywords on your best-performing themes. This ensures maximum control over your budget.
As you gather data, expand to phrase match for additional variations and discovery.
Use broad match only if you’re using smart bidding and have:
- Clean, accurate conversion tracking
- A sufficient budget to support learning
- A mature account with negative keyword guardrails
Build with Granularity, Then Scale
Too often, advertisers start too big. Hundreds of keywords, dozens of ad groups. This leads to fragmentation and poor data quality.
The smarter approach: start small and focused, then expand.
Single Theme per Campaign
Structure your campaigns around:
- One service (e.g., “Drupal 10 Migration”)
- One audience (e.g., “Nonprofits”)
- One funnel stage (e.g., “Transactional intent”)
This makes:
- Budget allocation clearer
- Performance easier to diagnose
- Ad testing more controlled
One Intent per Ad Group
Within each campaign, split your ad groups by intent or nuance.
Example for “Drupal Services” campaign:
- “Migrate Drupal 8 to 10”
- “Drupal security updates”
- “Hire Drupal developer USA”
This structure simplifies testing and reporting.
Align Keywords with Landing Pages
The user’s journey doesn’t stop when they click your ad. It ends when they convert—which only happens if the landing page continues the conversation.
Build Purpose-Built Pages
Every keyword theme should point to a landing page that:
- Repeats the keyword or phrase in headlines
- Reinforces the offer in the ad
- Loads fast and looks great on mobile
- Includes a clear CTA
Never send high-intent traffic to a homepage. It’s too generic and risks losing the user.
Maintain Message Continuity
If someone searches “WordPress maintenance quote,” they should land on a page with:
- An H1 that says “Request a Quote for WordPress Maintenance”
- A CTA that says “Get My Quote”
- Content that confirms your expertise and availability
This “message match” can lift conversion rates by 30% or more.
Optimize with Data, Not Hunches
Even the most well-researched campaigns are hypotheses. True optimization only happens through real-world feedback.
Track What Matters
Ensure your Google Ads account is tracking:
- Form submissions
- Phone calls
- eBook downloads
- Chatbot engagements
- Newsletter signups
Integrate with Google Analytics, Tag Manager, and your CRM. Without this data, you’re flying blind.
Mine Search Terms Reports
Review these weekly to:
- Add converting queries as keywords
- Exclude irrelevant queries with negatives
- Refine ad copy and landing pages
This is where the magic happens. Don’t skip it.
Don’t Overlook Branded, Negative, and Competitor Keywords
High-intent themes aren’t only about your services—they’re also about how users find you in relation to others.
Branded Keywords
Always bid on your own brand name. Benefits:
- Low CPCs
- High conversion rates
- Protection from competitor ads
Especially important if you have a common brand name or if competitors are bidding on your terms.
Negative Keywords
When you expand beyond exact match—especially into phrase or broad match territory—you open the door to a wider array of user queries, including ones that aren’t a good fit for your offering. That’s where negative keywords come in.
Negative keywords prevent your ads from showing for irrelevant or low-intent searches, saving budget and improving campaign efficiency. For example, if you’re offering premium services, you might exclude terms like “free,” “cheap,” or “DIY.” If you’re a B2B company, you may want to block consumer-oriented terms like “for home” or “student edition.”
Common types of negative keywords to consider:
-
Price-sensitive terms: free, cheap, low-cost, discount
-
Job seekers: jobs, careers, salary, resume
-
Educational content seekers: tutorial, course, how-to
-
DIY audience: do it yourself, homemade, kit
-
Geographic mismatches: cities or regions you don’t serve
Start by brainstorming a list of irrelevant intents based on your offer, and then monitor your search terms report regularly to find unexpected queries to exclude. This proactive filtering sharpens the performance of phrase and broad match terms and is critical to keeping Google’s algorithm aligned with your goals.
Competitor Keywords
These require nuance:
- Can’t include their brand name in ad copy
- Usually lower Quality Scores
- Often higher CPCs
Still, they can work—especially if your offer is compelling and well-differentiated.
Turn Keywords Into Conversions with New Target
Our PPC experts specialize in building tightly structured campaigns that are scalable, testable, and relentlessly optimized for ROI. We don’t just help you get found—we help you get chosen. Whether you’re targeting associations, nonprofits, B2B decision-makers, or government agencies, we’ll tailor a keyword strategy that matches how your audience searches and how your brand delivers.
If you are struggling with wasted spend or low-quality leads from your PPC campaigns we can build a smarter strategy, together. Let’s chat.
