Introduction

A Google Search campaign is only as good as the searches it targets. Choose the right keywords and your ads appear in front of people who want exactly what you sell. Choose the wrong ones and you pay for clicks from students researching homework, job seekers, people looking for free alternatives or customers in places you do not serve.

Keyword research is therefore the foundation of any successful search campaign. It tells you what people search for, in what words and with what intent. It shapes the structure of your campaigns, the ads you write, the landing pages you build and the budget you need.

The way keywords work in Google Ads has changed in recent years. Match types have become broader, Google’s AI interprets searches more loosely, and features such as AI Max for Search can expand reach beyond the keywords you list. This makes good research, careful structure and regular review of actual search terms more important, not less.

This article explains how our digital marketing team at Dsigngo Group plans keywords and search campaigns. It covers understanding intent, finding keywords, choosing match types, using negative keywords, structuring campaigns and ad groups, setting targeting and budgets, and reviewing search terms after launch. It is the first of three articles following the steps of our Google Ads process: research and planning, building and tracking (Insights Article 3), and launch and optimisation (Insights Article 4).

Start with the business, not the keyword tool

Before opening any keyword tool, we answer a few business questions:

• What do you sell, and which products or services matter most? Focus budget where margins and capacity are highest.
• Who buys, and where are they? Consider locations, languages, business or consumer customers, and the devices they use.
• What makes you different? Price, speed, quality, location, specialist skills or guarantees all influence keywords and ads.
• What counts as a conversion? A call, form, WhatsApp message, booking or sale.
• What is a customer worth? The average order value, profit margin and likelihood of repeat business set how much you can afford to pay for an enquiry.
• What are the seasons? Many Sri Lankan and UAE businesses see clear peaks around festivals, school terms, tourist seasons and year-end.

These answers guide every later decision.

Understanding search intent

Every search has an intent: what the person wants to achieve. Broadly, searches fall into four types:

The same product can attract all four types. A furniture store benefits from “office chairs price” and “buy ergonomic chair”, but not “how to fix a squeaky chair”. Matching keywords to intent, and ads and landing pages to each intent, is the core skill of search advertising.

Modifier words reveal intent: “buy”, “price”, “near me”, “delivery”, “best”, “cheap”, “hire”, “book” and place names usually signal readiness to act, while “how to”, “free”, “jobs”, “course” and “DIY” often signal different needs.

Finding keywords

We use several sources to build a keyword list:

• Customer language: how customers describe their needs in calls, emails, WhatsApp messages and reviews.
• Your website and products: product names, categories and services.
• Google Keyword Planner: Google’s free tool shows keyword ideas, approximate search volumes and bid ranges for chosen locations and languages.
• Google search suggestions: the suggestions that appear as you type, and the “People also ask” and related searches sections.
• Competitors: the language competitors use in their websites and ads.
• Search Console and analytics: searches that already bring visitors to your website.
• Existing campaign data: search terms reports from previous campaigns.

For Sri Lankan businesses, it is important to include local spellings, Sinhala and Tamil terms where people search in those languages, Sinhala or Tamil written in English letters, place names and common abbreviations. For the UAE, Arabic keywords and emirate or district names may be important.

Search volumes in smaller markets can be low or reported as ranges. That is normal. A keyword with low volume but strong buying intent may be more valuable than a popular but vague one.

Grouping keywords into themes

Next, we group keywords into tight themes, each matching one product, service or customer need. For example, an air-conditioning company might have themes for:

• AC installation.
• AC repair.
• AC servicing and cleaning.
• Commercial AC maintenance contracts.
• Specific brands or types, such as inverter AC.

Each theme becomes an ad group or campaign with its own ads and, ideally, its own landing page. This structure keeps ads relevant to searches, which improves click-through rates, Quality Score and conversion rates.

Keyword match types

Match types control how closely a search must relate to your keyword for your ad to show. Google Ads now offers three:

• Broad match: your ad can show for searches related to your keyword’s meaning, including searches that do not contain the keyword’s words. Google uses signals such as other keywords in the ad group, landing page content and the user’s recent searches. Broad match gives the widest reach and works best with Smart Bidding and good conversion tracking.
• Phrase match: your ad can show for searches that include the meaning of your keyword, with words before or after. For example, “AC repair” could match “urgent AC repair in Nugegoda”.
• Exact match: your ad shows for searches with the same meaning or intent as the keyword, including close variants such as plurals and misspellings.

Keywords are written in the account as plain text for broad match, in quotation marks for phrase match (“AC repair”) and in square brackets for exact match ([AC repair]).

There is no single correct approach. A common strategy is to start with phrase and exact match for the most valuable terms, gather conversion data, then test broad match with Smart Bidding while watching search terms closely. In accounts with strong conversion data, broad match combined with good negative keyword lists can find valuable searches that manual research missed.

Negative keywords

Negative keywords stop ads from showing for searches you do not want. They are one of the most effective ways to avoid wasted spend.

Common negative keyword categories include:

• Jobs and careers: “jobs”, “vacancies”, “salary”, “career”.
• Free and DIY: “free”, “DIY”, “how to”, “tutorial”, “template”.
• Education: “course”, “training”, “PDF”, “assignment” (unless you offer them).
• Wrong products or services: items you do not sell, such as “second hand” for a business selling only new items.
• Wrong locations: places you do not serve.
• Competitor names, if you choose not to target them.

Negative keywords also have match types and can be applied at campaign or account level through shared lists. We build an initial list before launch and expand it every week from the search terms report.

Competitor keywords: when to bid on rivals

Some businesses bid on competitors’ brand names, hoping to attract customers who are comparing options. This can work, but it needs care. Competitor searches usually have lower click-through and conversion rates, because most people searching for a brand want that brand. Costs can also be high, and Google’s policies restrict using another company’s trademark in ad text in many regions.

If you test competitor keywords, keep them in a separate campaign with its own budget, write ads that explain your genuine advantages without naming or misrepresenting the competitor, and judge results strictly by conversions and cost per enquiry. For many small businesses, the budget is better spent on generic, high-intent searches first.

Keyword planning for seasonal peaks

Search demand in Sri Lanka and the UAE changes through the year. Gift, food and clothing searches rise before the Sinhala and Tamil New Year in April, Vesak, Christmas and the end of the year. In the UAE, Ramadan, Eid, back-to-school periods and shopping festivals bring their own patterns. Travel searches follow tourist seasons in both markets.

We plan seasonal keyword groups and ads in advance, increase budgets ahead of peak periods rather than after they begin, and use Google Trends and previous years’ data to time campaigns. Seasonal ad copy, such as delivery deadlines before a festival, often lifts results noticeably.

Structuring campaigns and ad groups

A clear structure makes campaigns easier to manage, report on and optimise. Typical principles:

• Separate campaigns by goal, budget or location. For example, separate Sri Lanka and UAE campaigns, or separate brand and non-brand campaigns.
• Separate brand campaigns. Searches for your own business name usually convert well at low cost and should be reported separately.
• Group ad groups by theme. Each ad group should focus on closely related keywords that share an ad and landing page.
• Avoid too many tiny ad groups. With modern automation, consolidating similar themes gives Google’s systems more data to learn from. The aim is relevance without fragmentation.
• Use clear naming. Names such as “LK | Search | AC Repair | Colombo” make reports easy to read.

AI Max for Search and keywordless matching

Google’s AI Max for Search is an optional setting for Search campaigns. It expands matching beyond your listed keywords using your landing pages and assets, and can adapt ad text and choose the most relevant landing page on your site. It includes controls such as brand inclusions and exclusions and URL rules, and reporting that shows which search terms, headlines and URLs were used.

AI Max can find valuable new searches, especially for businesses with large websites and strong conversion tracking. It also requires careful supervision: clear landing pages, good negative keywords and regular review of search terms and generated text. Google has said that Dynamic Search Ads campaigns will be upgraded to AI Max in the future. We test AI Max selectively, comparing results against standard campaigns before expanding its use.

Targeting settings

Keywords are only one part of targeting. Search campaigns also need careful settings:

• Locations: target where your customers are, by country, city or radius around a branch. Choose whether to target people located in, or regularly in, those places, rather than people merely interested in them, unless you sell to visitors or expatriates.
• Languages: match the languages your customers use in Google.
• Ad schedule: show ads when you can answer calls and messages, or adjust bids by time of day.
• Devices: most searches in Sri Lanka come from mobile phones, so mobile experience and call options are critical.
• Audiences: add audience segments for observation or targeting, such as past website visitors and customer lists, to improve bidding and messaging.

Estimating budgets from keyword research

Keyword research also helps estimate budgets. Using Keyword Planner’s volume and cost estimates, together with expected click-through and conversion rates, we can project roughly how many clicks and enquiries a budget might produce:

1. Estimate monthly searches for the chosen keywords in your target area.
2. Estimate the share of those searches your ads might appear for.
3. Apply an expected click-through rate to estimate clicks.
4. Multiply clicks by the estimated cost per click to estimate spend.
5. Apply an expected conversion rate to estimate enquiries or sales.

These are estimates, not guarantees, but they help set a realistic test budget. Insights Article 5 explains budgeting in more detail.

After launch: the search terms report

Once campaigns run, the search terms report shows the actual searches that triggered your ads. This is one of the most valuable reports in Google Ads. We review it at least weekly in the early stages to:

• Add negative keywords for irrelevant searches.
• Add new keywords for valuable searches that are not yet covered.
• Move searches into better-matched ad groups.
• Spot new customer needs and language.
• Check that broad match and AI Max are finding relevant searches.

Google does not show every search term, because of privacy thresholds, but the visible terms usually reveal clear patterns. Insights Article 4 describes our full optimisation routine.

Common keyword mistakes

• Targeting single, vague words such as “shoes” or “insurance”.
• Ignoring intent and paying for informational searches.
• Launching without negative keywords.
• Putting dozens of unrelated keywords in one ad group.
• Using only broad match without conversion tracking or Smart Bidding.
• Bidding heavily on competitors’ brand names without a clear reason.
• Never reviewing search terms after launch.

Illustrative example

The following example is illustrative and does not describe a real client.

A company that hires out vehicles for weddings and tours in Sri Lanka wants more bookings from local couples and overseas visitors.

Research shows two distinct groups. Local customers search for “wedding car hire”, “vintage car for wedding Colombo” and similar phrases, often in English and sometimes in Sinhala written in English letters. Overseas visitors search for “Sri Lanka car with driver”, “private driver Sri Lanka tour” and “airport taxi Colombo”.

The team creates two campaigns: one targeting people in Sri Lanka for wedding hire, and one targeting people in key source markets, as well as people searching about Sri Lanka travel, for tours with drivers. Each campaign has ad groups for specific services and links to matching landing pages. Negative keywords exclude “driver jobs”, “self-drive”, “buy” and “rent a car without driver”. The first weekly search term reviews add “chauffeur” and “wedding decorated car” as keywords and exclude “car sale”.

How we plan search campaigns

Our keyword and campaign planning includes:

• Business and customer discovery workshops.
• Keyword research in English, Sinhala, Tamil and Arabic where needed.
• Intent mapping and keyword grouping.
• Negative keyword lists before launch.
• Campaign structure, naming and targeting settings.
• Budget forecasts based on keyword data.
• Weekly search term reviews after launch.

Frequently asked questions

How many keywords should a campaign have?

There is no fixed number. Focus on relevance: a few highly relevant keywords per theme usually perform better than long lists of loosely related terms.

Should we bid on our own brand name?

Usually, yes. Brand campaigns are inexpensive, protect your position against competitors and capture customers who already know you.

Is broad match safe to use?

Broad match can work well with Smart Bidding, strong conversion data and good negative keywords. Without these, it can waste budget. We test it carefully.

How often should keywords be reviewed?

Weekly in the first months, then at least every two weeks, with deeper reviews monthly.

Can we advertise in Sinhala and Tamil?

Yes. Google Ads supports campaigns targeting Sinhala and Tamil, and ads can be written in those languages. We check search behaviour first, because many Sri Lankan users search in English or mixed language.

Conclusion

Strong search campaigns begin with understanding customers and their intent. Keyword research reveals what people search for; grouping, match types and negative keywords make sure ads reach buyers rather than browsers; and a clear structure with sensible targeting keeps campaigns relevant and manageable. After launch, the search terms report turns real customer behaviour into steady improvements.

Our team plans search campaigns around your business goals, so every click has the best chance of becoming an enquiry or sale.

Want to know which searches could bring you customers? Ask for a free keyword and account review.

Get a Keyword Review

Sources

• Google Ads Help, About keyword matching options: https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/7478529
• Google Ads Help, About negative keywords: https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/2453972
• Google Ads Help, About the search terms report: https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/2472708
• Google Ads Help, Use Keyword Planner: https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/7337243
• Google Ads Help, About AI Max for Search campaigns: https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/16470459
• Google Ads Help, Location targeting options: https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/1722038
• DataReportal, Digital 2026: Sri Lanka: https://datareportal.com/reports/digital-2026-sri-lanka