Keyword intent analysis
For every keyword, Should I Bid reads the Google results page, has the ranking pages analyzed and checks them against what you sell. You get a score out of 100, a decision (Bid, Test or Skip) and the evidence behind it.
The decision: Bid · Test · Skip
5 free credits · no credit card · results in minutes
Definition
Search intent is what a person typing a query wants to get done: buy, compare, learn or reach a specific site. Two similar queries can hide opposite intents. “invoicing software for small business” draws companies looking for a tool. “free invoice template word” draws mostly people who want a free file.
On Google Ads, that difference is expensive: you pay for every click, whether it comes from a buyer or a browser. Search volume and cost per click don't reveal it. The results page does: when Google ranks product pages, comparison sites and ads, the intent is commercial. When it ranks tutorials and definitions, the intent is informational.
Analyzing a keyword's intent means reading that page, understanding what it says about searchers' expectations and checking that your offer matches. Should I Bid automates that reading and turns it into a bidding decision.
How it works
From a raw list to an exportable decision, without opening Google once.
The analysis starts from your company profile or a specific product: business, audience, positioning, pricing, strengths. The AI fills it in from your website, and you correct it.
For each keyword, Should I Bid fetches the results page for the country, language and device you pick: the top ten organic results and the ads at the top and bottom of the page.
An AI reads the pages that rank, plus an ad's landing page when Google provides it. It assesses intent, buying readiness and competition against your offer.
The signals are combined into a score out of 100 with fixed weights. The score sets the decision: Bid from 70, Test from 50 to 69, Skip below 50.
Example
A verdict, the signals behind it and the Google results that support it.
Company: invoicing software for small businesses · United States · desktop
“invoicing software for small business” : Decision Bid, 84/100. Software pages and comparison articles at the top, four vendors in the ads: searchers are looking for a tool to adopt, which is what you sell.
Illustrative example: the figures are made up, the calculation is the tool's own.
In every analysis
The results table gives you the overview. Each keyword's detail view gives you the rest.
A score out of 100 and the decision it implies. The analysis summary counts recommended keywords, keywords to avoid and the average score.
Transactional, commercial, informational or navigational: the dominant intent detected on the results page.
A few sentences that explain the decision: fit with your audience, alignment with your product, position against competitors.
A budget priority (high, standard, low, exclude), a conversion risk and how heavily advertisers are present on the query.
Messaging ideas drawn from what the results page highlights, so you can write ads that answer the intent.
The organic results and ads read during the analysis stay available, with their landing pages. You can check the evidence yourself.
If the AI's written opinion is more optimistic than the score, the gap is flagged. The decision always follows the score.
A keyword that couldn't be analyzed is flagged and can be rerun in one click. It's only charged once its analysis completes.
The method
Four signals, fixed weights, public thresholds. The same grid for every keyword, whoever launches the analysis.
Does what people typing the query want match your offer? This signal weighs the most.
Is the search close to a purchase decision, or still at the research and comparison stage?
Are comparable advertisers already paying for this query? The AI sees the list of advertisers on the page, with your declared competitors flagged.
Computed by code from the ranking pages: page types (product, comparison, article), commercial intensity, positions. It's the only signal that doesn't go through the AI.
When the first three signals all exceed 70, an alignment bonus is added progressively, up to 15 points. It rewards an intent that is consistent on every axis.
The intent matches your offer: the query deserves a budget.
Mixed signals: worth trying with a limited budget and negative keywords.
The traffic isn't looking for what you sell, or not yet.
The full method, and what the tool doesn't do, are explained on the About page.
Campaign plan
The Campaign plan tab turns an analysis into a Google Ads structure. It fills in as results arrive.
Keywords to bid on and to test are grouped when their top ten Google results share at least three pages: to Google, they express the same intent. Computed instantly, with no AI and no credits. You can rename groups or save them as lists.
One list per analysis: keywords not to buy, in exact match, and phrase-match guardrails around the keywords you keep. Any negative that would block one of your own keywords is unchecked automatically.
Campaign, ad groups, keywords in the match type you choose and negatives: one file to import into Google Ads Editor, where you stay in control before publishing.
All results or recommended keywords only, with or without the analysis details. Handy for a report, a spreadsheet or a client.
Save keywords into lists you can reuse from one analysis to the next, and export them as a CSV ready for Google Ads.
The Competitors tab shows who appears in ads on the analyzed keywords, who holds the top spot and who pays for keywords we advise you to skip.
Settings and imports
A results page changes with country, language and device. The analysis is set to your real market.
France, the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, Italy and Canada, in French, English, German, Spanish or Italian.
The number of ads and the order of results vary by device. You analyze the one you advertise on.
Top-of-page ads are read by default. Bottom-of-page ads can be added.
Analyze a list for your entire offer, or for one specific product in your catalog: the verdict changes with the offer.
Declare up to ten competitors: they are flagged in the ads that are read and factored into the competitive signal.
Paste a list or import a CSV, XLSX or XLS file, including Google Ads exports: Keyword Planner, campaign keywords, search terms report.
Very close variants of the same keyword are spotted before launch. You decide what to keep: nothing is removed without you.
Import your campaign keywords with their Quality Score: a matrix crosses them with the Should I Bid score to spot core keywords, keywords to optimize and candidates for exclusion.
Use cases
Four moments when reading the results page changes the decision.
You have a list from a brainstorm or Keyword Planner. The analysis separates keywords to activate now, keywords to test on a small budget and keywords to leave aside, before the first impression.
Import your campaign keywords or your search terms report. Searches that cost you money without matching your offer stand out, along with the negatives to add.
A strongly informational query is often better served by content than by ads. The verdict helps you decide where to invest: paid clicks or pages.
Run the same list for another product, another market or another device: intent isn't the same everywhere, and neither is the verdict.
By hand, or with Should I Bid
| Criterion | By hand | Should I Bid |
|---|---|---|
| Time per keyword | 10 to 15 minutes reading the results page | A few minutes for the whole list |
| Reading the results page | By eye, on the first few results | Ten organic results and the ads, read one by one |
| Accounting for your offer | Implicit, in the reviewer's head | Explicit: company or product profile |
| The decision | Gut feel | Score out of 100, decision and rationale |
| Scale | Unmanageable beyond twenty keywords | Up to 1,000 keywords in one analysis |
| Consistency | Varies by person and by day | The same grid every time, with a date |
| Next step | Copy everything into Google Ads | Ad groups, negatives and a Google Ads Editor export |
Better to know before you start.
Look at what Google shows for that keyword. Product pages, comparison sites and several ads from the same industry signal buying intent. Tutorials, definitions and free templates signal research. Then check that the intent matches what you sell. Should I Bid does that reading for every keyword and turns it into a score out of 100: Bid from 70, Test from 50 to 69, Skip below that.
Keyword Planner gives volumes, competition and cost-per-click ranges. It doesn't read the results page and doesn't know what you sell. Should I Bid starts from the actual results page and your offer to make a decision. They work well together: you can import a Keyword Planner export and analyze its list.
Yes, it's the starting point. Every analysis relies on your company profile or a specific product (business, audience, positioning, pricing, strengths), filled in by AI from your website and fully editable. The same keyword can get Bid for one company and Skip for another.
Up to 1,000 keywords per analysis in the app, and 200 per launch through the API or Claude. Exact duplicates are removed automatically; close variants are flagged so you can decide.
1 credit per keyword analyzed, whatever the market or device. The cost is shown before you launch, and a keyword is only charged once its analysis completes. You get 5 free credits when you sign up, no credit card required. Plans are described on the Pricing page.
Each analysis reads the results page at the moment you launch it, and it carries a date. A results page can change from one day to the next: rerun an important keyword before a budget decision.
From the Campaign plan tab, export a Google Ads Editor file with ad groups, kept keywords and recommended negatives. You can also export results as CSV or save keywords into inclusion and exclusion lists.
Because volume says nothing about intent. A popular query can attract mostly people who want to learn, compare or find a free version. If the results page is dominated by guides and definitions, the clicks will cost money without converting: better to exclude them or cover the topic with content.
No credit card · you stay in control of every decision