Choosing a Google Ads keyword comes down to one question: does this query bring a buyer or just a browser? You start from the intent behind the search, check the results page (who already bids, which content dominates), pick the right match type, then cut irrelevant queries with negative keywords. The best keyword is not the highest volume, it is the one whose intent fits your offer and your budget.
A keyword expresses an intent: to find information, to compare options, or to buy. For Google Ads, commercial and transactional queries deserve budget first, because they sit closer to the buying decision.
Search volume tells you how many people type a query, not whether they want to buy. A high volume informational query ("what is SEO") spends clicks without converting. A rarer but precise query ("invoicing software for freelancers") can be far more profitable.
The Google results page is the strongest proof of intent. If it is full of ads and product pages, the query is commercial and competitors already pay for it. If it mostly shows blog posts and definitions, the intent is informational and a paid click will convert poorly.
Looking at who bids, which ad headlines recur and which organic content dominates helps you choose between bidding, testing with a small budget, or skipping. This is exactly the work Should I Bid automates: reading the live SERP and crossing it with your context to return a per keyword verdict. You can also do it by hand, query by query, by opening the results.
Google Ads offers three match types: broad, phrase and exact. Broad match reaches the most queries but lets a lot of irrelevant traffic through. Exact is the strictest and most predictable. Phrase sits in between.
A simple method: start in phrase or exact to keep control, watch the search terms report, then broaden only the keywords that prove their value. This avoids burning budget on unwanted variants at launch.
Choosing good keywords also means deciding which ones you do not want. Negative keywords block off target queries (free, jobs, reviews depending on your offer) and protect budget. The search terms report shows what actually triggered your ads and feeds this list.
A negative list is built continuously, not once. Every week a few irrelevant queries appear and deserve exclusion. An exact match export, ready to import, saves time as the list grows.
No. Volume shows demand, not buying intent. A modest volume but clearly commercial keyword often converts better than a broad informational query that spends clicks without a sale.
Look at the Google results page. Ads, product pages and comparison content signal commercial intent. A page dominated by definitions and articles points to informational intent instead.
Start in phrase or exact to keep control over which queries trigger, watch the search terms report, then broaden only the keywords that prove profitable.