To find the best keywords for Google Ads: use Google Keyword Planner to research search volumes in South Africa, identify high-intent search terms your customers use, check competitor keywords, and prioritise Exact and Phrase Match keywords over Broad Match.
Keyword selection is the most important decision you make in a Google Ads search campaign. Choose the right keywords and your ads reach people ready to buy. Choose the wrong ones and you waste budget on irrelevant traffic. This guide shows you exactly how to research and select the best keywords for South African Google Ads campaigns. Related: How to set up a Google Ads campaign.
What Makes a Keyword ‘Good’ for Google Ads?
The ideal Google Ads keyword combines three qualities: sufficient search volume (enough people are searching to generate clicks), high commercial intent (searchers are looking to buy or enquire, not just research), and manageable competition (CPC is within your budget and target cost per lead).
High-intent keywords typically include words like ‘hire’, ‘buy’, ‘quote’, ‘near me’, ‘price’, ‘cost’, ‘service’, ‘company’, or specific product/service names. Informational keywords like ‘how to’, ‘what is’, and ‘DIY’ have lower intent and often do not convert well in paid search — they are better targeted through SEO content.
Step 1: Use Google Keyword Planner
Google Keyword Planner is a free tool inside your Google Ads account (Tools > Keyword Planner). It is the most reliable source of South African search volume data because it comes directly from Google. Enter your seed keywords — the core terms describing your service — and Keyword Planner will return search volume estimates, CPC ranges, and related keyword suggestions filtered by South Africa.
Important: Keyword Planner shows search volumes in ranges when your account has limited spend history (‘100-1K’ rather than ‘540’). As your account accumulates spend, the ranges narrow. For more precise volume data, tools like Semrush or Ahrefs provide exact monthly volumes for South African searches.
Step 2: Identify High-Intent Variations
- Service + location: ‘plumber Cape Town’, ‘accountant Sandton’, ‘dentist Pretoria’
- Service + action: ‘hire graphic designer’, ‘get SEO quote’, ‘book physio appointment’
- Problem + service: ‘burst pipe repair’, ‘tooth extraction’, ‘company registration’
- Comparison searches: ‘best electrician near me’, ‘top SEO agency South Africa’
- Urgent need searches: ’emergency plumber 24 hour’, ‘same day locksmith Johannesburg’
Step 3: Check What Competitors Bid On
Google Ads’ Auction Insights report (within your active campaigns) shows which competitors are appearing on your keywords. Tools like Semrush’s Advertising Research let you enter a competitor’s domain and see exactly which keywords they are bidding on and what their ad copy looks like. This is one of the fastest ways to identify high-performing keywords you may have missed.
Step 4: Organise Keywords by Intent and Group
Once you have a keyword list, group keywords by intent — keywords that represent the same search goal should be in the same ad group. This allows you to write a specific, highly relevant ad for each group. Keywords with fundamentally different intents should be in separate ad groups even if they are in the same broad topic area.
Step 5: Build Your Negative Keyword List
Negative keywords are searches you explicitly exclude from triggering your ads. Every keyword research session should produce both a positive keyword list (what you want to show for) and a negative keyword list (what you want to exclude). Common negatives for South African service businesses include: jobs, salary, free, DIY, training, course, template, software. See the Google Ads negative keywords guide for implementation details.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many keywords should I have in a Google Ads campaign?
Quality matters far more than quantity. Most effective South African search campaigns run 50-200 keywords total across all ad groups — enough to capture meaningful search volume without becoming unmanageable. Starting with 20-50 tightly relevant keywords and expanding based on performance data is better than launching with hundreds of loosely related terms.
Should I use my competitors’ brand names as keywords?
You can legally bid on competitor brand names in South Africa (Google Ads policy allows it). However, brand keywords for competitors typically have lower Quality Scores (your ad is less relevant to a search for a specific competitor’s name) and higher CPCs. It can be a useful defensive tactic or for specifically capturing comparison traffic, but is rarely the most efficient use of budget.
What is keyword research and why does it matter?
Keyword research is the process of identifying the specific search terms your target customers use when looking for your product or service. In Google Ads, your keyword list determines which searches trigger your ads. The quality of your keyword research directly determines campaign efficiency — even great ad copy cannot save campaigns built on the wrong keywords.
How do I know if a keyword is profitable for my business?
The only way to know for certain is to test. Run the keyword, track conversions, and calculate your actual cost per lead. Use CPC estimates from Keyword Planner to calculate expected cost per lead before investing: if a keyword averages R50 CPC and your expected conversion rate is 3%, your estimated cost per lead is R1,667. If that is within your acceptable range for a lead in your business, it is worth testing.
Can I use Google Trends for keyword research?
Yes — Google Trends shows relative search interest over time for specific terms in South Africa (select South Africa as the region). It is particularly useful for understanding seasonal patterns — for example, ‘tax returns’ spikes in South Africa in March-April around SARS deadline season. Combine Trends data with Keyword Planner volume data for the most complete picture.