How do I do keyword research for Google Ads free?

Google Keyword Planner is built into Google Ads and is free. It shows volume ranges, competition, and bid prices. Combine with a question finder to discover the queries customers type before buying.

What is the difference between SEO and PPC keyword research?

SEO focuses on topics and questions for organic content. PPC focuses on commercial and transactional intent — keywords indicating someone is ready to buy. PPC keywords include buy, price, near me, best.

How do I find high-intent keywords?

Look for buying signals: buy product, product price, product near me, best product for use case, product vs competitor. Pain point queries also indicate intent — someone searching product not working may switch to yours.

Is Google Keyword Planner actually free?

Yes. Create a Google Ads account free, skip campaign setup, access Keyword Planner from Tools menu. No ad spend required.

What does CPC tell you about keywords?

Cost-per-click reflects how much advertisers pay. High CPC of 5-50 dollars means strong commercial value. Low CPC under 1 dollar means informational intent or low commercial value.

Broad match or exact match?

Start with exact and phrase match for control. Broad match wastes budget on irrelevant queries. Build a negative keyword list from your research.

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Free PPC Keyword Research for Google Ads — Find High-Intent Keywords (2026)

Last updated: April 20267 min readSEO Tools

The wrong keywords burn your Google Ads budget. The right ones bring customers ready to buy. Here is how to find high-intent PPC keywords for free.

Free PPC Keyword Research Workflow

Discover intent: Use Question Finder to see what people search about your product. Focus on comparison and problem queries — these signal buying intent.
Get volume and CPC: Paste keyword ideas into Google Keyword Planner. Sort by CPC to find commercially valuable keywords.
Build keyword list: Group by intent — awareness, consideration, decision.
Build negative list: Identify keywords you do NOT want — free, DIY, tutorial if selling a product.

Keyword Intent for PPC

Intent	Example Keywords	Ad Strategy
High intent (buy)	"buy running shoes," "running shoe store near me"	Bid highest, direct to product page
Comparison	"nike vs adidas," "best running shoes 2026"	Bid medium, highlight differentiators
Problem-aware	"knee pain from running," "shoes for plantar fasciitis"	Bid medium, lead with solution
Informational	"how to start running," "running tips"	Low bid or skip — use SEO instead

Find what customers search before buying — free.

Open Question Finder

Mine Competitor Keywords

Search competitor names in the Question Finder. Find queries like competitor pricing, competitor alternative, competitor vs other, competitor reviews. These are gold for PPC — bid on them and position your product as the better option.

PPC Advertiser Tools

Question Finder — customer search behavior
Headline Analyzer — test ad headlines
Meta Tag Generator — optimize landing page meta tags
Readability Scorer — landing page clarity

Research high-intent keywords before spending on ads.

Start Free Research

Free PPC Keyword Research for Google Ads — Find High-Intent Keywords (2026)

Free PPC Keyword Research Workflow

Keyword Intent for PPC

Mine Competitor Keywords

PPC Advertiser Tools

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