Short answer
A keyword idea generator suggests the phrases your customers are likely to type into Google, grouped by theme and buyer intent, so you can choose which ones to bid on in Google Ads. Treat the ideas as a shortlist: Google's Keyword Planner shows how often each phrase is searched and what it may cost. Google caps each keyword at 80 characters and 10 words.
How to use the Keyword Idea Generator
- Enter your main services or a few seed keywords, your business type and, for local ideas, your service area.
- Choose your customer type and list any services you do not offer, so the ideas stay on work you actually do.
- Read the ideas by intent group and shortlist the ready-to-buy terms first.
- Check search volume and cost for your shortlist in Google's Keyword Planner, since this tool shows no volumes.
- Copy the list, download a CSV or the Editor paste format, or send it to the Keyword Grouping Tool or the match type formatter.
What does a keyword idea generator do?
It turns a short description of your business into the phrases real customers might type into Google. You give it your services or a few seed keywords, your business type, the area you serve, who your customers are (homeowners, businesses or both) and the services you do not offer.
The AI returns 40 to 80 ideas grouped by theme and by buyer intent, each with a suggested match type. Every line is checked on the server before you see it, against Google's keyword limits of 80 characters or fewer and no more than 10 words.
What do the intent groups mean?
Intent is what the person searching wants to happen next. It matters more than the exact wording, because it decides whether a click can turn into a customer.
| Intent group | What the searcher wants | Examples for a plumbing company | What to do with them |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ready to buy | To hire someone soon | emergency plumber, water heater replacement near me | Bid on these first, in tightly themed ad groups |
| Comparing options | To weigh prices, products or providers | tankless vs tank water heater, plumber hourly rate | Bid selectively and send clicks to a page that answers the comparison |
| Research | To learn, or to fix it alone | why is my water heater leaking, how to unclog a drain | Answer them on your website; many make good negatives |
Local and "near me" variants
Add a service area and the list also includes "near me" versions and versions that name your area, such as "drain cleaning [your town]". Keep only the places you really serve, and point those keywords to a page that shows where you work.
Question keywords and suggested negatives
Questions such as "how often should a water heater be flushed" come as a separate list. Someone asking a question is still learning, so these suit blog posts and FAQ answers better than ads.
The suggested negatives are a first pass. Build a fuller list, sorted by category, with the Negative Keyword Generator.
Why are there no search volumes, and how do you check them?
This tool does not show search volumes or bid estimates. It writes ideas, and the numbers should come from Google's own planning tool, Keyword Planner, which Google says lets you view estimates of the searches keywords receive and the cost to target them.
To check your shortlist:
- Sign in to Google Ads and open Keyword Planner from the Tools menu.
- Choose "Get search volume and forecasts".
- Paste your keywords into the search box, or upload them from a CSV file.
- Read the estimated monthly searches and costs, then drop ideas with too little demand or a cost your budget cannot carry.
Google asks you to finish account setup, including billing information, before you can use Keyword Planner's basic features. Its other starting point, "Discover new keywords", is a useful second source of ideas. To judge whether those estimates fit your budget, see what Google Ads costs in 2026.
How do you turn keyword ideas into ad groups?
An idea list is not a campaign yet. Send it to the Keyword Grouping Tool to sort it into themed ad groups, or to the Keyword Match Type Tool to write each keyword in broad, "phrase" or [exact] match type notation.
The Editor paste export uses the headers Campaign, Ad group, Keyword and Criterion Type. All four are CSV columns Google Ads Editor recognizes, so the rows are ready to import.
Mistakes to avoid with keyword ideas
- Adding every idea on day one. Launch with the ready-to-buy terms for your most profitable services, then grow the list from real searches.
- Adding every spelling and plural. Google applies close variants such as plurals, misspellings and reordered words to every match type, and you cannot opt out. One clean version of each idea is enough.
- Bidding on how-to questions. "How to unclog a drain" attracts people who plan to do the job themselves.
- Leaving out what you do not do. If you do not replace sewer lines, say so in the form, so the ideas stay on work you actually want.
- Treating ideas as data. An idea is a guess until Keyword Planner shows demand and your search terms show what people really typed. Once ads are running, review them with the Search Term Analyzer.
Sources
- Use Keyword Planner (Google Ads Help)
- About keyword matching options (Google Ads Help)
- Keyword close variants: Definition (Google Ads Help)
- About negative keywords (Google Ads Help)
- About the search terms report (Google Ads Help)
- CSV file columns (Google Ads Editor Help)
Updated 2 October 2026 by the Paid Pilot team. Google Ads is a trademark of Google LLC; Paid Pilot is an independent agency.