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Getting started in Advertising (PPC): Brainstorming for keyword ideas
Posted by on October 27, 2025 at 2:07 pmI’m working on a Google Ads case where the goal is to attract more people to participate in paid research studies (they get compensation for their time and feedback).
I already have some audience segments in mind, for example, students who want to earn a bit extra, people with flexible schedules, and those who like contributing to research.
Would the most efficient way to start be by entering the company’s domain into Google Keyword Planner to get keyword ideas, then downloading the list, removing irrelevant terms, and clustering the rest into ad groups?
I’d love to hear how experienced PPC marketers structure their keyword research process.
Thank you
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1 Reply
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Your basic workflow is solid but starting with the domain in Keyword Planner is usually too narrow for a cold start campaign. Keyword Planner pulls keywords based on what already ranks organically for that domain, which for a paid research studies site is probably limited to branded terms and maybe a few generic research keywords. Youll miss a ton of high intent queries that potential participants are actually searching.
Instead, start by brainstorming the problems your audience is trying to solve or the outcomes theyre looking for. Students might search for ways to make money from home or quick cash for students. People with flexible schedules might search for side gigs or work from home opportunities. Those interested in research might use terms like get paid for your opinion or consumer research studies. These intent based phrases tend to convert better than broad product terms because they capture people actively looking for what you offer.
Once you have your seed list of intent phrases, then use Keyword Planner to expand each cluster. Enter your seed keywords rather than the domain and check the option to get ideas closely related to your search. This gives you variations and long tail keywords that share the same search intent. Download the full list with search volume and competition data, then filter out anything with zero monthly searches or extremely high competition unless it’s highly specific to your offer.
For grouping into ad groups, cluster keywords by the core intent or audience segment rather than just lexical similarity. For example, all the student focused keywords like college student money or student jobs go into one ad group so you can write ad copy specifically highlighting flexible schedules around classes. All the research focused keywords like paid studies or clinical trials go into a separate ad group with messaging about contributing to meaningful research. This intent based grouping lets you write tighter ad copy that speaks directly to what each searcher cares about.
One tactical thing for paid studies specifically is to test comparison keywords. Phrases like paid studies vs surveys or research study compensation can capture people who are comparison shopping between different ways to earn money. These queries often have lower search volume but very high conversion intent because the person is actively evaluating options.
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Start with Keyword Planner seed it with phrases like paid studies research participation and survey jobs then group by intent earn money vs academic research build tight ad groups around each and filter out job seekers with negative keywords
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