How to research and select the right keywords for SEM.

1. Introduction

• Define SEM (Search Engine Marketing).
• Explain why keyword research is the backbone of SEM success.
• Stress the link between right keywords → right audience → higher ROI.
• Set expectations: “By the end of this guide, you’ll know exactly how to find, test, and refine the right keywords for your SEM campaigns.”

2. Understand Your Business Goals

• Clarify campaign objectives: sales, leads, installs, awareness.
• Map keywords to stages of the buyer’s journey (awareness, consideration, purchase).
• Example: “Best shoes for marathon” = research stage, “Buy running shoes online” = purchase stage.
• Mini tip: Always define goals in measurable terms (e.g., “Get 500 app installs in 30 days”).

3. Identify Your Target Audience

• Build buyer personas (age, interests, online habits).
• Factors in location, devices, and language.
• Example: “quick grocery delivery near me” for urban millennials.
• Think about pain points: What problem are they solving? What motivates the search?

4. Brainstorm Seed Keywords

• Start with core product/service terms.
• Pull ideas from your site, competitors, FAQs, and customer feedback.
• Example: Organic food store → “organic rice,” “chemical-free vegetables,” “organic snacks.”
• Quick exercise: List 10–15 phrases real customers have used when asking about your product/service.

5. Use Keyword Research Tools

• Tools: Google Keyword Planner, SEMrush, Ahrefs, Uber suggest, Moz.
• Google Keyword Planner process:
  1. Enter seed keywords
  2. Set location (e.g., India)
  3. Filter by average monthly searches
  4. Export keyword ideas list
• Analyze search volume, competition, CPC, and trends.
• Example: “Rakhi gifts online” spikes every August.

6. Analyze Competitor Keywords

• Check which keywords competitors bid on.
• Review their ads and landing pages.
• Spot gaps where you can win with cheaper but relevant keywords.
• Example: If Big Basket targets “online grocery delivery Bangalore,” a smaller store could focus on “same day grocery delivery JP Nagar.”

7. Focus on Keyword Types

• Short tail: Broad reach, expensive (e.g., “laptop”).
• Long-tail: Specific, high intent, lower cost (e.g., “buy budget laptop under 30000 in India”).
• Branded: Includes your competitor’s brand names.
• Local: Adds location (“digital marketing agency in Bangalore”).
• Explain when to use each based on budget and goals.

8. Evaluate Keyword Metrics

• Search volume: Monthly demand.
• Competition: Low, medium, high.
• CPC: Fits within your budget?
• Relevance: Is it aligned with your product/service?
• ROI potential: Will clicks convert into profit?
• Budget tip: Avoid vague, high-volume keywords that drain budget without conversions.

9. Consider User Intent

• Informational: “how to use Google Ads.”
• Navigational: “Flipkart grocery.”
• Transactional/Commercial: “buy washing machine online.”
• SEM should prioritize transactional/commercial intent.
• Example: Coaching institute → better to target “join IIT JEE coaching Hyderabad” than “what is IIT coaching.”

10. Group and Organize Keywords

• Build ad groups with tightly related keywords.
• Example: One for “men’s running shoes,” another for “women’s running shoes.”
• Improves ad relevance + Quality Score.
• Pro tip: Limit groups to 10–15 keywords for stronger ad matching.

11. Balance Match Types

• Broad match: Maximum reach, less control.
• Phrase match: Middle ground.
• Exact match: High precision, limited volume.
• Add negative keywords to cut waste.
• Example: Use negative keyword “free” if you only sell paid products.

12. Budget Planning for Keywords

• Small budget (₹5K–₹10K): Focus on long-tail/local keywords.
• Medium budget (₹20K–₹50K): Mix transactional + branded terms.
• Large budget (₹1L+): Can afford competitive short tail + remarketing.
• Example: A Delhi bakery should avoid “cake online” (₹70 CPC) and bid on “birthday cake delivery in Lajpat Nagar” (₹20 CPC).

13. Link Keywords with Ads & Landing Pages

• Match ad copy with chosen keywords → boosts Quality Score.
• Ensure landing pages deliver what the keyword promises.
• Example: Keyword “buy running shoes online” → ad says “Buy Running Shoes Online” → landing page shows running shoes, not sandals.

14. Refine Through Testing & Optimization

• Launch with a mix of keyword types.
• Track CTR, conversions, CPA.
• Pause underperformers, scale winners.
• Example: Clothing brand paused “cheap shirts online” (high clicks, low sales) and scaled “buy formal shirts under 1000.”

15. Continuous Monitoring & Updating

• Keyword performance shifts with trends, seasons, and competition.
• Refresh lists regularly.
• Example: “online grocery delivery” peaked during lockdowns.
• Keep testing new long-tail keywords (often cheaper + higher intent).

16. Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Only chasing high-volume keywords.
• Ignoring negative keywords.
• Poor ad copy/landing page alignment.
• Neglecting to update keyword lists.
• Example: Targeting “free courses” when selling paid coaching.

17. Quick Starter 5-Step Checklist

1. Define campaign goal.
2. Brainstorm 10–15 seed keywords.
3. Expand with Google Keyword Planner.
4. Group by theme/ad group.
5. Launch, track, refined.

18. Case Study

• Local gym in Pune used “gym near me Pune” + “join fitness classes Kothrud.”
• Results: 40% more leads, 20% lower CPC vs targeting just “gym.”
• Shows practical success of keyword targeting.

19. Conclusion

• Keyword research is continuous, not one-time.
• Right keywords = higher visibility, lower CPC, stronger ROI.
• Encourage regular testing, tracking, and refining.

1. Introduction

Let me tell you a story. When I first started teaching SEM, I had a student named Rohit who ran a small sports shoe store in Delhi. He spent thousands on Google ads but got almost no sales. Why? He was targeting generic keywords like shoes online. The result? Lots of clicks, zero conversions. That is when I explained the power of right keywords in SEM.

Search Engine Marketing, or SEM, is basically paying to show your ads. This happens when people are actively searching for something. Think of it like renting a prime shop spot in Chandni Chowk where thousands of shoppers pass every day. The right spot brings you serious traffic, the wrong spot wastes your money.

Here is the truth. SEM is not just throwing money at Google. The magic happens when your keywords match what people are looking for. Choose wrong keywords and it is like selling winter jackets outside a beach in Goa. Not only do you waste money, but you also waste time and morale.

By the end of this guide, you will know how to pick, test, and refine keywords. These are keywords that bring real customers, not just clicks. You will understand SEM. It will be like being a shop owner who knows exactly which street corner will give the most footfall.

2. Understand Your Business Goals

Before touching a single keyword tool, ask yourself this, what is the goal of your campaign? Are you looking for more sales, leads, app installs, or just brand awareness?

Let me tell you a story. A small edtech startup in Hyderabad once chased a high volume keyword. The keyword was “free IIT JEE coaching online. Sounds great right? Huge traffic. But their product was paid coaching. Result? Tons of clicks, zero conversions, and a drained budget. It was painful but a lesson in goal alignment.

Here is another example from my classroom experience. I worked with a Delhi shoe store targeting sales. Their keywords were very specific buy running shoes online India. Simple, precise, and people searching for it were ready to buy. The same store, aiming only for brand awareness, would go broader. It would target best shoes for marathon training. Different goals, different keyword strategy.

Mini tip Always define goals in measurable terms. For instance, get 500 app installs in 30 days. That way, when your campaign runs, you can clearly judge if your keywords are working.

3. Identify Your Target Audience

Here is the thing. Not everyone who searches online is your customer. You need a buyer persona. Step into your customer’s shoes. Ask

Who are they?

Where do they live?

Which devices do they use?

What language do they search for?

What problem are they trying to solve?

Take the example of a grocery delivery app in Bangalore I consulted. Initially, they targeted general keywords like online groceries. But after analyzing their orders, they found something interesting. Young professionals who work late at night were their main buyers. Their best performing keyword is quick grocery delivery near me.

They focused on urgency and convenience, not generic traffic. That shift alone increased conversions by 40 percent in a month.

Here is what this really tells you. If you try to reach everyone, you reach no one. Deep understanding of your audience is the backbone of effective SEM.

4. Brainstorm Seed Keywords

Now comes the fun part making your starter list of keywords

Start with your core products or services. Then, check your website pages and peek at competitors. Most importantly, listen to your customers.

I remember working with an organic food store in Pune. Their initial seed keywords were generic organic rice, chemical free vegetables, organic snacks. Then we listened to customers in store. Parents asked millets for diabetes. Kids wanted organic snacks for lunchboxes. These phrases were not on any spreadsheet, they were real, lived experiences.

When the store used these as SEM keywords, clicks converted into actual sales. People searched for exactly what they needed, and the ads met them at that moment.

Take a moment to write down 10 to 15 phrases that your customers have said about your product. This helps you capture real feedback and understand how people truly perceive what you offer. You will often find that their language is totally different from yours. That is the goldmine.

5. Use Keyword Research Tools

Once you have seed keywords, it is time to validate them using tools

The most beginner friendly tool is Google Keyword Planner. Here is how I teach it

Enter your seed keywords and set the location to India or your target city. Then, check the average monthly searches and export the keyword ideas. Finally, analyze the search volume, competition, and CPC. Also, look at seasonal trends to get a clear picture of your keyword potential.

Let me give you a real life example. A gifting brand in Jaipur discovered that Rakhi gifts online spiked every August. They aligned their campaign with Raksha Bandhan and prepared special offers. As a result, they doubled their sales compared to the previous year. Without Keyword Planner, they would have missed the trend entirely.

• Tools like SEMrush or Ahrefs go even deeper.
• They show competitor strategies and bid estimates.
• Even Keyword Planner alone can help you spot winning opportunities.
• This works if you know how to interpret the numbers.

6. Analyze Competitor Keywords

Let’s say you run a local grocery store in Bangalore and want to advertise online. Big Basket or Blinkit are bidding on broad terms like online grocery delivery Bangalore. If you try to compete directly, your budget might burn fast with little return.

Study your competitors keywords, ads, and landing pages carefully. You might notice that they focus on city wide terms. But they ignore hyperlocal areas like JP Nagar or Koramangala. By bidding on same day grocery delivery JP Nagar, you capture a motivated local audience at a lower CPC.

Real story: A small Mumbai based bakery noticed that Amazon’s ad for birthday cakes online dominated the city search. They shifted focus to birthday cake delivery in Bandra. Suddenly, they saw a 30 percent spike in orders. Their audience felt the service was right in their neighborhood.

7. Focus on Keyword Types

Not all keywords are equal. Knowing which type to use saves money and increases conversions

Short tail: High volume, expensive, broad. Example: laptop. Good if your brand can handle big budgets

Long tail: Very specific, lower competition, higher intent. Example: buy budget laptop under 30000 in India. Perfect for small to medium businesses targeting buyers ready to purchase

Branded: Includes your competitors brand. Example: HP Pavilion laptop deals. Great for brand campaigns or capturing competitor traffic

Locals Adds a location. Example: digital marketing agency in Bangalore. Ideal for businesses serving a particular city or region.

Tip: If your budget is tight, focus on long tail plus local keywords. They often convert better because users are closer to buying.

8. Evaluating Keyword Metrics

Before picking keywords, check these numbers

Search Volume: How many users are looking for this monthly

Competition: High, medium, or low. High competition can be expensive

CPC: Can you afford it with your budget

Relevance: Does it match your product or service exactly

ROI Potential: Will clicks turn into sales or leads

Indian example:

A coaching institute targeting IIT JEE coaching found that IIT JEE online classes had lower search volume. However, they had much cheaper CPC and higher conversions. So, the institute decided to focus there.

Budget tip: Avoid chasing vague high volume terms like shoes or cakes. They may bring clicks but very few paying customers

9. Consider User Intent

Every search has a reason. Your SEM campaigns perform better if you match intent

Information: how to use Google Ads → users just want info

Navigational: Flipkart grocery → users want a particular brand or site

Transactional/Commercial: buy washing machine online → users ready to purchase

Indian example:

A Hyderabad coaching center shifted focus from what is IIT coaching (informational).

It moved toward promoting “Join IIT JEE Coaching Hyderabad” (transactional).

Result: 50 percent higher inquiries and students enrolling

Rule of thumb: For SEM, focus on keywords with transactional or commercial intent. These keywords target users who are ready to act.

10. Group and Organize Keywords

Once you have your list, organize them into tight ad groups

Example: A sports shoe store could create one ad group for mens running shoes. It could create another ad group for womens running shoes.

Why? Google rewards ad relevance with higher Quality Scores and lower CPC

Pro tip: Limit each ad group to 10 to 15 closely related keywords. Too many keywords in one group dilute relevance and hurt performance

Real life insight: A Delhi based apparel store once had a messy campaign with 50 plus keywords in a single group. CTR dropped, costs went up. The campaign was split into focused ad groups: formal shirts and casual shirts. After this, CTR jumped by 35 percent. This clear separation allowed the ads to target the right audience more effectively. As a result, conversions increased significantly. This demonstrates that organizing campaigns by product type can have a strong impact on performance.

11. Balance Match Types

Here is the thing, choosing the right match type can completely change how your ad reaches people. I remember when I first taught this to a batch of students in Mumbai. Many of them thought broad matches would solve everything. It does give you the widest reach, but it can also attract clicks from people who are not really interested. For example, imagine a Mumbai bakery using broad match for “birthday cake.” You might get clicks from someone just looking for cake recipes at home. That is wasted money.

Phrase match gives you more control. Your ads show only when the search includes your keyword phrase. It is that middle ground between reach and relevance. Exact match goes a step further. It targets only precise search terms. This means the people who click are highly likely to buy, but your impressions are fewer.

And do not ignore negative keywords. I have seen many small business owners lose half their budget. This happened because they did not block irrelevant searches. For example, if your bakery sells only premium cakes, add “free” or “cheap” as negative keywords. This keeps bargain hunters from clicking your ad.

Real story Priya runs a small café in Pune. She initially ran a broad match campaign for “coffee online.” She got hundreds of clicks every day but barely any sales. She was frustrated and almost wanted to quit digital ads. Then we switched her campaigns to phrase and exact match. We also blocked searches for “free coffee.” Within a month, her conversions tripled. She could not believe it.

12. Budget Planning for Keywords

Your budget is your reality check. You can dream big. But your budget decides which keywords you can realistically target.

Small budget ₹5K–₹10K Focus on long tail or local keywords. For example, “birthday cake delivery in Lajpat Nagar, Delhi.” These are cheaper, highly specific, and have higher intent.

Medium budget ₹20K–₹50K You can mix long tail transactional and branded terms. For example, “Order Chocolate Cake from Delhi bakery” plus “Famous Delhi bakeries.” You still get control without burning your money.

Large budget ₹1L+ You can include competitive short tail keywords and remarketing campaigns. For example, “cakes online” plus retarget visitors who abandoned carts.

Here’s a real life example. A Delhi bakery was bidding for “cake online” at ₹70 per click. They were getting traffic but very few orders. They switched to “birthday cake delivery in Lajpat Nagar” at ₹20 per click. After that, the orders started pouring in. This happened without increasing their spending. Lesson? Sometimes narrower targeting saves more money and gives better results.

13. Link Keywords with Ads & Landing Pages

One of the most overlooked mistakes I see is misalignment. Your ad says one thing, but your landing page delivers another. As a result, users bounce immediately. Keyword alignment is critical.

For example, if your keyword is “buy running shoes online,” your ad headline should say exactly that. And the landing page should show running shoes only, not sandals or casual footwear.

I had a client in Bengaluru, an ecommerce startup selling snacks. Their ad for “organic snacks online” was getting clicks, but users were bouncing. When we updated the landing page to show only snack products, conversions jumped 35% in just two weeks. That was a proud moment for the team. They realized small alignment changes can create big results.

14. Refine Through Testing & Optimization

SEM is never set and forget. You must constantly track performance. Monitor CTR, conversion rate, and cost per acquisition. Pause keywords that bring clicks but no sales and scale the ones that perform.

I remember a clothing brand in Hyderabad running ads for “cheap shirts online.” The clicks were huge, but sales were almost nothing in sales. We switched the focus to “buy formal shirts under 1000.” Suddenly conversions doubled, but the ad spend remained the same. That moment always makes me smile. It is proof that testing and optimization are where the magic happens.

15. Continuous Monitoring & Updating

Keywords are alive. They change with seasons, trends, events, and competitor activity. Refresh your keyword lists regularly and test new long tail terms. These often cost less and have higher intent.

Take COVID lockdowns in India, for instance. Searches for “online grocery delivery” exploded. Few grocery stores updated their keywords. They included “same day grocery delivery near me.” This captured serious business while competitors were still using generic terms. Those who adapted survived and even grew.

16. Common Mistakes to Avoid

When I teach digital marketing, I often see the same mistakes repeated by businesses in India. These mistakes are costly. I have personally watched owners lose lakhs because of them.

One big mistake is chasing only high volume keywords. Let me tell you about a coaching institute in Delhi. They kept running ads for “IIT coaching” because it had thousands of searches. On paper it looked great, but here is the reality. Those clicks were super expensive. Most of the people clicking were not even serious about joining. Some were just students curious about IIT. Some were parents comparing institutes. Others were only browsing. The institute spent lakhs of rupees, but admissions barely moved. The owner told me with frustration in his eyes, “We thought more searches meant more students. Instead, we burnt money.”

Another mistake is ignoring negative keywords. I worked with a paid digital marketing course provider who forgot to exclude “free” as a negative keyword. Their ads kept showing for “free digital marketing course.” Imagine paying for clicks from people who had zero intention of spending money. The founder later admitted, “We wasted nearly 50,000 rupees just on the wrong audience. That taught me the importance of negative keywords more than any book ever could.”

A third mistake is poor ad copy and landing page alignment. Think about this. You search “buy red saree online” and click an ad. But the landing page shows all types of clothing, no red saree in sight. How do you feel? Frustrated, right? That is exactly what happened to a boutique store in Hyderabad. They were getting a lot of traffic, but conversions were painfully low. I reviewed their ads and landing pages, and the issue was clear. People searching for red sarees wanted to see red sarees, not a mix of jeans and kurtis. When they fixed it, their conversion rate jumped by 30 percent in one month.

Another common trap is neglecting to update keyword lists. Search behavior in India changes very quickly. During the lockdown, “online grocery delivery near me” became one of the most searched terms. But many local shops continued bidding only on “grocery store.” They completely missed out on a booming demand. I remember one small store owner telling me. He said that if he had understood this shift earlier, he would have doubled his sales. Those months could have been a game change for his business.

17. Quick Starter 5 Step Checklist

If you feel overwhelmed about where to start, let me give you a roadmap that works like a pilot test. I use this with my students all the time.

Step one is to define your campaign goal. For example, a home bakery in Bangalore set a clear goal: “Get 200 online cake orders in 30 days.” Notice how specific this is.

Step two is brainstorming 10 to 15 seed keywords. Use the language your customers speak. That bakery listed keywords like “birthday cake near me.” It also used “midnight cake delivery.” In addition, it included “eggless cake shop.”

Step three is expanded with Google Keyword Planner. Enter your seed keywords, filter for India, check the search volumes and CPCs. This gives you real data, not just guesses.

Step four is group by theme or ad group. For example, one group for “birthday cakes,” another for “anniversary cakes.” This keeps your ads tightly focused.

Step five is launch, track, and refined. Do not pour your whole budget into one go. Start small, see which keywords bring clicks and conversions, then scale.

I often tell my students, treat this checklist like dipping your toes into the water before you dive in. It keeps you safe from burning money.

18. Case Study

Let me share a story about Pune. A small gym there wanted to increase signups. In the beginning, they targeted broad terms like “gym” and “fitness.” The ads got thousands of impressions, but here was the issue. Hardly anyone from Pune clicked, and most of the leads they got were irrelevant. The owner was upset. He was paying for attention from people who lived 20 kilometers away. They were never going to join.

Then they changed strategy. Instead of chasing broad terms, they added location specific keywords. These were intent driven, like “gym near me Pune” and “join fitness classes Kothrud.”

The results were eye opening. They started attracting people living in and around Kothrud who were actively looking for a gym. Within two months, they saw 40 percent more qualified leads. Their cost per clicks also dropped by 20 percent compared to generic “gym” keywords.

I still remember the owner’s words. He said, “Earlier, I was spending on people who would never walk into my gym. Now, every rupee feels like it is bringing in real customers. That emotion is something I want every student to feel when they run their first successful campaign.

19. Conclusion

Keyword research is not a onetime checklist. It is a cycle that you repeat again. Search habits shift with seasons, trends, and even cultural events in India.

The right keywords mean more visibility where it matters. They also bring down CPC because of better targeting. In the end, they help you get a higher ROI with every campaign.

Here is the bottom line. Keep testing, keep tracking, and keep refining. Do not hesitate to pause what is not working and scale what is. I have seen this again. The businesses that stay flexible with their keyword strategy often stand out. They are the ones that succeed in the long run.