How is a keyword in Google Ads different from a keyword in SEO?
Same words, different deal. In Google Ads you add the keyword to a campaign, pick a match type and pay for each click, and the ad can show the same day. In SEO you write a page that answers the search better than the pages already there, and Google decides in its own time whether to show it. The ad stops the day you stop paying. A good page keeps working for years.
| Keyword in Google Ads | Keyword in SEO | |
|---|---|---|
| What you do with it | Add it to an ad group and bid | Build or rewrite a page around it |
| What it costs | Every click | Your time, or a writer's |
| How fast | Same day | Weeks to months |
| Where you read the result | Google Ads, Keywords and Search terms | Search Console, Performance, Queries |
Both start with the same question: what do the people who need you actually type?
Where do you find the words people use?
Three places, all free. Google Keyword Planner, under Tools in a Google Ads account, suggests phrases and shows roughly how often each is searched. The search terms report in Google Ads shows what people typed before your ads showed. And Google Search Console's Performance report lists the queries your website already appears for, which often turns up phrases you never thought to target.
Google Search Central's "SEO Starter Guide" puts the SEO side plainly: think about the words a person would use to look for your content, and use them naturally in the page. It also warns that repeating them over and over (keyword stuffing) is against Google's spam policies.
Which keywords should a Penrith carpet cleaner chase, and where? (example figures)
A carpet cleaning business in Penrith, one owner and a part-timer, pulled these from Keyword Planner and its own phone calls:
| Keyword | Searches a month (range) | Typical ad click | Best home for it |
|---|---|---|---|
| carpet cleaning penrith | 100 to 1,000 | $6.50 | Ads now, home page over time |
| end of lease carpet cleaning | 100 to 1,000 | $5.80 | Its own page, plus ads |
| how to get red wine out of carpet | 1,000 to 10,000 | $0.90 | A help page, no ads |
| carpet cleaning jobs | 100 to 1,000 | $1.20 | A negative keyword |
The red wine search has the most people and the fewest customers: they want to fix it themselves tonight. As a free help page it can still bring locals who later book, so it earns a page and no ad money. End-of-lease cleaning was the surprise. The owner's phone log showed it was a third of the jobs, at about $220 each, and the website had no page about it. One page, with the bond-back guarantee, the suburbs covered and the price per room, now catches that search for free, and the ads cover it while the page climbs.
How does CoraVision connect your keywords to results?
CoraVision reads Google Ads spend, clicks and conversions every night, and Google Analytics 4 visits by channel, so paid search and organic search sit side by side in the numbers Cora works from. The keyword choices are part of the plan: when a strategy calls for a new page or a new ad group, the steps go into the project's action plan and Cora teaches them on your own screen while you do the work.
Questions
How many keywords should a small business start with?
Fewer than most people think. A search campaign for a local service can start with 10 to 20 keywords grouped by service, and add more from the search terms report once you see what people really type. For SEO, one main phrase per page is the rule, with its natural variations.
Is Google Keyword Planner free?
Yes, inside a Google Ads account, with no need to run ads. Accounts with little or no ad spend see search volumes as ranges, such as 100 to 1,000 a month, rather than exact figures. The ranges are enough to compare phrases.