How to Find High Purchase Intent Keywords in Your Own Ad Data

Every business wants more customers, more sales, and more revenue from their digital advertising. But are you using your own ad data to uncover high purchase intent keywords that drive real conversions?

Whether you run a restaurant, a fintech startup, an ecommerce store, or a local service business, your ad data holds a treasure trove of insights. You just need to know where to look and how to interpret it.

In this post you will learn:

• What high purchase intent keywords are

• Why they matter to your business growth

• How to find them in your own PPC and social ad data

• Examples across industries such as restaurants and fintech

• Tips to turn keywords into actionable campaigns

Let’s dive in.

What Are High Purchase Intent Keywords

High purchase intent keywords are search terms or phrases that indicate someone is ready to take action, buy, join, sign up, or pay for a product or service.

These are not broad, informational terms like what is keyword research or how to cook a steak. They are specific, action-oriented terms like best digital wallet for low fees or book brunch reservation Toronto.

Search intent can usually be classified into four main buckets:

1. Informational intent: Learning, researching, understanding

2. Navigational intent: Looking for a specific brand or page

3. Transactional intent: Ready to buy or sign up

4. Commercial investigation: Comparing options before a purchase

High purchase intent keywords fall under transactional or strong commercial investigation. They are the terms that convert.

According to studies from Semrush and Google, keywords with transactional language like buy, price, order, deal, near me, or book now often have conversion rates that are 2x to 4x higher than purely informational keywords.

Example: Applying Transactional Keywords for an Italian Restaurant

If we were helping a local Italian restaurant grow reservations and online orders, the difference between informational keywords and transactional keywords becomes very clear.

Informational Keywords (Low Purchase Intent)

These keywords show curiosity or research, but not urgency:

• Italian food

• Italian pasta dishes

• What is carbonara

• Best Italian recipes

• History of Italian cuisine

Someone searching these terms may love Italian food, but they are not necessarily ready to dine out or place an order. These keywords are better suited for blog content or brand awareness, not direct conversions.

Transactional Keywords (High Purchase Intent)

Transactional keywords include action-based language that signals someone is ready to book, order, or visit a restaurant:

• Italian restaurant near me

• Book Italian restaurant tonight

• Italian restaurant reservations

• Order pasta online

• Best Italian restaurant in Hamilton

• Italian takeout open now

• Romantic Italian restaurant near me

These searches indicate immediate intent. The user is not browsing, they are deciding.

Purchase intent matters not only in paid ads, but across your entire digital strategy. While this article focuses on uncovering high-intent keywords through ad data and search query reports, the same principles apply to SEO.

If you want to go deeper into identifying high-intent keywords for organic search, we break that process down step by step in How to Identify High-Intent SEO Keywords That Actually Convert, including how to evaluate intent, filter out low-value traffic, and prioritize keywords that actually lead to sales and sign-ups.

Why Your Own Ad Data Is One of the Best Keyword Sources

Most businesses default to generic keyword research tools like Google Keyword Planner, Ahrefs, or Ubersuggest. Those tools are useful, but they only tell part of the story.

Your own ad data shows what real people typed, clicked, and converted on for your business.

That means:

• You discover the exact phrases that drive purchases

• You learn which ads and landing pages convert best

• You avoid guessing and base decisions on real customer behavior

Advertisers who regularly analyze and optimize their campaigns using first-party search query and keyword performance data can improve conversion efficiency and return on ad spend by reducing wasted budget and increasing relevance, according to PPC best practices and industry reports. This approach helps discover untapped high-intent keywords, lower cost per acquisition, and strengthen overall campaign performance by aligning keyword intent with conversions.

How to Find High Purchase Intent Keywords in Your Ad Data

Here is a step-by-step process you can follow, whether you use Google Ads, Microsoft Ads, Facebook, TikTok, or another platform.

Step 1: Export Search Term Reports

In Google Ads and Microsoft Ads:

1. Go to your campaign

2. Click Keywords

3. Select Search Terms

4. Export the report as a CSV

In Facebook or TikTok:

1. Export your campaign results

2. Look at the Search Terms or Query Report (if available)

3. Pull out the exact phrases users typed that triggered your ads

Step 2: Filter for Purchase Intent Language

Look for keywords that contain:

• Buy

• Purchase

• Order

• Get

• Price

• Cost

• Deals

• Coupon

• Reservation

• Near me

• Signup / sign up

• Book

These modifiers typically indicate that someone is ready to act. For example:

Restaurant examples

• brunch reservation near me

• best sushi dinner deals Hamilton

• order vegan pizza online

Fintech examples

• business loan application fast

• best credit card for small businesses

• open no fee digital wallet

Step 3: Check Conversion Metrics

Once you have a list of intent keywords, compare them against:

• Click-through rate (CTR)

• Conversion rate

• Cost per conversion

• Revenue per conversion

Sort your data to show phrases with the highest conversion rate and lowest cost per conversion. These are your priority keywords.

For example:

If someone searches digital wallet with no fees and converts at 8 percent, while someone searching digital wallet features converts at 1 percent, the first phrase clearly shows higher purchase intent.

Step 4: Create Intent-Focused Ad Groups

Take your high intent keywords and:

• Group them into tightly themed ad groups

• Write ads that mirror the keyword language

• Send clicks to dedicated landing pages

Matching intent language to your ad copy and landing page can improve your Quality Score in Google Ads and reduce cost per click while increasing conversions.

Examples by Industry

Here are industry examples you can use as inspiration. You can fill in your own business details where needed.

Restaurant Keyword Intent Examples

Goal: Increase reservations and online orders

| Intent Phrase | Target Action | Example Campaign |
| Order pizza near me | Online order | Order pizza Hamilton |
| Best brunch near me | Reservation | Brunch reservations Hamilton |
| Vegan dinner deals | Menu special page | Vegan menu deals this week |
| Book private dining | Event booking | Private dining bookings |

Fill-in:
Your restaurant name: ____
Top menu item or offer: ____
Location(s) served: ____

Tip: Use local modifiers like near me or city names to reach high purchase intent diners who are ready to choose a place right now.

Fintech Keyword Intent Examples

Goal: Drive applications, trials, or leads

| Intent Phrase | Target Action | Example Campaign |
| business loan application | Fill lead form | Apply for small business loan |
| best low fee credit card | Comparison landing page | Low fee card options |
| open digital wallet account | Sign up | Start your digital wallet |
| fintech for restaurants | Service page | Fintech solutions for restaurants |

Fill-in:
Product or service focus: ____
Top benefit (low cost, fast approval): ____
Target audience: ____

Tip: Lead with your unique value proposition in the ad headline to boost conversion.

Tools to Support Your Keyword Research

Here are some external tools that help you validate and analyze your keywords:

Google Keyword Planner: For search volume and forecast data
https://ads.google.com/aw/keywordplanner

Google Trends: To see rising search trends
https://trends.google.com

SEMrush Keyword Analytics: Competitive keyword data
https://www.semrush.com

Ahrefs Keyword Explorer: Search volumes and difficulty scores
https://ahrefs.com

Ubersuggest: Keyword suggestions and metrics
https://neilpatel.com/ubersuggest

These tools help you double-check your search term findings and plan beyond your own ad data.

Advanced Tips to Turn Keywords into Growth

Here are extra strategies that take your keyword approach further.

Tip 1: Use Landing Pages That Match the Keyword

If someone searches order brunch near me, send them to a brunch reservation page not a generic homepage. Pages that mirror search intent drive higher conversions, often by 20 percent or more.

Tip 2: Update Negative Keyword Lists

Remove irrelevant terms that drain budget. For example, if free or jobs is appearing but not converting, add them to your negative keyword list to stop spending on low intent traffic.

Tip 3: Track Lifetime Value, Not Just First Conversion

For ecommerce and fintech, track users beyond first click. Some keywords drive high initial conversions, others drive high lifetime value. Use Google Analytics or your CRM to connect keyword data to revenue over time.

Tip 4: Use Conversion Value Rules

If you have different value actions (high margin vs low margin), assign values in Google Ads so the system optimizes for highest value conversions.

Tip 5: Test Regularly

Keyword performance changes over time. Re-run search term reports weekly or monthly, especially after seasonal campaigns or menu changes.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Mistake 1: Relying only on broad match keywords
Broad match can bring irrelevant traffic if not managed. Use phrase match and exact match for high intent phrases.

Mistake 2: Ignoring impression share
Impression share tells you how often your keyword is actually showing. If you have high intent keywords but low impression share you are losing potential conversions.

Mistake 3: Not reviewing daily search query reports
Search behavior changes fast. Daily or weekly checks keep you ahead of trends.

Conclusion

Finding high purchase intent keywords in your own ad data turns your existing spending into smarter growth. It stops guesswork, reveals what real people searching for your business actually type, and uncovers opportunities you might otherwise miss.

By exporting search term reports, filtering for intent, and aligning your campaigns and landing pages to those keywords, you can increase conversions and maximize ROI.

Here are the next steps you can take today:

1. Export your latest search term report

2. Filter for purchase intent phrases

3. Group them into focused ad groups

4. Update your ads and landing pages

5. Track performance and refine monthly

Contact Simplee Digital to optimize your ads for real purchase intent.