Google Ads Now Targets Intent Over Keywords: How to Adapt
Google Ads still uses keywords, but campaigns no longer live or die by exact matching. Google is increasingly optimising around inferred intent using machine learning, behavioural signals, audience data, and predicted conversion likelihood. If you are still building your account like it is 2016, performance will feel less predictable and often more expensive.
What has changed
Historically, advertisers controlled reach by selecting keywords and match types, then steering outcomes through bids and ad copy. Today, Google is better at interpreting what a search is trying to achieve, not just what was typed.
For a query like “best electric cars for families”, Google may weigh signals such as:
- recent browsing and research behaviour related to electric vehicles
- in market indicators and purchase readiness
- location, device, and time based patterns
- how similar users have behaved and converted
The practical result is that keyword selection is a starting point, not the control lever it used to be.
Why it matters commercially
This shift changes the unit economics of acquisition. When Google decides which auctions you enter and how aggressively you should bid based on predicted intent, you can:
- pay more for traffic that looks valuable but does not convert in your funnel
- lose volume if your tracking or offer makes conversion signals unclear
- see results swing when Google learns the wrong “ideal customer” from limited data
In other words, intent based delivery rewards businesses with clean measurement, strong conversion architecture, and disciplined bidding. It punishes accounts that rely on keyword micromanagement while ignoring what happens after the click.
How it affects bidding and performance systems
Smart Bidding becomes the default operating mode
Strategies like Target CPA and Target ROAS are designed to bid based on conversion likelihood, not keyword value. That can be commercially positive if your conversion events reflect real value. It is commercially harmful if you optimise to weak signals.
Common miscalculation: optimising to leads without lead quality, or optimising to purchases without margin differences. Google will hit the number you gave it, even if profitability declines.
Audience signals carry more weight
Google’s in market segments and behavioural audiences help shape who sees your ads when intent is ambiguous. This is less about “targeting” and more about giving the system guardrails.
Use audience insights to answer:
- Which segments produce the best conversion rate and lowest CPA
- Which segments produce the best ROAS after refunds, churn, or sales qualification
- Where intent is high but your offer or landing page is not doing its job
How to adapt without chasing platform tricks
Map campaigns to intent, not keyword lists
Group coverage around the job the user is trying to complete. For example, “compare options”, “find a price”, “solve a specific problem”. Build ad copy and landing pages that answer that intent directly.
Choose conversion signals that match commercial value
If you sell with a long cycle, do not treat every form fill as equal. If you have multiple products, do not optimise as if each sale has the same margin. Your bidding system is only as good as the value signal you feed it.
Review performance like an operator
Monitor search terms, audience performance, and conversion pathways regularly. Look for patterns in:
- where spend is growing without profit improving
- queries that signal research rather than purchase intent
- segments that convert but do not retain or qualify
What leaders should pay attention to
Intent based Google Ads makes acquisition less about control and more about system design. The winners will be the businesses that treat Google as one component in a measured growth loop: clear offer, clean tracking, strong landing pages, and bidding aligned to real economics.
For more grounded, performance focused marketing thinking, explore our latest strategic insights on the blog.
