In pay per call you are paid for conversations, not clicks. A keyword that drives lots of cheap clicks but few billable calls is worse than useless — it trains your bidding algorithm to find more of the wrong people. Keyword research for calls is therefore less about volume and more about intent.
Think in intent layers
Every search sits somewhere between "just curious" and "ready to talk to someone now". Group your keywords into layers:
- Action intent — the person wants to do something: "get a quote", "sign up", "enroll", "call", "near me", "today", "emergency". These are your core keywords.
- Comparison intent — "best", "cheapest", "compare", "top rated", "reviews". Good callers, but often still shopping; expect lower billable rates.
- Information intent — "what is", "how does", "definition", "eligibility rules". Rarely billable. Use for SEO content, not paid search.
Vertical-specific modifiers
Each vertical has its own signals. A few examples:
- Medicare: "Medicare Advantage plans [city]", "Medicare supplement quotes", "change Medicare plan". Avoid "Medicare phone number", "Medicare card replacement" — those callers want the government, not an agent, and sending them to a third party can be misleading.
- Final expense: "burial insurance for seniors", "final expense life insurance quote", "funeral insurance over 70".
- Home services: "[service] near me", "emergency [service]", "[service] repair cost", plus city names.
- Legal: "[injury] lawyer near me", "do I have a case", "settlement for [product]". Many legal terms are among the most expensive keywords on the web — test carefully.
Match types in practice
Search engines interpret match types loosely now, especially broad match. A sensible approach for call campaigns:
- Launch with phrase and exact match on your core action keywords to control spend.
- Add broad match only in a separate campaign or ad group, paired with smart bidding on billable calls, once you have conversion data.
- Promote winning search terms from broad into exact match so they get their own bids.
A negative keyword starter list
Add these on day one and expand from your search terms report:
- Jobs and careers: jobs, career, salary, hiring, employment, training, course, license exam
- Free or DIY: free, diy, how to, template, sample, pdf, download
- Research: definition, meaning, wiki, statistics, history, essay
- Wrong audience: login, portal, customer service, cancel, complaint (unless your buyer wants retention calls)
- Government or brand impersonation risks: official site, .gov, social security office (for most verticals)
Read the search terms report like a detective
Every few days, sort search terms by cost and ask one question per row: would this person plausibly be a billable caller for my buyer? Add a negative for every "no". Look for patterns — if "medicaid" keeps appearing in a Medicare campaign, add it as a negative across the account.
Validate with calls, not clicks
Once calls start, connect each call to the keyword that produced it through dynamic number insertion or your ad platform's call reporting. A keyword that produces many calls but a low billable rate is a candidate for pausing or lower bids. Our guide to call tracking explains how to set this up.
Ready to put your keyword list to work? Apply to BFOUNT and choose from live pay-per-call campaigns with clear buffers and hours.