Library · Keywords
Build keyword lists your campaigns can use
Target and negative lists, match types and AI keyword ideas, organized by client and theme and ready to feed your paid builds. Try the demo below, or start your own workspace.
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- Plans from $99/month
- Built for multi-client agencies
- Your brand across the console
Library · Keywords
Keyword research and list building for marketing agencies
Good paid search and SEO start long before a campaign goes live — with the keyword research that decides where the budget points. The Keyword Research workspace in AI Marketing Dashboard is the place your team builds and curates keyword lists for every client: target terms and negatives, match types and AI keyword ideas, organized by the campaign theme they belong to and ready to drop straight into a paid build.
Ask AI
Start from a shortlist, not a blank list
Give Ask AI a seed term and it drafts keywords for the theme in front of you. You read them, and you decide what joins the list.
Each idea comes with a match type and a reason
- Separate asks for target terms and for negatives
- A run reaches several kinds of search, and More keywords continues into the rest
- Add one term at a time, or a page at a time
- A thumbs-down steers the team's later ideas for that client
No invented numbers
A keyword list that says only what it knows
A volume or difficulty figure is only worth showing when real search data stands behind it. This tool has none, so it shows none, and gives you something you can check instead.
A sheet with borrowed numbers
- A monthly volume copied in from another tool
- A difficulty score nobody can reproduce
- Match types in a spare column, if at all
- Negative terms kept in a different file
Easy to trust, hard to check.
A list you can read at a glance
- Target and negative lists kept apart, per client and theme
- A match type on every term: broad, phrase or exact
- A guide beside the list that explains each match type
- Ideas from Ask AI that you add by hand
No search volume or competition score, because no search data sits behind the tool.
Build the list where the campaign will read it
Add a client, choose a theme and keep target and negative terms under the same theme as the copy and creative they serve. The paid planner can read the same lists.
Plans start at $99/month.
On this page
Target and negative keyword lists, side by side
Decide what you bid on — and what you never want to
Build the keywords you want to win and, just as importantly, the negatives you want to exclude — in the same workspace, per client. A disciplined negative list is where a lot of wasted ad spend is quietly prevented, so it sits as a first-class part of the research, not an afterthought you bolt on once the budget is already leaking.
Each list is saved whole with its keywords and tags, so the research you do for a client compounds over time instead of being re-done from scratch every campaign.
A deliberate match type on every term
Broad, phrase and exact, with a reference beside the list
Tag each keyword with its match type while a reference panel beside the list explains how broad, phrase and exact differ, so a media buyer can weigh reach against intent before a single dollar is committed. The structure mirrors how the term will actually run, which means less translation work when the list moves into a live campaign.
It turns a flat list of phrases into a decision-ready plan: the high-intent exacts to protect margin, the broader terms to test for discovery, and the negatives to fence the whole thing in. What the list will not show is an invented search volume or competition figure, because the tool has no live search data behind it.
Keyword lists organized by client and campaign theme
Research that maps to the strategy it serves
Every list is attached to a client and a canonical campaign theme — the same positioning angles the rest of your marketing tools are organized around — so research for the 'spring promo' theme lives with the copy and creative for that same theme rather than in a disconnected spreadsheet.
That shared structure is what keeps a multi-client agency's research navigable: switch the client, switch the theme, and you are looking at exactly the keywords that belong to the work in front of you.
AI keyword ideas grounded in the client's theme
Get unstuck without starting from a blank page
Generate on-theme keyword ideas from the client's Profile, website and published research to seed a new list or fill a gap in an existing one. Each idea arrives with a suggested match type and a one-line reason. A run covers several search territories, such as the core service, the problems people search about and local searches, so the ideas do not cluster around one phrase, and More keywords carries on into the territories still untouched. You still curate what actually makes the cut.
The point is a faster path to a good list, not an unattended dump of terms. Ask AI states no search volume or competition, because the tool has no search data to draw on, and the human judgement that separates a high-performing account from a wasteful one stays exactly where it belongs.
Lists that flow straight into your paid campaigns
From research to a live Google build, no re-keying
Because keyword lists are scoped to a client and theme, the paid-campaign builder can pull the right list directly when you assemble a Google campaign — the research you did here is the research the campaign runs on, with no copy-paste hand-off in between.
It closes the gap that usually swallows good keyword work: the list you carefully built is the list that actually ships, instead of a document someone forgets to open when the campaign is finally put together.
A clean keyword library for every client
Switch accounts and the research follows
Lists are per client, so a roster of accounts never collapses into one tangled keyword pile. Each client's target and negative lists, by theme, stay in their own space — the structure that lets one team manage research for many clients without losing track of whose terms are whose.
It is the same per-client model the whole console uses, so the keyword research sits naturally alongside that client's copy, creative, plans and reporting.
What a keyword dashboard means here, and where reporting takes over
This workspace is where every client's target and negative lists live, grouped by theme. It plans keywords. It does not track rankings or sell search volume.
| The question | Where it is answered | What you see |
|---|---|---|
| Which terms are we targeting, and how tightly? | Target lists in this workspace | Terms grouped by theme, each with a match type. |
| Which searches must we keep out? | Negative lists in this workspace | Exclusions kept apart from the targets. |
| Which queries brought organic clicks? | Search Console reporting | The connected site's clicks, impressions, click-through rate and average position. |
| How did the paid campaigns perform? | Google Ads reporting | Results for the connected advertiser account. |
| Which saved list feeds a Google build? | The Paid planner's Keywords step | Saved lists applied to a plan, or terms added by hand. |
For results, read Google Search Console reporting for organic queries and Google Ads reporting for paid performance. Both connect on the Agency plan and up, and the workspace you plan in is the one you return to when the results change your mind.
Note
No volume or difficulty figures, by design
Nothing in the workspace queries a search-data provider, so it shows no monthly volume and no difficulty or competition score. A list states what you chose to target and how, which is something you can check.
Choosing broad, phrase or exact for each term
The match type decides how tightly a term triggers. The workspace shows each type with its operator syntax, so a list reads the way the campaign will.
| Match type | How it is written | What it reaches | A good use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Broad | keyword | Searches related to the term, including synonyms and close variations | Discovery and the widest reach, with a negative list beside it |
| Phrase | "keyword" | Searches that include the meaning of the phrase, with words before or after | Testing a new angle while keeping some intent |
| Exact | [keyword] | Searches with the same meaning as the exact term | Terms where control matters more than reach |
The quick-add row beside a list sets the match type for the term you type, so one list can mix all three. A common split is exact for terms already known to convert, phrase for testing new angles, and broad only with a negative list beside it.
Negative lists: the waste categories to check first
A negative list names the traffic you do not want. Start with categories, then add the specific words your own search reports surface.
| Category | Typical terms | Check before adding |
|---|---|---|
| Jobs and careers | jobs, careers, salary, hiring | Keep them if the client recruits through the campaign. |
| Do it yourself | diy, tutorial, how to make | Keep how-to terms if the offer is a course or a tool. |
| Research and definitions | what is, meaning, definition | Ask whether a blog post, not an ad, should serve these. |
| Courses and training | course, certification, class | Keep them if the client teaches. |
| Free and bargain seekers | free, cheap, coupon | Do not block free estimate or free consultation when the client offers one. |
| Parts and supplies | parts, supplies, wholesale | Keep them if the client sells them. |
| Wrong meanings | The same words used in another industry | Read the search report before adding. |
| Services not offered | A service the client has stopped offering | Remove the exclusion if the service returns. |
The aim is to remove waste without blocking buyers, so read each negative against the target lists of the same theme before it joins the list.
Using Ask AI for keyword ideas without inventing data
Ask AI works on one list at a time, proposes terms with a match type and a reason, and leaves the decision to you.
Open the right kind of list
Ask AI follows the list you have open: target lists get keyword ideas, and negative lists get terms to exclude.
Add a seed or an angle
A seed term or an angle is optional. For a negative list, describe the traffic you do not want instead.
Generate and read the reasons
Every suggestion carries a recommended match type and a short reason. A grounding note says whether the Profile, the website or published research informed the run.
Continue into new territory
Each run reaches into several search territories, for instance the core service, problem searches and local searches. More keywords carries on into the ones the last run left untouched.
Add what earns its place
Add one idea, or everything on the page. Terms already in the list, or in a list of the other kind on the same theme, are filtered out.
Turn down what misses
A thumbs-down with a reason, such as Wrong intent, Too broad or Would block good traffic, steers later ideas for that client.
Tip
Ideas, not data
Ask AI has no search volume to draw on, so it cannot say how often a term is searched. Review every suggestion against the client's offer before it joins a list.
From a saved list to a Google build, a blog brief or a client review
A list earns its keep when other tools read it.
In the planners and the copy library
A Google plan in the paid media planner has a Keywords step that applies saved lists or accepts terms you add. Meta plans carry no keywords. Ask AI for Google Ads lines in the copy library reads the theme's target and negative terms, and a post in Blogs can track terms taken from the same lists.
Sharing a list with the client
Keyword lists follow the Library review path: submit, an internal approval, then sharing. The client's portal Library shows a card per shared list, with the terms grouped by match type and a plain explanation of each. The client's admin can approve it, and other members can ask for changes.
Plan
Plans for keyword work
Keyword lists and Ask AI ideas are included in Studio, the lowest plan, at $99 a month. Applying a list in the Paid planner begins on Agency at $299, and showing it in the client portal needs Scale or Enterprise.
Organizing a roster's lists so nobody rebuilds them
Agency owners
See each client's targeting
Choose a client and a theme and the Target Keywords and Negative Keywords tabs sit one click apart, each with its own count. Search looks through list names, descriptions, tags and the keywords themselves.
- One workspace for every client
- Lists are scoped to a client and a theme
Your team
Name for the job
Name a list for the work it does in a campaign, and add tags for the dimensions that cross themes, such as a funnel stage, a region or a service line.
- Duplicate a list that works, then adapt it
- A copy never inherits the client share
Your clients
Read the plain version
After approval a client reads the shared list in their portal rather than a spreadsheet, so a question about a term can be raised against the term itself.
- Terms are grouped by match type
- Internal review comments stay inside the agency
Frequently asked questions
Does the keyword tool show search volume or competition?
No. The workspace has no search-data provider behind it, so it never shows monthly volume, difficulty or competition scores. A list records what you chose to target, with a match type on every term, and Ask AI suggestions come with a reason rather than a number.
What is the difference between broad, phrase and exact match?
Broad reaches the widest audience, including related searches and synonyms. Phrase matches searches that include the meaning of your phrase, with words before or after it. Exact is the tightest, matching searches with the same meaning as the term. The workspace shows each type with its operator syntax and a reference panel beside the list.
How do I build a negative keyword list?
Open a theme, switch to Negative Keywords and create a list, then add terms for the traffic you want excluded. Jobs, do-it-yourself, definitions, courses and bargain hunting are common starting points. Check that no negative blocks a good buying phrase, then apply the list in a Google plan's Keywords step.
Can I buy keyword lists or import them from another tool?
There is no marketplace and no spreadsheet import. Lists are built in the workspace: type each term with its match type, or ask Ask AI for ideas on the theme and add the ones you want. Because a person adds every term, the list reflects the client's real offer rather than a generic bundle.
Can I share a keyword list with a client?
Yes, after review. Keyword lists follow the Library review path: an internal approval first, then sharing into the client's portal Library, which sits on the Scale plan and Enterprise. The client sees a card per list, with terms grouped by match type and explained in plain words, and can approve it or ask for changes.
Where do query results and average position appear?
Not in the Library. The keyword workspace plans targeting. Organic queries, clicks, impressions and average position come from connected Search Console reporting, and paid results come from connected Google Ads reporting. Both connect on the Agency plan and up. On those plans a client that has not connected yet shows a Connect prompt rather than figures, and on Studio the report pages are illustrative layouts.
Is keyword research included on every plan?
Yes. List building, Ask AI ideas and the review path are included from Studio at $99 a month. Applying a list in the Paid planner starts on the Agency plan, and displaying shared lists to a client takes the portal on Scale or Enterprise.