Is User Intent a Crock of BS When It Comes to Google Ads?

Understanding the Role of Intent in Google Ads

Anyone who has run a Google Ads campaign has heard the phrase “user intent” thrown around like it’s the Holy Grail of PPC success. The theory is simple: If you align your ads with what a user is looking for, you’ll get better results—lower cost per click (CPC), higher conversion rates, and a more profitable campaign.

But what if user intent isn’t as powerful as marketers make it out to be? What if Google has created a system where intent is less about what users want and more about how much advertisers are willing to pay? Let’s break it down.

Google Ads: The Auction vs. The Intent

At its core, Google Ads operates on an auction system. Advertisers bid on keywords, and Google determines which ads show based on factors like Quality Score, ad relevance, landing page experience, and, of course, bid amount.

In an ideal world, Google prioritizes showing ads that align with what users are searching for. But in reality, Google’s goal is to make money. If an advertiser with deep pockets is willing to pay significantly more for a less relevant keyword, they can often win the auction—regardless of user intent.

The Problem With Intent-Based Bidding

Google encourages advertisers to structure their campaigns around intent-based keywords:

• High Intent – “Emergency AC repair near me” (User needs a service NOW)
• Medium Intent – “Best HVAC companies in NJ” (User is researching options)
• Low Intent – “How does an AC compressor work?” (User is just learning)

This makes sense—except Google doesn’t always respect these categories. If Google decides that “How does an AC compressor work?” is related to HVAC services, your ad for “Emergency AC repair” could still show up. And if you’re bidding aggressively, you could end up paying top dollar for clicks from users who have zero intention of calling you.

Does Google Really Care About Intent?

Let’s be honest—Google benefits when advertisers focus on keywords that drive higher CPCs, not necessarily better intent. This is evident in several ways:

1. Broad Match Madness – Google has aggressively pushed broad match keywords, promising that their AI can match intent. In reality, this often means your ads show for loosely related queries that might not convert.
2. Pushing Automated Bidding – Target CPA and Max Conversions bidding strategies rely on Google’s algorithm to “understand” intent. But Google won’t tell you how it makes decisions—it just wants you to trust its machine learning and keep increasing your budget.
3. Search Term Data Reduction – Google now hides a significant portion of search term data, making it harder to see if you’re paying for irrelevant clicks. If user intent were so crucial, wouldn’t Google want advertisers to have full transparency?

When Intent Works—And When It Doesn’t

User intent does play a role in campaign success, but it’s not the ultimate factor that many claim it to be. Here’s when intent is actually useful:

• Brand Searches – If someone searches for “ABC HVAC company,” they have strong intent to contact that specific business.
• Highly Specific Queries – “Schedule AC installation in Newark today” signals clear intent.
• Shopping Ads – For e-commerce, a search like “buy iPhone 15 Pro online” shows purchase intent.

But when does intent fail?

• Overly General Terms – “HVAC services” could mean repair, installation, commercial, residential—Google won’t always match the right user.
• Broad Match Targeting – Google might decide “heating repair” is close enough to “HVAC installation,” wasting ad spend.
• Informational Queries – Google blurs the line between research and commercial searches, leading to wasted clicks.

The Bottom Line

User intent isn’t completely a crock of BS—but it’s not the silver bullet many advertisers think it is. Google’s auction system and its profit-driven motives mean that even the best intent-driven campaigns can get derailed by irrelevant searches, aggressive bidding strategies, and a lack of transparency.

If you’re running Google Ads, don’t just blindly follow the intent-based keyword advice Google pushes. Instead:

• Focus on actual conversions, not just keyword intent.
• Regularly review search terms and exclude irrelevant ones.
• Use exact match and phrase match to maintain control.
• Be skeptical of Google’s automated recommendations—they serve Google’s profits first, not yours.

At the end of the day, user intent should matter in PPC. But thanks to Google’s system, it’s often overshadowed by who’s willing to spend the most.