Data & Studies

100 Most Expensive Keywords for Google Ads (May 2026)

Si Quan Ong
Content marketer @ Ahrefs. I've been in digital marketing for the past 6 years and have spoken at some of the industry’s largest conferences in Asia (TIECon and Digital Marketing Skill Share.) I also write about my curiosities on my Substack.
Article Performance
Data from Ahrefs
  • Organic traffic
  • Linking websites

The number of websites linking to this post.

This post's estimated monthly organic search traffic.

We analyzed our database of 28.7 billion keywords to identify the most expensive keywords people are bidding for on Google Ads.

These are the 100 most expensive keywords on Google Ads, along with their monthly search volume and cost per click (CPC).

#KeywordCPCSearch Volume
1keiser university population$1000.0050
2what is a keiser$950.0020
3axiom meaning$935.003,500
4define axioms$935.00150
5keiser university commercial blvd$800.0030
6truck accident lawyer corpus christi$500.00200
7delllogo$500.0010
8dog bite attorney philadelphia$415.0090
9stvt cc tx$390.0060
10verizon 2023 dbir$390.0010
11janela bay discount code$370.0090
12tubby buddy$335.0020
13knorr de camaron$320.00150
14splashtop software updater$300.0030
15att net web$295.000
16felony domestic violence lawyer$270.0080
17can i get a cashier’s check at h-e-b$255.000
18what is bazaarvoice used for$245.000
19midland truck accident lawyer$240.00450
20misumi-ec$230.0050
21watsonx documentation$220.0010
22hero wars healers$220.000
23business internet in detroit$210.0020
24bannana puff bar$200.000
25alteryx mclaren$200.0040
26company welcome$185.0010
27allstate insurance prattville alabama$185.000
28alteryx free version$180.0020
29albion correctional$175.0010
30crash attorney near me$175.00100
31cat parts sis online$170.0030
32dell work outlet$170.000
33are annual performance reviews effective$165.0010
34oxygen deprivation brain damage$155.0070
35is hbo max included with att$150.0050
36scorm compliant lms software$145.00150
37canidae llc$140.0010
38utk software distribution$140.000
39spectrum self install wifi$140.0010
40mongodb array$140.0060
41how to activate iphone 8$135.0010
42sunshine care centers$135.0020
43spectrum noho west$130.0020
44personal injury lawyer new brunswick$130.0090
45skyline r$125.0090
46knorr tomate de pollo$125.00150
47tremendous reward id$120.000
48bakersfield car accident lawyer$120.00600
49bento for business pricing$120.000
50light companies odessa$115.00150
51sand creek golf course idaho falls$110.0050
52inyouths reviews$110.000
53lawyers for wrecks$110.00100
54virginia learning center login$110.00250
55amica b2b$110.000
56philo discount code 2023$110.000
57how much is lincoln tech tuition$105.0040
58chordee repair$105.00800
59colorado springs personal injury lawyer$105.00900
60commercial energy price comparison$105.00250
61injury attorneys in colorado springs$105.00150
62injury lawyer mesa arizona$100.0030
63roof replacement gaithersburg md$100.00200
64atlanta motor vehicle accident attorney$100.0020
65true capital management$100.00100
66tax preparation coatesville pa$100.0010
67eservices florida$100.0030
68richardson ac service$100.0010
69liability insurance portland or$100.0040
70irvine accident lawyers$100.0030
71roofing hurst tx$100.0020
72usaa fraud number$100.00100
73ozempic and dupixent$100.0010
74fort myers auto accident attorney$100.00100
75accident lawyers in mesa az$100.0050
76car accident attorney in norfolk$100.000
77merrill edge select portfolios$100.000
78アメリカ インターネット spectrum$100.000
79water heater replacement thornton$100.00250
80wahiawa fire$100.0050
81california bike accident attorney$100.0090
82verizon phone replacement policy$100.0020
83fid canada$100.000
84espn nhl playoff standings$100.00250
85candidio$100.00200
86the axon$100.00250
87how long do stockx take to ship$100.0080
88community works medford$100.00150
89sell settlement payments$100.00350
90ados checklist$100.0010
91how to get 2g and 5g wifi spectrum$100.0010
92air fryer carrot$100.0070
93black michel jackson$100.000
94woodbury mn dental implants$100.0010
95fruit and oats del monte$100.000
96grayish violet$100.0020
97fruit products$100.0080
98is youtube tv getting nfl sunday ticket$100.000
99freya rose london$100.0040
100merrill edge select portfolio$100.0010

The main reason is due to Google’s ads mechanism:

  • Google Ads operates on a pay-per-click auction system.
  • There are only a few ads that appear for each keyword.

Companies have to outbid each other in order to secure their spot at the top of the search results. If demand for a keyword is high, it means more companies are bidding for it, therefore driving up the cost per click.

Example of a Google Ad

Demand for a keyword is high when companies believe it will generate a return on investment (ROI). Typically, you’ll see this when:

  • The industry offers high-value services or products (e.g., legal, finance) as each potential sale generates a lot of revenue.
  • The keyword signals strong purchase intent (e.g., personal injury lawyer near me) as they’re likely to lead to direct sales or high-quality leads.
  • The location is competitive and populous, e.g., “divorce lawyer in New York” will be more expensive than “divorce lawyer in Provincetown”.
  • There is a peak season (e.g. tax season, holidays)

I analyzed the top 10,000 most expensive keywords to see which niches they belong to:

  • Legal services (17.52%), with a focus on accident and injury law in specific locations (e.g., Baton Rouge)
  • Ecommerce (3.85%), with a focus on promotional codes, brand-specific queries, and product searches.
  • Education (2.58%), with a focus on university-related keywords, career and technical education centers, and student services and programs.
  • Financial services (1.52%), with a focus on trading platforms, banking services, and investment-related terms.
  • Technology (1.13%), with a focus on software development services, computer vision development, technical education and training, and international outsourcing (e.g, Romania)

Marketing consultant Dan Kennedy once said, “Whoever can spend the most money to acquire a customer wins.”

Your goal is not to avoid paying for expensive keywords, but to bid for keywords that make sense according to your goals and strategy. If a keyword generates a positive ROI for you, then you should continue bidding on that keyword, no matter how expensive it is. (Expensive is relative after all; a $10 cup of coffee is expensive to me, but could be of value to a snob.)

That said, there are ways to run your Google Ads more effectively, such as:

  • Targeting long-tail keywords (e.g., “affordable personal injury lawyer in New York”), rather than generic, broad keywords like “personal injury lawyer”
  • Using negative keywords to prevent your ads from appearing on irrelevant searches.
  • Improving your Quality Score by writing relevant ad copy and creating targeted landing pages.
  • Using retargeting to focus on people who’ve already interacted with your website or shown interest in your brand, product, or service.

If your competitors are paying for certain keywords, it may indicate that they’re profitable for them—and could be for you too.

Here’s how to find these keywords:

  1. Go to Ahrefs’ Site Explorer
  2. Enter your competitor’s domain
  3. Go to the Paid Keywords report
Paid keywords report

For example, if we analyze asana.com, we can see they’re bidding on 1,367 keywords in the U.S. We can also see the keywords they’re bidding on and how much they’re paying for each keyword (CPC).

If you hover over the magnifying glass, you can even see the ad they’re running for that keyword and the link they’re sending paid traffic to.

Want to do paid keyword research for your site? Sign up for Site Explorer.

Article Performance
Data from Ahrefs
  • Organic traffic
  • Linking websites

The number of websites linking to this post.

This post's estimated monthly organic search traffic.