Keyword lists that catch buyers, not noise
The difference between a useful alert and a flooded inbox is list design. A practical pattern for building keyword lists that surface purchase intent.
The difference between a useful alert and a flooded inbox is list design. A practical pattern for building keyword lists that surface purchase intent.
Start with category phrases
People who need a product describe the category before they name a product: "brand monitoring tool", "social listening for small business", "track mentions of my startup". These phrases are your core list.
Add buying modifiers
A category word plus a buying word is where intent lives: "best", "alternative to", "vs", "worth it", "any tool for". "Best social listening tool" is a buyer. "Social listening" alone is everyone.
Add competitor names
People comparing or leaving a competitor are warm. Track competitor names paired with "alternative", "switching from" and "vs".
Exclude on purpose
If your brand name is a common word, exclusions matter more than keywords. Add the contexts you never want (the fruit, the job title, the song) as negative terms instead of widening the net.
Review the list weekly
Ten minutes a week: check which keywords produced mentions you actually answered, and pause the ones that only produced noise. A small list you read beats a large list you ignore.