Learn what each metric means and where the data comes from
Jump to section →Strategies for choosing keywords and optimizing your campaigns
Jump to section →Budget guidance and expected returns on your ad spend
Jump to section →Intent tells you why someone is searching for a keyword and how likely they are to become a client.
Why it matters: High intent keywords convert better. If 100 people search "ABA therapy near me" (high intent), you might get 8-12 clients. If 100 people search "what is ABA therapy" (research), you might only get 1-2 clients.
ROI Score (0-100) is our proprietary metric that predicts how profitable a keyword will be for your business.
How we calculate it:
How to use it:
Estimated Conversion Rate is the percentage of website visitors who will take action (call, fill out a form, book a consultation).
Example: If your conversion rate is 8.5%:
Industry benchmarks:
Cost Per Lead (CPL) is how much you'll pay in advertising to get one potential client to contact you.
How it's calculated:
Cost Per Lead = (Cost Per Click) ÷ (Conversion Rate)
Example:
What's a good CPL?
Data Directly from Google Ads API:
Data We Calculate:
Why we calculate some metrics:
Google provides raw data (searches, costs, competition), but doesn't tell you which keywords will be most profitable for your specific business. Our calculations help you prioritize.
Data accuracy:
High intent beats high volume almost every time. A keyword with 100 searches and high intent will usually outperform a keyword with 5,000 searches and research intent.
General guidance: The 70/20/10 Strategy
This is a common framework used in paid search. Actual results vary by market, website quality, and practice profile.
70% Budget - Head Terms (High Volume)
20% Budget - Mid-Tail Terms (Specific Intent)
10% Budget - Long-Tail Terms (Niche/Low Cost)
Why long-tail keywords matter:
Example:
Result: Long-tail is 9x more cost-effective!
Start with 10-20 keywords that have:
As you scale, you can expand to 50-100 keywords.
General industry ranges (these vary widely by market, website quality, and lead follow-up speed):
These ranges reflect general healthcare paid search benchmarks. Your actual ROI depends on many factors including your website, response time, and local competition.
Factors that improve ROI:
Minimum: $1,000-2,000/month to generate enough data for meaningful optimization
General starting ranges (actual budget depends on your market's CPC — use our market snapshot tool for your metro):
Scale based on data. Track your cost per lead and conversion rate, then adjust. Our market snapshot tool shows actual CPC ranges for your specific metro.
Email us at support@abaops.ai or schedule a free consultation to review your keyword strategy.