100 Most Expensive Keywords for Google Ads (July 2026)

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

100 most expensive keywords on Google Ads in the U.S.

# Keyword CPC Search Volume
1 chordee repair $105.00 800
2 mesothelioma attorney chicago $100.00 1,200
3 lawsuit mesothelioma $100.00 900
4 apps live $100.00 900
5 how bad is monster zero sugar for you $100.00 1,000
6 los angeles slip and fall attorney $100.00 500
7 los angeles slip and fall lawyer $100.00 700
8 adtheorent $100.00 1,500
9 axon taser $100.00 1,000
10 interstitial ads cpm $100.00 600
11 lingo meaning $100.00 6,800
12 aaxn $100.00 1,500
13 dallas mesothelioma lawyer $100.00 500
14 reddit fgo $100.00 700
15 nyc tax refund status $100.00 500
16 axon company $100.00 800
17 slip and fall attorney los angeles $100.00 800
18 disney cruise line incidents $100.00 800
19 leileiav $100.00 500
20 truck wreck lawyers $100.00 500
21 advertise feedbuzzard $100.00 5,600
22 miami heat vs dallas mavericks timeline $100.00 6,200
23 global eor $100.00 900
24 carnival cruise death $100.00 4,800
25 advertising feedbuzzard $100.00 3,300
26 syngap1 $100.00 2,100
27 atlanta accident lawyer $100.00 700
28 openreview $100.00 800
29 maritime law firm $100.00 600
30 cdkl5 $100.00 1,400
31 selva coffee house menu $100.00 1,400
32 houston injury attorney $100.00 600
33 trochoid $100.00 500
34 og’s $100.00 600
35 mesothelioma lawsuit $100.00 1,300
36 fieldnet login $100.00 500
37 belpre animal clinic $100.00 600
38 warn layoffs $100.00 500
39 energy software development $100.00 600
40 accident lawyer las vegas $100.00 900
41 illinois mesothelioma lawyer $100.00 500
42 mesothelioma lawsuits $100.00 500
43 ohio mesothelioma lawyer $95.00 1,000
44 tn entity search $95.00 700
45 car accident lawyer macon ga $95.00 900
46 tallahassee car accident lawyer $95.00 900
47 work injury lawyer houston $95.00 500
48 pichichi liga española $95.00 600
49 marjam kat $95.00 700
50 venmo withdrawal limit $95.00 600
51 richmond truck accident lawyer $95.00 500
52 my usc portal $95.00 500
53 motorcycle accidents lawyer $95.00 1,000
54 ua806 $95.00 700
55 car accident lawyer macon $95.00 900
56 cloudysocial cshardware promo code $95.00 500
57 los angeles rams vs carolina panthers stats $95.00 8,000
58 openai python sdk $95.00 700
59 columbia care marietta oh $95.00 800
60 8kun website $95.00 900
61 wg pay scale 2025 $95.00 700
62 hire dedicated php developer $95.00 600
63 raytown schools $95.00 500
64 macon car accident lawyer $95.00 2,200
65 how to tag someone on linkedin $95.00 1,200
66 tepezza and hearing loss $95.00 600
67 mule fuel $95.00 900
68 mainframe modernization services $95.00 500
69 application controls $95.00 500
70 houston work injury lawyer $95.00 500
71 legal age to vape $95.00 700
72 18 usc 371 $95.00 900
73 law firm answering service $95.00 700
74 openai gpt-4.1 pricing $95.00 900
75 oil refinery explosion $95.00 1,300
76 casino ie $90.00 600
77 defensores de accidentes $90.00 600
78 emsmart login $90.00 700
79 pqdi $90.00 1,100
80 pnc hsa login $90.00 1,800
81 car accident lawyer albany ga $90.00 800
82 houston car crash lawyer $90.00 500
83 flower bowl new buffalo $90.00 1,000
84 what is dra $90.00 800
85 ethena price $90.00 600
86 motorcycle lawyers $90.00 1,000
87 who is the best wrestler in the world $90.00 500
88 riverside personal injury lawyer $90.00 1,000
89 csi humboldt $90.00 3,100
90 car crash lawyer houston $90.00 1,600
91 abogados de accidentes de carros $90.00 600
92 lo4 flight status $90.00 500
93 deel pricing $90.00 500
94 houston car wreck attorney $90.00 600
95 the ira $90.00 4,100
96 accident attorney phoenix $90.00 700
97 car accident lawyer houston $90.00 8,300
98 chicago truck accident lawyer $90.00 2,000
99 personal injury lawyer seo services $90.00 500
100 openai codex github $90.00 600

Why are these keywords so expensive?

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)

Which industries do the most expensive keywords belong to?

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)

How to avoid paying for expensive keywords

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.

How to see the paid keywords your competitors are bidding on

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 reportPaid 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.

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