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Two recent developments from PPC Hero and WordStream are pointing to the same reality: search advertising and optimizing visibility on Google are no longer centered on keyword sets in the old sense. For Vietnamese marketers, this is a reminder to reconsider how campaigns are built, how user signals are read, and how to invest in content, technical performance, and brand credibility.
- Key point: Google is increasingly using signals beyond keywords to decide ad delivery, making a “keyword-first” optimization mindset no longer sufficient.
- Key point: PPC Hero emphasizes that advertisers should shift their focus to search intent and account structures that fit how machine learning operates.
- Key point: WordStream shows that Google’s official AI Search guidance still prioritizes the basics: speed, accessibility, real expertise, and trust signals.
- Key point: For the Vietnamese market, the challenge is not chasing new “AI tricks,” but sustainably improving data, content, and user experience.
Search advertising is moving away from the “keyword era”
In a new article on PPC Hero, the central argument is very clear: keywords used to be the foundation of search advertising, but they are no longer the main trigger in the way they once were. Google is using more signals to decide when ads appear, and machine learning can interpret search intent better than the keyword lists advertisers build themselves.
That explains why broad match can expand into queries you would not have chosen before, exact match is no longer “exact” in the absolute sense, phrase match is increasingly close to broad match, and Performance Max removes keywords altogether. PPC Hero’s message is not that keywords are disappearing, but that keywords are now only one signal in a larger system.
For PPC teams, this shift requires a new mindset: instead of trying to “lock down” every query with keyword lists and negative keywords, design the account, ad copy, and landing pages to align with the intent clusters users are actually expressing through search behavior.
Source: PPC Hero, Stop Targeting Keywords And Start Targeting Intent.
Google reiterates the core point: AI Search still prioritizes SEO fundamentals
On the SEO and AI Search side, WordStream cites Google’s first official guidance on how AI Overviews and AI Mode work. The notable point is that Google is not “changing the rules” in a way that forces marketers to chase a long list of new optimization tricks such as llms.txt, rewriting content into a formula specifically for AI, or adding specialized schema layers just to serve AI search.
Instead, Google focuses on elements that are already familiar: fast websites, accessible experiences, content that demonstrates real expertise, and local or brand authority signals. WordStream also emphasizes that Google explicitly mentions many so-called “AI optimization” tactics in a negative context, showing that adding new techniques does not automatically earn priority.
The practical message for marketers is this: if the website foundation, content, and trust are not strong, superficial “AI optimization” layers are unlikely to create lasting differentiation. In other words, the old work is still the most important work — the market is just rushing to find shortcuts.
Source: WordStream, Google’s AI Search Guidelines: What You Really Need to Know.
These two signals meet at one point: optimize for real users, not formulas
Reading the two sources together, a common pattern becomes clear: Google is increasingly relying on its ability to understand intent and the actual usefulness of content, rather than simply checking whether marketers have matched enough keywords. In advertising, this pushes PPC teams toward an intent-led strategy. In AI Search, it keeps the focus on foundational quality and trust signals.
So instead of asking, “How many keywords should we use?” or “How many layers of AI optimization do we need?”, a more useful question is: what do users actually want, does our content or advertising solve that need correctly, and is the website fast, clear, and trustworthy enough for Google to confidently recommend it?
This is a systemic change, not a technical trick. Marketing teams that shift from an execution mindset to a strategic mindset sooner will be less dependent on short-term platform fluctuations.
A perspective for the Vietnamese market
In Vietnam, many businesses are still running ads with very detailed keyword optimization habits, while their websites, landing page content, and post-click experience have not kept pace. The new context shows that this approach will become less effective if it focuses only on keyword lists and ignores search intent, landing page quality, and brand trust.
For Vietnamese brands, the short-term priorities should be: review ad account structures based on real need groups; check website speed and accessibility; improve content quality around user questions, problems, and context; and strengthen trust signals such as reviews, business information, and brand consistency across platforms.
Simply put, instead of chasing every new “AI search” trend, Vietnamese businesses should return to the core fundamentals but do them better: understand customers, write more useful content, and build a more stable technical foundation. That is the sustainable way to adapt to both search advertising and AI-driven search environments.
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This article focuses on intent-based advertising with a perspective for the Vietnamese market.
References
- Stop Targeting Keywords And Start Targeting Intent – PPC Hero
- Google’s AI Search Guidelines: What You Really Need to Know – WordStream
