Lower Your Google Ads CPC by Targeting Misspelled Keywords
What If the Key to Cheaper Ads….
Is Just One Letter Off?
Let’s talk about something that rarely comes up in campaign strategy meetings — typos.
Not the kind that ruin a headline or slip through your captions.
I’m talking about intentional misspellings in your keyword strategy.
Sounds strange, right?
But what if I told you that just one letter off could be the key to significantly cheaper ad clicks — without sacrificing intent?
That’s the magic of misspelled keywords.
Here's the reality:
Your customers are in a rush.
They’re using their mobile devices.
They’re typing quickly and may not spell everything correctly.
And Google understands it.
So while your competitors are fighting tooth and nail to win “insurance quotes” at $3 per click,you could be quietly securing conversions on “insurance qoutes” for just $0.30 — all while flying under the radar.
What Are Misspelled Keywords?
These are exactly what they sound like—common typos that your target audience might make when searching for a product, service, or solution. And yes, these searches still carry commercial intent.
For example, people searching for "coffe shop" are just as ready to buy as those searching for "coffee shop." They simply typed it incorrectly, and if you're smart, you can use this to your advantage.
🔥 Real Misspelled Keywords That Actually Work
Here's a small sample of keyword variants that drive traffic across industries:
| Correct Keyword | Misspelled Variants |
|---|---|
| insurance quotes | insurnce qoutes, insurence quotez |
| running shoes | runing shoes, ranning shooes, runnin shos |
| best headphones | best hedphones, best headfones |
| lawyer near me | lawer near me, layer near me |
| credit card | creddit card, credit cad, credet card |
| iPhone charger | iPhne charger, iphone chager, iphon chargr |
| resume template | rezume templet, resume templete |
| Samsung TV | Samsng TV, Sammsung teevee |
| wedding photographer | weddin fotografer, weeding fotographer |
| personal trainer | personel trainer, personal traine |
These aren’t made-up examples; these are real search terms that get typed, searched, and clicked on daily.
Why This Works
Google is smart enough to recognize similar intent even when there are minor spelling mistakes. However, most advertisers still choose to bid only on the correctly spelled versions of keywords. This creates less competition for you, resulting in significantly lower cost-per-click (CPC) rates.
And if the intent matches?
The conversion potential is just as high.
A Real-World Example
A direct-to-consumer (DTC) pet supply brand recently tested bidding on misspelled keywords like "dog leesh" and "pet suppliez."
As a result, their CPC dropped from $1.90 to under $0.20.
The click-through rate remained strong.
And their return on ad spend (ROAS) increased by 12 times.
All because they chose to show up where others weren’t even looking.
How to Do This Right
Before you start rewriting your entire keyword list in gibberish terms, here are a few guardrails:
- ✅ Stick to common, believable typos. Don’t go overboard with nonsense words.
- ✅ Use exact match whenever possible to prevent appearing in irrelevant searches.
- ✅ Watch bounce rates. If users are landing but not converting, your typo might be too far off.
- 🚫 Avoid competitor brand typos. Google’s policies and trademark rules make this a legal gray area — not worth the risk.
Small Mistakes. Big Results.
This strategy does not replace the need for smart, creative targeting or well-optimized landing pages.
But it’s a low-effort, high-reward layer you can add to your search campaigns — starting today.
Sometimes, the best-performing keyword isn’t the most clever or high-volume one; it’s often the one that people misspell in a hurry.
Want help discovering misspelled keyword opportunities in your industry?
Drop your core keywords and we’ll help you generate a typo-based list to test.
You might be surprised at the potential hidden behind one wrong letter.
