How to use this list
Each table is one theme. Treat each theme as its own ad group in Google Ads and its own page or section on your site: sell your car, for sale by owner, buy used cars online, cars by budget and trucks & SUVs. When the ad and the page match the search word for word, you pay less per click and more people call.
Need more volume? Start with near-me and core terms
The near-me searches in this list add up to 543,500 searches a month, led by “cars for sale near me”, “used cars for sale near me”, “automatic for sale near me”. These searches show the map pack first, so a complete Google Business Profile, steady reviews and a page for each town you serve matter as much as the ads.
Want higher-value customers? Target the makes
Make-specific searches are a lever on volume and value. The luxury-make keywords here (“bmw x3 for sale”, “used mercedes for sale”) total 116,220 searches a month at an average CPC of $1.28. The common-make keywords (“ford escape for sale”, “hyundai elantra for sale”) total 389,700 at $1.09.
- Need more high-end work? Target the luxury makes you are certified or experienced with. You will get less volume, but each customer is usually worth more, and a page and ad group per make lets you speak to those owners directly.
- Need more volume? Cover the common makes and the generic searches someone would use to find your business, service or product.
Use cost and question searches for content
Searches like “low priced vehicles for sale”, “low price cars for sale”, “where to buy used cars” come from people still researching. They usually convert better on a pricing page, an FAQ or a blog post than in a search ad. Answer them clearly on your site and they also feed the answers AI assistants give, which is where AI visibility comes in.
Two-sided searches, two funnels
Marketplace keywords split into sellers (“sell my car”, “cash for cars”) and buyers (“cars for sale by owner”). Run them as separate campaigns with separate landing pages and goals, since a seller lead and a buyer visit are worth very different amounts.
Rising keywords to watch
These keywords were searched at least 30% more over the last three months than over the nine months before. Some are seasonal, so check the trend line before you move budget.
| Keyword | Monthly searches | CPC |
|---|---|---|
| for sale used cars for sale | 27,100 | $0.97 |
| ford transit for sale | 14,800 | $1.01 |
| sell car | 12,100 | $10.67 |
| junk car buyers | 9,900 | $6.43 |
| ford expedition for sale near me | 9,900 | $1.43 |
| we buy cars | 8,100 | $5.55 |
Negative keywords to add first
Before you launch, add these as negative keywords so your budget goes to buyers, not to job seekers, DIYers and unrelated searches: jobs game simulator toy house land motorcycle boat rv parts scrap metal lego. Then check your search terms report every week and keep adding.
How we built this list
We pulled these keywords from Semrush’s US database on October 28, 2026, removed brand names, other companies’ names, specific towns, DIY product searches and job searches, then sorted what was left into themes. Monthly searches are Semrush’s 12-month average; the trend line shows the last 12 months, oldest to newest.


