Do Roman Urdu keywords work in Google Ads?

Keywords are about the characters typed, not the language Google thinks they belong to. If a search for 'AC ki service Bahria Town' happens, a keyword containing those words can match it. The bigger risk is the campaign's language setting, which tells Google which users to show ads to based on their language preferences. Most Pakistani phones are set to English, so English plus Urdu is usually the right setting even for an Urdu-speaking audience.

Roman Urdu searches are spelled many ways: 'safai', 'safayi' and 'safaai' all turn up. Phrase and broad match handle some of this variation, but check the search terms report to see the spellings real people use in your trade and add the common ones. Urdu script searches also exist, especially from older users and voice search, so it is worth adding a few in script too.

The ad text matters as much as the keyword. Someone who typed 'sasta plumber Rawalpindi' and then sees a polished English headline may still click, but a headline in plain Roman Urdu ('Plumber chahiye? Rawalpindi mein abhi call karein') often reads as more direct. Google's policies allow ads in Urdu and Roman Urdu, but they must still follow the editorial rules on spelling, spacing and capitalisation, so avoid gimmicky stylisation.

Do not assume Roman Urdu searches convert better or worse; measure it. Put them in their own ad group, give them matching ads, and compare cost per enquiry against the English group after a few weeks. Some trades find the Roman Urdu group brings more price-shoppers; others find it brings the most ready-to-book callers.