How to Use Google Keyword Planner
Introduction on Google Keyword Planner
If you are attempting to drive traffic to your website or blog from Google, chances are you’ve spent countless hours devising a SEO strategy that can help you turn clicks into cold, hard sales. And no SEO strategy is complete without proper keyword research. Proper keyword research can help you find out what people are searching for, where they are searching from, and how they are phrasing their questions. But getting all this data usually involves using a host of tools and planners only to realize that not all of it is reliable or useful. This is where the Google Keyword Planner comes in.
What is a Keyword Planner?
Google Keyword Planner is a free tool that can help you access keyword suggestions and related metrics in one go. Initially known as the Google Keyword Tool, this planner once gave Google users access to everything – including exact monthly search volumes. Sadly, that’s not the case anymore and the search volumes it does show are so vague that SEO strategists have turned away from it over the years. While the search volumes it shows are abstract at best, the planner still has quite a few tricks up its sleeve.
How to Access the Google Keyword Planner
You do not need much to access the Google Keyword Planner. As long as you have a Google account, you are all set. With your Google account, getting access to the tool is as simple as going to the Google Ads page and clicking “Go to Keyword Planner.” While the planner is technically free, Google tends to make it seem like that you cannot access it without setting up an AdWords campaign first. When you try to go to the keyword planner, Google presents you with a question (“What’s your main advertising goal?”) and three options to choose from:
Get more visits to your physical location
Get more website sales or sign-ups
While setting up the campaign may seem unavoidable at this point, there is a simple trick to avoid it and access the planner directly. Simply click the tiny, almost half-hidden “Experienced with Google Ads?” link available below the given options. In case you cannot find it, try widening your browser till the link pops up. Once you bypass the campaign setup, you will find a page with an option to “Create an account without a campaign.” Click it and submit the form. And that’s it! You are done creating an account.
Once you click on the “Explore your account” button, you will be able to switch to expert mode. From then on, every time you click on the Tools option on the menu, you’ll have access to a link to take you directly to the Google Keyword Planner.
How to Use Google Keyword Planner
Got your keyword planner access? Next, it’s time to learn how to use Google Keyword Planner. The planner gives you two choices to start with. You can choose to “Find Keywords.” This will help you with keyword research so you can reach people who may be interested in using your services or products. The other is the “Get search volume and forecasts”, which does two things:
It lets you track the metrics of your keyword(s)
It predicts of forecasts the performance of your keyword(s) in the future
Since both keyword research tools do not entirely function separately from each other, they’ll lead you to similar (but not the same) pages. The way these tools functions have been discussed in more detail below:
One of the biggest reasons people use the Google Keyword Planner is to discover new, more relevant keywords for their businesses. You can enter a link, words, or entire phrases related to your business and the planner will draw up a list of short and long-tailed keywords for you to use.
Each search usually offers thousands of results in the form of relevant keywords. The planner will also show you the average monthly searches for each keyword, the competition, and the high and low range top of page bid. The best part is that it allows you to search not just words but whole phrases. You can technically search up to ten words and phrases at one go, along with one URL.
The keyword research planner makes for a powerful tool when you are working on the SEO of your content. But, as functional as it is, it is also true that Google’s planner offers a lot fewer (sometimes less than one-hundredth) keyword options when compared to other planners available out there.
Getting search volume and forecasts
The planner does not just come in handy when you are trying to discover new keywords. In case you already have a list of keywords and wish to find out how they would perform, the Google keyword planner has got you covered. You can simply click on “Get started” and get access to the Forecasts page that presents the metrics of your specific keyword.
This section will not show you any new keywords but will try and predict expected clicks and impressions for each provided keyword. It will show you the average cost, CPC (maximum and otherwise), clicks, impressions, costs, and CTR should you choose to use your list of keywords to advertise using Google AdWords in the next month.
But do not feel left out yet. Once you head to the “Historical Metrics” section, you will be able to access the twelve-month average search volume of the provided keywords. This data is similar to what you find in the keyword discovery section. Just in case you cannot access these averages, there may be a trick or two to dodge the restrictions Google places on free accounts. Before we talk hacks, let’s delve deeper into what these values and metrics that the Google AdWords keyword tool offers mean, especially when you are running an SEO and/or PPC campaign.
