How To Use Google Keyword Planner

Mastering Google Keyword Planner: Guide

What is Google Keyword Planner?

Google Ads offers a complimentary tool known as Google Keyword Planner, perfect for discovering and analyzing keywords. It helps users discover new keywords related to their business, see estimates of the searches they receive, and understand the competitiveness of those keywords. While it’s primarily designed for paid search campaigns, it’s equally valuable for organic search strategy and content planning.

Getting Started with Google Keyword Planner

You must have a Google Ads account to utilize the Google Keyword Planner. Setting up an account is straightforward and free; you only need to pay if you run paid campaigns. Here’s how to get started:

1. Log in to Google Ads: Visit Google Ads and use your Google account to sign in. If you haven’t registered yet, you’ll need to create an account.

2. Access Keyword Planner: Once logged in, click on the tools and settings icon in the upper right corner. Under the “Planning” section, select “Keyword Planner.”

Exploring the Keyword Planner Interface

The Keyword Planner tool offers two main options: “Discover new keywords” and “Get search volume and forecasts.”

1. Discover New Keywords: This option allows you to find new keyword ideas based on a keyword, phrase, or URL related to your business. You can enter up to ten seed keywords or a URL to generate keyword ideas.

2. Retrieve Search Volume and Projections: For an existing list of keywords, this feature offers search volume metrics and traffic predictions.

Discovering New Keywords

When you choose “Discover new keywords,” you’ll be prompted to enter relevant keywords or a website URL. Maximize the benefits of this feature with the following steps:

1. Enter Seed Keywords or URL: Start with broad terms related to your business. For instance, if you run a fitness blog, you might enter keywords like “fitness tips,” “workout routines,” or “healthy recipes.”

2. Analyze Keyword Ideas: Google will generate a list of related keywords along with metrics such as average monthly searches, competition level, and bid ranges for paid campaigns. You can sort and filter these results to find the most relevant keywords for your strategy.

3. Fine-tune Your Search: Utilize filters to refine and pinpoint your results. You can filter by location, language, search networks, and date range. This helps you tailor your keyword research to your specific audience.

Evaluating Keywords

Once you have a list of potential keywords, it’s crucial to evaluate them based on their metrics:

1. Average Monthly Searches: This metric indicates the search volume for a keyword. Higher search volumes generally mean more potential traffic, but they also usually come with higher competition.

2. Competition: This metric shows how competitive a keyword is in paid search campaigns. For organic search, high competition might indicate that it will be challenging to rank for that keyword without significant effort.

3. Top of Page Bid (Low and High Range): These values give you an idea of how much advertisers are willing to pay for clicks on ads that appear at the top of the search results. While this is more relevant for paid campaigns, it can also indicate the commercial value of a keyword.

Using Keywords for SEO and PPC

With your refined list of keywords, you can now implement them into your SEO and PPC strategies:

1. SEO Strategy:

   • Content Creation: Use your keywords to develop content that addresses user intent. Create blog posts, articles, and other content types that naturally incorporate these keywords.
   • On-Page SEO: Integrate keywords into your title tags, meta descriptions, headers, and throughout your content. Ensure that your use of keywords feels natural and enhances the reader’s experience.

2. PPC Campaigns:

   • Ad Groups: Categorize your keywords into cohesive ad groups based on themes or relevance. This helps create more targeted ads and landing pages, improving your quality score and ad performance.
   • Bid Adjustments: Use the bid range data to set competitive bids. Start with a conservative bid and adjust based on performance and budget.

Monitoring and Adjusting Your Strategy

Effective keyword research involves ongoing monitoring and adjustments to ensure relevance and performance over time. Regularly check the performance of your keywords using Google Analytics and Google Search Console. Look for trends and shifts in search behavior, and update your keyword strategy accordingly.

Conclusion

Google Keyword Planner is an invaluable tool for any digital marketer. By understanding how to effectively use its features, you can uncover new keyword opportunities, optimize your content for SEO, and plan successful PPC campaigns. Whether you are looking to drive organic traffic or create impactful ads, mastering Google Keyword Planner will give you a competitive edge in the ever-evolving digital landscape.