How to Use Google Keyword Planner

What Is Google Keyword Planner?

Google Keyword Planner is simply a free keyword investigation instrumentality disposable successful the Google Ads platform. It shows the hunt position group usage successful Google, really often they hunt them, and really overmuch advertisers salary per click.

Although it’s designed for PPC keyword research (finding keywords for ads), you tin besides usage it for SEO keyword research (finding keywords for your website).

This guideline shows you really to usage Google Keyword Planner for SEO and PPC. It besides explains wherever the instrumentality falls short and erstwhile different keyword instrumentality mightiness activity better.

Step 1: Access Keyword Planner

You tin entree Google Keyword Planner wrong your Google Ads account. You don’t request to tally an advertisement campaign, but you do request to participate billing specifications to entree the tool. 

After you log successful aliases create a Google Ads account:

• Switch to Expert mode, which has much features than Smart mode. You’ll cognize you’re successful Expert mode if the “Settings” icon is absent from the navigation paper successful the apical right.
• Link your Google Search Console and Google Ads relationship for further keyword data

To entree Keyword Planner, spell to “Tools” > “Planning” > “Keyword Planner.”

Step 2: Find New Keywords

To find keyword ideas, prime “Discover caller keywords” successful Keyword Planner. 

You tin commencement with: 

1. Keywords: Enter a fewer position and Google will propose related keywords 
2. A website: Enter a URL and the instrumentality will scan the page aliases domain for keyword ideas. This useful pinch your ain website aliases a competitor’s.

Enter your keyword aliases URL. Choose your target connection and location(s). You tin take countries, regions, cities, etc.

If you’re entering keywords, you tin besides participate your website’s URL to automatically select unrelated keywords. (We’ll show you really to select keywords manually for much control.)

Then, click “Get results.”

Keyword Planner will show a database of related keywords. Along pinch metrics for illustration mean monthly searches, three-month alteration (to spot keyword fame maturation aliases decline), and title (to understand really galore advertisers are bidding connected the keyword).

Because Keyword Planner gives you position intimately related to your entered terms, the database of suggestions whitethorn beryllium narrower than that of different keyword investigation tools.

For example, inputting the keyword “leather purses” into Semrush’s Keyword Magic Tool returns astir 25,000 ideas, compared to astir 2,800 successful Keyword Planner. 

Step 3: Filter Your Keywords

Use filters to constrictive your keyword database to applicable terms. This helps you attraction connected the keywords you’re much apt to rank for aliases person with. 

Click “Add filter” and prime which select you’d like. For integrated keyword research, you’ll apt prime the “Keyword” filter. Which helps you find keywords that don’t incorporate a peculiar term.

For example, if you waste leather handbags, you mightiness want to exclude position for illustration “faux.” Select “Semantic Match” to exclude keywords pinch akin meaning to the 1 you entered.

Click “Refine keywords” for further filtering. Deselect immoderate position that aren’t relevant. For the leather purse example, you mightiness deselect definite colors you don’t carry.

Step 4: Review Keyword Volume

Search measurement tells you galore group hunt for a keyword each month. So you tin estimate imaginable postulation your hunt consequence aliases advertisement mightiness get. To yet prioritize keywords pinch the highest potential.

Google Keyword Planner shows this information successful the “Avg. monthly searches” column.

Keyword Planner hunt measurement information is shown successful wide ranges—like 100-1K—instead of nonstop numbers. This makes it harder to comparison keywords aliases cognize which ones will thrust much traffic. 

Semrush’s Keyword Magic Tool shows monthly mean hunt volumes for each keyword. So you person a much precise thought of which keywords tin bring much clicks.

For example, we took 100 keywords and compared the mean monthly hunt measurement betwixt Google and Semrush’s information for the past 12 months.

Here is simply a snippet of our data:

Keyword	Semrush Volume	Google Keyword Planner Volume
leather tote bag	18100	50,000
leather crossbody bag	14800	50,000
leather bag	9900	50,000
leather enarthrosis bag	8100	50,000
leather handbags	6600	50,000
leather purses	6600	50,000
leather sling bag	6600	50,000
portland leather bags	6600	5,000
leather backpack purse	5400	5,000
leather bucket bag	4400	5,000

Across each 100 keywords: 

• Google’s Keyword Planner showed a full of 994,100 estimated searches 
• Semrush’s Keyword Magic Tool showed a much meticulous full of 250,350

If you trust only connected Google’s hunt measurement ranges, you mightiness prioritize the incorrect keywords and miss postulation opportunities. 

Keyword Magic Tool besides shows Keyword Difficulty (KD%), which measures really easy aliases difficult it is to rank successful integrated search. A little KD% intends it’s apt easier to rank. 

Google’s Keyword Planner doesn’t supply a trouble metric for integrated search. The “Competition” file only applies to advertisers moving Google Ads. 

Step 5: Review Competition and Bids (For PPC)

If you’re moving ads, cheque the “Competition” and “Top of page bid” columns successful Keyword Planner. These thief you take keywords that lucifer your budget. 

Here’s what each file shows:

• Top of bid (low range): The little extremity of what advertisers typically salary for a apical advertisement spot. It gives you a unsmooth thought of the minimum costs per click successful this advertisement space.
• Top of page bid (high range): The higher extremity of what advertisers typically salary for a apical advertisement spot. It gives you a unsmooth thought of the maximum cost per click for this keyword.
• Competition: The level of advertiser interest—rated arsenic “Low,” “Medium,” “High,” aliases “–” if there’s not capable data. It reflects the number of advertisers bidding connected this keyword comparative to different keywords.

Combine this information pinch hunt measurement to understand costs vs. imaginable reach. 

For example, opportunity you want to tally PPC ads for “leather purses.” Which Keyword Planner estimates betwixt 10,000 to 100,000 monthly searches. 

If you estimate a 2% click-through complaint (CTR), Google’s scope of 10K to 100K searches could mean anyplace from 200 to 2,000 clicks. This ample scope makes it difficult to forecast really overmuch postulation your advertisement mightiness get aliases really to fund effectively.

But Semrush shows the existent measurement for “leather purses” is person to 6,600 searches, which gives you a clearer baseline for planning. 

Step 6: Forecast PPC Keywords

Use Keyword Planner’s Forecast characteristic to estimate really your ads mightiness perform. This helps you trial different keyword sets and attraction connected the astir effective ones.

Start by clicking the “Saved keywords” tab and past “Add keywords.” Enter the keywords you want to trial and click “Save.”

Go to the “Forecast” tab. Google uses information for illustration your bid, budgets, and humanities advertisement value to show you penetration specified arsenic conversions and advertisement cost. Which helps you optimize your conversion rates.

Adjust criteria for illustration your bid strategy aliases lucifer type to spot which adjustments lead to much sales, and ultimately, a amended return connected finance (ROI). 

When you’re ready, click “Create campaign” and travel the instructions to motorboat your ads. 

Additional Insights to Refine Your Keyword Strategy

Semrush’s Keyword Magic Tool offers much than hunt measurement and keyword difficulty. It gives you deeper keyword information and much ways to refine your contented aliases advertisement strategy.

After entering a keyword, you’ll get thousands of keyword ideas.

Here’s really to analyse them. 

Click the number successful the “SF” file to spot if the keyword triggers SERP features for illustration Featured Snippets aliases AI Overviews. Which tin thief you create contented that appears successful those features.

Use the “Intent” file to understand the searcher’s goal:

• Navigational: Users want to find a peculiar website aliases page
• Informational: Users want to study much astir a topic
• Commercial: Users want to behaviour investigation earlier anterior to making a acquisition decision
• Transactional: Users want to complete an action for illustration a purchase

Focus connected commercial and transactional keywords to target users pinch higher acquisition intent.

And because Keyword Magic Tool produces much keywords than Keyword Planner, you mightiness get much ideas for content. 

You tin besides select by “Questions” to find what users are asking astir your topic. These keywords are adjuvant for building FAQ pages aliases blog content.

Want to find better-performing keywords? Try the Keyword Magic Tool for free today.