How To Use Google Keyword Planner for SEO

Google Keyword Planner is a free tool within Google Ads that helps you research keywords for your search campaigns. It’s a powerful resource for discovering new keywords related to your business, understanding search volume and trends, and estimating the cost to target those keywords. Whether you’re running paid ads or optimizing for organic search (SEO), Keyword Planner provides invaluable data to inform your strategy.

I. Understanding the Google Keyword Planner

• What is it? Google Keyword Planner is a tool designed to help users research keywords for Google Ads campaigns. However, its features make it a valuable asset for SEO as well.
• Accessing the Tool: To use Google Keyword Planner, you’ll need a Google Ads account. You can access it by navigating to “Tools & Settings” in your Google Ads account, then selecting “Keyword Planner” under the “Planning” section. You do not need to run an active ad campaign to use the tool.
• Two Main Functions: Keyword Planner offers two primary ways to create your keyword plan:
  • Discover new keywords: This allows you to generate keyword ideas by entering words related to your products or services, a website URL, or a product category.
  • Get search volume and forecasts: This option lets you upload a list of existing keywords to see their historical data and forecast their future performance.

II. Key Features and Benefits

• Discover New Keywords:
  • Keyword Suggestions: Enter seed keywords, a website URL, or a product category to generate relevant keyword ideas. Using both keywords and a website can yield more ideas.
  • Refine Keywords: Narrow down your keyword list by using filters based on criteria like:
    • Location and Language: Target specific geographic areas and languages.
    • Average Monthly Searches: See the estimated number of searches for a keyword each month.
    • Competition: Understand how competitive a keyword is in Google Ads (this is for paid search, not organic SEO).
    • Suggested Bid: See the average cost for your ad to show for a keyword (again, primarily for paid search).
  • Organize Keywords: Keyword Planner can automatically organize keywords into ad groups based on themes, brands, or categories.
• Get Search Volume and Forecasts:
  • Historical Data: See historical search volume trends for keywords.
  • Forecasts: Get performance projections (clicks, impressions, conversions) for your keyword lists based on your budget and bid. Note that to see conversion forecasts, you need to have conversion tracking enabled in your Google Ads account.
• Combining Keyword Lists: Combine multiple lists of keywords to create new keyword combinations, useful for finding long-tail keywords.

III. Using Google Keyword Planner for SEO

While designed for paid advertising, Google Keyword Planner offers valuable insights for SEO:

• Finding Relevant Keywords: Discover keywords that potential customers use to find businesses like yours. Explore long-tail keywords and related terms you might not have considered.
• Understanding Search Volume: While not precise for organic search, the “Average Monthly Searches” gives a relative indication of a keyword’s popularity.
• Analyzing Competition (with caution): The “Competition” metric in Keyword Planner refers to ad auction competition, not organic SEO competition. However, high competition can sometimes suggest a popular and potentially valuable keyword.
• Identifying Trends: Use date ranges to see if keyword search volume fluctuates seasonally.

IV. Best Practices for Effective Keyword Research

• Think Like Your Customers: Describe your products or services from your customers’ perspective. What words would they use to search?
• Be Specific, But Not Too Specific: Use the right amount of detail. For example, “running shoes” is better than just “shoes” or “best running shoes for marathon runners.”
• Use a Website to Improve Results: Providing a website URL helps Google Keyword Planner generate more relevant keyword ideas.
• Use Multiple Keywords: Brainstorm several keywords and phrases related to the same topic.
• Filter and Sort: Use filters to narrow down your keyword list and focus on the most promising options.
• Prioritize Quality Over Quantity: Focus on keywords that are highly relevant to your business, even if they have lower search volume.
• Analyze the Keyword Ideas Section: Pay close attention to the keywords that Google suggests, as these are often highly relevant.
• Consider Commercial Intent: Keywords with higher suggested bids often indicate a stronger commercial intent (i.e., people searching are more likely to buy).
• Use Keyword Match Types (for PPC): If you are using the tool for PPC, understand and use keyword match types (broad, phrase, exact) to control how your ads are triggered.
• Download and Save: Download keyword lists in CSV or Excel format for further analysis. Save keyword ideas within your Google Ads account for future reference.

V. Example Use Case

Let’s say you run a business that sells locally-sourced coffee beans online. You could use Google Keyword Planner to:

• Enter seed keywords like “coffee beans,” “buy coffee online,” “gourmet coffee.”
• Also, enter your website URL.
• Filter results to your target location (e.g., “Lebanon”) and language (e.g., “English”).
  
• Analyze the results for relevant keywords like “fair trade coffee,” “organic coffee beans,” “single origin coffee,” “arabica beans,” etc.
• Check the average monthly searches for these keywords to gauge their popularity.
• Note the “Competition” and “Suggested Bid” columns (though these are primarily for paid search, they can offer clues).
• Add promising keywords to your plan and download them for use in your website content and SEO strategy.

By following these steps, you can harness the power of Google Keyword Planner to find the right keywords, reach your target audience, and achieve your marketing goals.

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