Google Ads Keyword Planner: What you need to know

Keyword research is one of the most important tasks for both SEOs and paid search practitioners.

While there are plenty of robust tools on the market, Google Ads Keyword Planner is a great, free starting point.

You can explore keywords, see their search volume, and even get an idea of potential costs – all without spending a dime on ads.

In this article, I’ll answer key questions, including:

• Where can I find Keyword Planner in Google Ads?
• Should I start with keywords or start with a website?
• What does a “keyword” mean in Keyword Planner?
• How can I use Keyword Planner to plan my Search campaigns?
• Should I pick high volume or low volume keywords?
• Keyword Planner won’t show me estimates for the searches I want. Why?
• Can you use Keyword Planner for forecasting?

Where can I find Keyword Planner in Google Ads?

First things first, you’ll find Keyword Planner within your Google Ads account under the “Tools” menu on the left-hand side. Select “Keyword Planner” under the “Planning” section, and you’ll be ready to go.

Once you’re there, you’ll see a few options:

• Discover new keywords.
• Get search volume and forecasts.
• Organize keywords into ad groups.

If you’re unsure what terms people are using on Google and/or you’re still in the brainstorming phase, choose “Discover new keywords.”

However, if you already have a list of keywords in mind and you want to see the data just for those searches, choose “Get search volume and forecasts.”

The third option, “Organize keywords into ad groups,” may come in handy later in the process.

Should I start with keywords or start with a website?

The most common starting point in Keyword Planner is “Discover new keywords.” Once you’re there, you have yet another choice to make: start with keywords or start with a website.

If you start with keywords, you can enter up to 10 keywords you’re already considering, and then Google will show you the stats for those keywords, plus hundreds or even thousands more related searches.

If you start with a website, you can enter your website, a friend’s website, a competitor’s website, etc. and ask Google to use the entire site, or just one specific page of the site. Google will then show you the keywords that it thinks are related to that site / page.

Keyword research is an iterative process, so feel free to try both and see what you find out!

You can also customize your results in Keyword Planner based on your desired:

• Language
• Location (down to the city or DMA level)
• Networks (Google Search only, or Google Search + Search partners)

What does a ‘keyword’ mean in Keyword Planner?

Now, let’s tackle a common question: what do those keyword results in Keyword Planner actually mean? Is it the search volume, CPC, and other stats for that query? That broad match keyword? That exact match keyword?

It’s… none of the above.

A “keyword” in Keyword Planner is an exactly matching search, inclusive of misspellings and plurals. Think of this like how exact match keywords used to work.

For example, “google ads course” and “google ads courses” would be grouped together as one keyword in Keyword Planner, but “adwords course” and “google ads course” would show up as two separate keywords in Keyword Planner.

How can I use Keyword Planner to plan my Search campaigns?

Once you have your keyword results, it can feel overwhelming. Keyword Planner dumps a ton of data on you, so here’s what I suggest you focus on:

• Keywords: This is the main reason you’re here. Look for the ones that are most relevant to what you offer. Also, make note of the ones that are not relevant to what you offer, as you may want to proactively add these to your campaigns as negative keywords.
• Average Monthly Searches: This gives you an idea of how popular a keyword is. Higher numbers mean more potential traffic – but also, potentially lower intent. Seasonal businesses may want to adjust the date range to see more accurate results.
• Top of page bid (low range) and Top of page bid (high range): These columns give you an idea of what other advertisers are paying per click to show their ads at the top of search results. I recommend taking an average of these two columns to get a rough idea of what your CPCs might be. Remember, these are estimates, not guarantees.

While Keyword Planner has some features to help you organize keywords into ad groups, I personally find it easier to download the keyword ideas into a spreadsheet and do that organization myself.

Should I pick high volume or low volume keywords?

Now that you have the data in front of you, which keywords should you choose for your campaigns? There’s no magic formula, since it depends on your budget and goals.

For example, if you have a small daily budget and the keywords you’re interested in have a high estimated CPC, you might be better off focusing on a few lower-volume keywords. On the other hand, if you have a larger budget and the CPCs are lower, you might be able to target higher-volume keywords to reach a wider audience.

Consider the quality and relevance of the keywords for your business, as this is far more important in determining your campaigns’ success than search volume or competition.

Keyword Planner won’t show me estimates for the searches I want. Why?

If you operate in a sensitive industry, like healthcare or education, you might find that Keyword Planner doesn’t show you all the keyword ideas you’re looking for. For example, I worked with a therapist who was able to see search volume and CPC estimates for certain types of therapy, but not others.

If Google won’t show you the stats for all of the keywords you want, don’t worry. It doesn’t mean you can’t advertise on those keywords!

You can try using a tool like Google Trends, instead. While it won’t give you exact search volume or CPCs, it can show you the relative popularity of search terms over time, which can still be helpful. (Remember, Google Trends uses indexed data, not absolute search volumes.)

Can you use Keyword Planner for forecasting?

Google’s Keyword Planner also has a feature to build forecasts based on the keywords you select. However, for more in-depth forecasting based on your actual campaign performance, Google offers another free tool called Performance Planner.

I find Performance Planner more helpful for forecasting than Keyword Planner, but feel free to give both a try to see what you prefer. Note that in order to use the forecasting tools, you need to actually be spending money on ads and have active campaigns with conversion data. Otherwise, Google won’t have any of your data on which to build a forecast.

Ultimately, Google Keyword Planner is a fantastic free resource for anyone involved in PPC or even SEO. It allows you to get valuable insights into what people are searching for, helping you make more informed decisions about your search strategies.

This article is part of our ongoing weekly Search Engine Land series, Everything you need to know about Google Ads in less than 3 minutes. Every Wednesday, Jyll highlights a different Google Ads feature, and what you need to know to get the best results from it – all in a quick 3-minute read.

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