Google Keyword Planner: The Complete Guide

Google Keyword Planner

Google keyword planner is one of the leading web marketing tools provided by Google. It can be said that it is a must-have tool for web marketers because it can investigate the number of monthly searches for keywords, related keywords, their CPC (cost per click), etc.

The keyword planner helps check the advertising bid price and monthly search volume for each keyword. It's useful for choosing keywords in search engine marketing (SEM), covering content SEO, listing ads, and more. 

In this article, we'll break down the keyword planner in a simple way. We'll highlight its distinctions from other Google tools like Google Analytics and Search Console, guide you on its practical usage, and even suggest alternative tools. Feel free to check it out for more insights

Table of contents

• What is Google Keyword Planner?

• What you can do with Google Keyword Planner

• How to install Google Keyword Planner

• How to use Google Keyword Planner

• Alternatives to Keyword Planner

• summary

What is a keyword planner

Google Keyword Planner is a tool that can be used as one of the functions of "Google Ads" necessary for distributing listing (search-linked) advertisements. It has a function to search for new keywords and investigate potential such as keyword search volume and cost per click. 

Therefore, it can be used for keyword selection when placing advertisements, SEO, and article content production.

Here are the main metrics you can research in Keyword Planner:

1. Monthly search volume (number of searches)

2. CPC (cost per click)

3. Related keywords

4. Competitiveness in listing ads (search-linked ads)

It can be said that it is an essential tool for search engine marketing, such as checking the monthly search volume (number of searches) of the keyword you want to take measures, and checking the CPC (cost per click) when placing advertisements.

Is Keyword Planner Free? Paid?

Keyword Planner is basically a free tool to use.

However, since it was developed as a tool used by Google to place Google ads, some functions are limited if you do not place Google ads.

For example, if you do not spend a certain amount of advertising expenses on Google Ads, the monthly search volume (the number of searches) will be displayed in an approximate form. (Left side of the figure below.)

Since accurate keyword research cannot be performed with the free version, it is better to distribute listing ads for a small amount if possible.

Accurate keyword selection is essential to maximize the effectiveness of SEO. Therefore, if you have not placed ads and do not plan to place ads in the future, you should consider introducing other tools as an alternative.

Can I use Keyword Planner on my smartphone?

Keyword Planner is also available in your smartphone's browser.

However, since it is not responsive, we recommend using it on a PC if you want to make full use of it. Since the PC screen is displayed as it is on the mobile screen, it is difficult to view on a smartphone because it cannot be displayed on full screen. (Left side of the figure below.)

What you can do with Google Keyword Planner

Discover the capabilities of Google Keyword Planner and explore its two primary applications:

1. SEO and Article Content Creation:

   • Uncover insights for optimizing your website's search engine performance.
   • Enhance your content creation strategy with relevant and high-performing keywords.
   • 
     

2. Listing Advertisement Operations:

   • Streamline the process of creating effective listing advertisements.
   • Maximize the impact of your ads by selecting the right keywords.

3. Let's quickly delve into how Keyword Planner can assist in each of these areas.

Used for SEO and article content production

When creating article content to get traffic from search engines, be sure to set keywords. The results, that is, the number of inflows to the page, are greatly influenced by the keywords selected here.

When selecting keywords, it is important to identify a large number of "keyword candidates that can be countermeasure keywords" and to be able to check the indicators (search volume, etc.) of each keyword.

As will be described later, the keyword planner can be used for SEO and article content production because it can find search volume and highly related keywords that can countermeasure keyword candidates.

If you want to know more about how to check search volume and free tools other than keyword planner, please refer to the article below for detailed explanations.

Used for listing advertisement operation

Since the Keyword Planner itself is one of the functions of Google Ads, it can of course be used to operate listing ads.

Not only can you find new keywords for publication, but you can also create various simulations when operating with the expected budget.

From "Check search volume and forecast data", you can add keywords you want to research, click "Forecast", and enter the budget you can spend on a day to simulate the operation of listing ads.

You can predict conversions, cost per conversion (CPA), number of clicks, etc. when posting with the target keyword, so you can set a highly accurate operating budget for listing ads.

How to install Google Keyword Planner

Now let's get started with Keyword Planner. This time, I will introduce how to set up to use the full function of the keyword planner.

Follow the flow below to make the initial settings.

① Access Google Ads

Access Google Ads and click "Start Now" to start registering for Google Ads. Please note that you cannot register if you do not have a Google account.

②Determine advertising goals

A page to create a new campaign will be displayed (campaign = ad). Here, select the purpose of delivering Google Ads.

Even if you want to use the keyword planner in the free version, you need to make settings, so select the following objectives that match or are similar.

• Increase phone calls
• Increase product purchases and sign-ups on your website
• Increase store traffic
• Get more video views and build brand awareness

 If you do not mind using the free version of Keyword Planner, please select "Switch to Expert Mode" at the bottom of the above figure. The following screen will be displayed, so you can register for the free version by selecting "Create an account without campaign".

③ Enter the name of the shop or service

The product/service name or brand name may be set, or the website name (blog name) may be set. It should be noted that ads will be displayed when users search for the name you set, so it is better to refrain from setting irrelevant strings in the subject line.

④ Enter the URL of the LP (landing page page)

The URL you enter here depends on the purpose of using Keyword Planner. If it's an online shop, it's the EC site URL, and if it's our company, it's the Keywordmap service page. Enter the URL of the landing page of the website where you want to advertise.

⑤ Check the LP display screen by device

As shown in the figure below, the landing page screen displayed when a user clicks on a listing ad is displayed by the device.

⑥ Enter the ad headline

The headline of the advertisement is the part of the red frame in the image below. I mean the title link that appears in search results. If you don't set the ad headline and description below it here, you can add it later.

*This is a very important point in optimizing listing ads, but if you just use the keyword planner, there is no problem if you just use the formats that are already prepared.

⑦ Add keyword theme

Keyword themes are like key phrases for advertising.

For example, if it is a renovation business, it will be “reform” or “renovation”. In other words, set keywords that are likely to be searched by target users and that are related to store names, products, and brands.

*If you just use the keyword planner, Google has already provided keyword candidates, so you can accept them.

⑧ Enter the area where you want to advertise

If you just use the keyword planner, there is no problem even if you proceed without entering anything in particular.

⑨ Set the advertising budget

Set how much you want to spend on advertising each month.

As mentioned above, the keyword planner, which is a function of Google Ads, is free and has limited functions. Therefore, to use it correctly, it is necessary to set a minimum investment amount. The minimum investment amount is not fixed but fluctuates, but it is around 2 USD and should be set higher here.

(10) Check the settings

Check the settings, and if there are no problems, the initial settings are complete.

*If you are only using Keyword Planner without delivering ads, change the campaign status from "Pending" to "Paused".

How to use Google Keyword Planner

After registering for Google Ads, I will continue to explain how to actually use the keyword planner.

In search engine marketing, such as "I want to display a web page at the top" or "I want to place a listing advertisement", you can obtain the information necessary for preliminary keyword research with Keyword Planner.

This time, we will introduce how to find new keywords and how to check search volume and prediction data, which are essential for keyword selection

How to find new keywords

Keyword Planner's "Find New Keywords", as the name suggests, allows you to discover new keywords for listing ads and content creation.

purpose of use

• Keyword search volume research
• Keyword CPC/competitiveness research (survey of difficulty of countermeasures)
• Research related keywords (discover new keywords)

Keyword Planner allows you to check the following items for keywords you want to research. These metrics are essential when selecting keywords, so we recommend checking them out.

• Average number of searches per month (search Vol)
• CPC (Cost per click when placing listing ads)
• High competitiveness when posting listings
• Other keywords related to the entered keyword (related keywords)

Let's actually find a new keyword with the flow below.

② Enter the keyword you want to research in the red frame in the figure below and click "Display results". Up to 10 keywords can be searched at once.

After entering the keyword above, click "Show results" to display the page shown in the figure below, where you can check the index such as the search volume mentioned earlier.

As you can see in the leftmost tab, [Keywords (in order of relevance)], it also finds keywords (keyword candidates) that are highly related to the entered keyword. Therefore, it can also be used to identify candidate keywords when selecting keywords.

*This data can be downloaded in CSV or Google Spreadsheet format. Download the data if you want to shape the data for easier viewing or match it with data extracted from other tools for further analysis.

Advice on using keywords extracted from Keyword Planner

However, if the amount of keywords is huge, it will take time to research each one. Therefore, it is recommended to use tools to extract user needs (search intent) from a large number of keywords, select effective keywords, and use them for content production.

The procedure is as follows.

1. Download the keywords displayed in the above procedure
2. Put the downloaded keywords into the text mining tool and analyze. Text mining tools are available for free
   Extract data in order of appearance frequency and score

■ Order of appearance frequency

As the name suggests, this is a graph in which the more frequently appearing items are displayed in larger and bolder letters.

For example, when looking at hair removal, “pain”, “medical care”, and “expenses” come to mind. As a user's psychology, when choosing for the first time, it is possible to choose based on word-of-mouth information such as cost and pain, and also want to try medical hair removal.

■Score order

This is a graph in which the higher the importance, the larger and bolder the graph.

In terms of importance, words that do not appear in general documents but appear frequently only in the text under study are weighted. In other words, characteristic keywords that do not appear in other keywords are extracted.

For example, when looking at beard hair removal, the keyword “stubborn” comes to mind. We can read the search intent that it takes time to complete hair removal compared to other parts.

By understanding search intent in this way, it is possible to utilize it in content creation as themes and topics.　

Check search volume and prediction data [Discover keywords that are likely to increase search volume]

The Keyword Planner has two functions, one is "Find New Keywords" mentioned above. The other is the "Check search volume and prediction data" function that allows you to investigate multiple keywords at once.

purpose of use

• Search volume of the keyword you want to research
• Search volume transition for any period
• Search volume growth rate for the last 3 months (+ year-on-year)
• Competitiveness and CPC

Since it is possible to investigate the potential of a keyword from the data on search volume trends, it is possible to find out when the demand for that keyword increases. While it is possible to take measures for keywords according to the time when each keyword is likely to be searched, it is also convenient to check the search volume of a large number of keywords at once.

Search for keywords related to the website [Search for keywords from competitor sites]

In [Find new keywords > Start from website], you can conduct keyword research based on the web page you entered instead of the keyword.

purpose of use

• Keyword research on the web page axis
• Identify keywords based on competitors' pages

Displays related keywords in "whole website" and "single web page" from the entered web page URL. In addition, since you can enter any web page, it is possible to extract reference data for keyword selection not only from your own company but also from competitors' pages.

* However, it should be noted that the keywords displayed here are not the actual inflow keywords of the site/page, but the related keywords inferred from the contents of the site/page.

If you want to investigate the inflow keywords of the actual website, Google Search Console is recommended for your own site, and Keyword map, which will be described later, is recommended for competitors.

Also, how to check the number of searches (search volume) is explained in the following article, so please refer to it as well.