Google Keyword Planner: The Most Affordable Keyword Research Tool
📑 Published: October 30, 2024
🕒 10 min. read
Kurt Fischman
Principal, Growth Marshal
Successful SEO and search engine marketing relies heavily on proper keyword research. But with so many keyword research tools out there, entrepreneurs and new marketers often ask, “what’s the most affordable keyword research tool?” Luckily, you can do free keyword research with: Google Keyword Planner. It’s powerful, trusted by professionals for reliable keyword research, and you simply can't beat the pricing! In this guide, you’ll learn how to master Google Keyword Planner to build effective keyword strategies without spending a dime.
Why Google Keyword Planner Is a Game-Changer for Keyword Research
Google Keyword Planner is a valuable tool for several reasons. Since it’s software provided directly by Google, it uses the search engine’s own data, offering insights that other keyword research tools may not have. It also provides data on keyword searches, search volume, keyword difficulty, and even Google Trends. If you’re looking for accurate keyword suggestions at no cost, combined with the ability to perform traditional keyword research, this marketing tool is the right choice.
Let’s dive into its analytics features and understand how to make the most of Google Keyword Planner.
Getting Started with Google Keyword Research Tool
Step 1: Set Up Google Ads (Even If You Don’t Plan to Run Ads)
To access the Planner's keyword research features, you’ll need a Google Ads account. Here’s how to get started:
Create a Google Ads Account: Visit Google Ads and sign up.
Skip the Campaign Setup: You don’t need to run a campaign to use the Keyword Planner. Follow the prompts, and when you’re asked to set up a campaign, simply skip this step or select "Create an account without a campaign."
With your Google Ads account set up, you’re ready to dive into powerful keyword research.
Step 2: Access Google Keyword Planner
Once in Google Ads, go to Tools & Settings in the menu, and select Keyword Planner. The tool offers two main options:
Discover New Keywords: Use this to explore new keyword ideas and target keywords.
Get Search Volume and Forecasts: This option allows you to input specific keywords and analyze their search volume, keyword search trends, and forecasts.
Now that you know how to access it, let’s start exploring how to find valuable keyword insights.
Using Google Keyword Planner for Effective Keyword Research
1. Discovering New Keywords
When it comes to keyword research methods, one of the most important steps is conducting exploratory keyword research. Google Keyword Planner’s "Discover New Keywords" feature is your go-to for this.
Enter a Seed Keyword or URL: Begin by entering a broad keyword or a competitor’s website URL. This will generate a list of related keyword suggestions and reveal keyword search volume data.
Analyze Keyword Suggestions: Google Keyword Planner provides keyword ideas you might not have thought of, giving you a list of trending keywords and popular keyword ideas.
Check Keyword Trends and Seasonal Data: Under each keyword suggestion, you’ll see monthly search trends and whether it’s a seasonal keyword. This data helps in understanding what keywords are currently popular.
The "Discover New Keywords" feature is an essential keyword suggestion tool for generating a broad list of promising keywords.
2. Analyzing Keyword Volume and Competition
One of the core strengths of Google Keyword Planner is its detailed insights into keyword search volume and competition.
Review Monthly Searches: The tool displays estimated monthly keyword searches for each keyword, helping you run specialized keyword research to discover high-volume keywords.
Assess Competition Levels: For each keyword, you’ll see whether it has high, medium, or low competition. Focusing on low-competition keywords can give you a better chance of ranking higher in search engine results.
Find Keyword Difficulty: Although Keyword Planner doesn’t offer explicit keyword difficulty scores, you can infer difficulty by examining the competition level.
This information enables you to prioritize keywords with high search volume but manageable competition, a classic strategy in search engine optimization.
3. Creating a Targeted Keyword List
With so many keyword suggestions available, it’s crucial to create a targeted list to keep your strategy focused. Here’s how to narrow down your keywords:
Identify Primary Keywords: Select 5–10 high-value primary keywords that align closely with your content or niche. These will be the primary focus of your optimization efforts.
Include Long-Tail Keywords: Great keyword research entails finding long-tail keywords, which are often less competitive and offer solid opportunities for ranking. They tend to attract targeted traffic and are essential for reaching niche audiences.
Organize with Keyword Clustering: Group related keywords into clusters for targeted content strategies. For instance, if you’re targeting “dog training,” create clusters like “puppy training,” “dog obedience,” and “dog training tips.”
By focusing on a mix of primary keywords and long-tail keywords, you’ll be able to capture both broad and niche audiences.
Advanced Features of Google Keyword Planner
1. Use Forecasting for Data-Driven Decisions
Google Keyword Planner’s forecasting feature is ideal for predicting keyword performance over time. While this feature was initially designed for paid search, it can still provide valuable insights for organic keyword research.
Access Forecasting: Enter your keywords into the "Get Search Volume and Forecasts" section, and Keyword Planner will show you estimated clicks, impressions, and costs (if running ads).
Analyze Forecast Data: Though designed for ads, the data can reveal keyword trends and predict traffic, especially for high-intent keywords. This is essential for planning around seasonal keywords.
Forecasting helps refine your strategy, giving you a glimpse of future search behavior.
2. Exploring Competitor Keywords
Even though Google Keyword Planner isn’t marketed as a competitor keyword research tool, you can still gain insights into what competitors are ranking for by entering their URLs. The related keyword suggestions provided often include keywords that drive traffic to competitor sites, giving you valuable competitive research data.
Identify Keyword Gaps: Look for keywords competitors rank for that you haven’t targeted. This “keyword gap analysis” can reveal new keyword opportunities.
Expand on Competitor Keywords: Use the suggestions to build on keywords competitors target, enhancing your own strategy with extensive keyword research.
3. Leverage Location-Specific Keyword Data
If your business serves specific regions, Google Keyword Planner allows you to see location-specific keyword data. Simply adjust the location settings to focus on regions, cities, or even specific neighborhoods.
Analyze Local Search Volume: For local businesses, understanding local keyword search volume can be a game-changer.
Adapt for Regional Terms: Regional variations of keywords (e.g., “car hire” vs. “car rental”) can greatly affect your visibility in search results. Google Keyword Planner helps you capture these nuances.
By tailoring your keywords to local trends, you can improve your visibility among local audiences, and when combined with citation management, is a crucial element in local SEO.
Maximizing Google Keyword Planner for Different Marketing Goals
Whether you’re a small business owner, content creator, or SEO specialist, Google Keyword Planner can adapt to the top keyword research methods.
1. Building Content Strategies with Keyword Planner
If you’re a blogger or content marketer, you can use Google Keyword Planner to identify content-driven keyword research ideas.
Discover Content Gaps: Use Keyword Planner to find long-tail keywords with low competition. These keywords can inspire blog posts and other content that meets specific search intents.
Explore Question Keywords: By adding “how,” “what,” “why,” and “where” before keywords, you can generate question keywords that make excellent blog topics.
With these insights, Google Keyword Planner becomes a content creation tool, helping you analyze keywords and target queries that search engines value.
2. Creating SEO Campaigns with Google Keyword Planner
For SEO professionals, Google Keyword Planner is a multi-purpose keyword analysis tool. Its features can assist in crafting on-page SEO strategies by selecting the right keywords and integrating them into content and metadata.
Focus on Keyword Optimization: Use the data from Google Keyword Planner to optimize your page titles, headers, and meta descriptions.
Track Keyword Rankings: While Google Keyword Planner doesn’t provide tracking, pairing it with Google Search Console or other keyword research tools can help monitor keyword ranking over time.
Google Keyword Planner is one of the most reliable tools for seo keyword research, allowing you to make strategic, data-driven decisions for your campaigns.
Common Pitfalls With Keyword Research Tools and How to Avoid Them
While Google Keyword Planner is a fantastic free keyword tool, there are some common mistakes users make when looking for promising keyword ideas.
Ignoring Low-Volume Keywords: Low-volume keywords are often overlooked but can be valuable for niche audiences.
Focusing Only on High-Competition Keywords: High competition doesn’t always mean high conversions. Balance your strategy with low-difficulty keywords to capture diverse traffic.
Relying Solely on Keyword Planner: Google Keyword Planner is powerful but works best when paired with other research tools like Google Trends, which offers additional insights on search trends and trending topics.
Avoiding these pitfalls will help you locate important keywords make the most of this affordable keyword research tool.
Tips for Beginner and Advanced Users
Beginners: Start with Basic Keyword Research
If you’re new to keyword selection, begin with simple steps:
Focus on a few primary keywords.
Use Google Keyword Planner’s suggestions for long-tail keywords.
Analyze the search volume and competition to prioritize keywords.
Advanced Users: Dive into Competitive and Trend Analysis
For advanced keyword research, Google Keyword Planner offers more in-depth features:
Conduct competitor keyword research to identify keyword gaps.
Utilize forecasting data to predict seasonal keyword trends.
Perform keyword clustering to organize your keywords by intent and topic.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About Google Keyword Planner and Keyword Research
1. What is Google Keyword Planner?
Among the popular tools for hyper-specific keyword ideas, the Planner is a free and simple Google keyword tool, designed primarily for advertisers but widely used by SEO and content marketers. It provides users with a solid keyword finder, helps analyze search volume, understand competition levels, and make data-driven decisions for search engine optimization and paid search campaigns.
2. How do I access Google Keyword Planner?
To access the keyword research data inside of the Planner, you’ll need a Google Ads account. Once set up, go to Tools & Settings in Google Ads, and select Keyword Planner. You can then start discovering Google keywords, analyzing search volume, and gathering insights to guide your keyword strategy.
3. Is Google Keyword Planner free to use?
Yes, Google Keyword Planner is completely free to use, making it one of the most affordable keyword tools for detailed keyword research. While it’s built into the Google Ads platform, you can use it without running paid campaigns, making it an extremely cost competitive research tool for marketers on any budget.
4. How does Google Keyword Planner compare to other keyword research tools?
The keyword research experience is unique in that it provides data directly from Google’s search engine. While other tools like SEMrush, Ahrefs, or Moz offer more advanced features like keyword difficulty scores and competitor analysis, daily keyword searches are easily run through the Planner, and it remains an essential tool for foundational keyword research, extracting basic keyword metrics and understanding keyword search volume data at no cost.
5. What types of keywords can I find with Google Keyword Planner?
This tool makes it easy to surface relevant keyword results and run multiple keyword research queries, including short-tail keywords (high-volume, competitive search keywords) and long-tail keywords (niche-specific, lower-competition terms). The tool also suggests related keywords and popular keywords to help you find keyword ideas, isolate costly keywords, diversify your keyword strategy, and reach different audience segments.
6. Can I use Google Keyword Planner for local SEO?
Yes, using Keyword Planner data you can target relevant keywords by specific locations. You can focus on cities, regions, or countries to discover local keyword search trends and create a geographically targeted keyword strategy, which is essential for local SEO.
7. What is the best way to organize keywords from Google Keyword Planner?
For effective keyword optimization, group keywords by topic or intent. Use keyword clustering techniques to organize similar keywords into groups, which can guide content creation and on-page SEO. This method helps you target multiple related keywords within a single article or webpage, improving relevance and search engine rankings.
8. Can Google Keyword Planner help with competitor keyword research?
While Google Keyword Planner doesn’t provide specific competitor data, you can enter a competitor’s website URL into the tool to get semantically-related keywords that are likely driving traffic to their site. This can give you insights into new keyword ideas, low competition keywords, and easy-to-rank-for keywords.
9. Are there any limitations to using Google Keyword Planner?
Google Keyword Planner is excellent for basic keyword research, but it has some limitations. For example, it doesn’t provide exact keyword difficulty scores or won't drill down into a competitive keyword gap, which are features available in premium tools like Ahrefs or SEMrush. It also lacks SEMrush's keyword magic tool, which provides keyword analytics on contextual keyword suggestions. However, it’s an ideal tool for identifying good keyword ideas and gathering keyword report data, especially if you’re on a tight budget.
10. How can I maximize Google Keyword Planner for my SEO efforts?
To get the most out of the tool's unlimited keyword searches, focus on building a targeted list of keywords based on search volume and competition levels. Integrate these keywords into your content, titles, meta descriptions, and headers. In this regard, keyword tracking is essential. Regularly update your keywords based on new trending keywords or seasonal keyword opportunities to stay competitive in search results.
11. Does Google Keyword Planner show search volume trends?
Yes, Google Keyword Planner displays historical data on search volume trends for each keyword, allowing you to see keyword competition and assess whether a keyword’s popularity is increasing or decreasing. This data helps search marketers identify seasonal keywords and stay up-to-date with trending topics in your niche.
12. How accurate is the data from Google Keyword Planner?
Since Google Keyword Planner pulls data directly from Google, it is generally reliable for exact keyword research and unlimited keyword suggestions. However, keep in mind that some data, like search volumes, are often rounded and may not be as precise as data from paid keyword research tools. Despite this, it’s widely trusted among many keyword research practitioners for primary keyword research and paid search strategies.
Conclusion: Mastering The Most Affordable Keyword Research Tool
If you need affordable options for a web app to tackle long-tail keyword research, Google Keyword Planner is a solid choice. Its extensive keyword database makes finding niche keywords and non-brand keywords simple for both beginners and professional search marketers. Whether your goal is to generate content ideas with top keyword research, build an SEO campaign, or uncover new keyword opportunities, this could be the right keyword planner for you. Plus, the tool comes at a very affordable price!
By following the strategies in this guide, you can master this keyword research tool and develop a keyword strategy that drives traffic, captures leads, and boosts conversions. Start exploring, experimenting, and optimizing—and make the most of the most affordable keyword research tool available today.
Kurt Fischman is the founder of Growth Marshal and is an authority on lead generation and startup growth strategy. Say 👋 on Linkedin!
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