Google Keyword Planner Step-by-Step Guide for Beginners

If you’re looking to improve your SEO strategy or create better Google Ads campaigns, the Google Keyword Planner is an essential tool. It’s a free and powerful resource that helps you discover new keywords, analyze their performance and get data on search volumes and forecasts. Whether you’re a beginner or someone looking to enhance your marketing efforts, this guide will walk you through the process step by step.

Let’s get started with understanding how to use Google Keyword Planner effectively.

Step 1: Set Up a Google Ads Account

Before you can use Google Keyword Planner, you need to set up a Google Ads account. While Keyword Planner is part of Google Ads, you don’t need to run ads to access it. Simply go to Google Ads, sign up and follow the instructions. You’ll need to enter some basic information such as your email, website and location.

Even though Google may prompt you to create a campaign during the setup process, you can skip this step by switching to Expert Mode, which allows you to explore tools like Keyword Planner without setting up an ad campaign.

Step 2: Access Google Keyword Planner

Once your Google Ads account is set up, it’s time to access Google Keyword Planner. Here’s how:

1. Log in to your Google Ads account.
2. In the top-right corner, click on the Tools and Settings icon (a wrench symbol).
3. Under the Planning section, click on Keyword Planner.

You’ll now have access to two main tools:

1. Discover New Keywords: This allows you to search for new keyword ideas.
2. Get Search Volume and Forecasts: This helps you analyze existing keywords to understand their search volume and future trends.

Step 3: Discover New Keywords

To begin finding relevant keywords for your business, choose the Discover New Keywords option. Here, you can input a keyword or phrase that relates to your products, services, or content. You can also enter a URL to get keyword suggestions based on a website.

For example, if you’re a digital marketing agency, you might input keywords like “social media marketing” or “SEO services.”

Once you’ve entered your initial keywords, Google Keyword Planner will generate a list of related terms, helping you discover new keywords you might not have thought of. This feature is crucial for broadening your keyword strategy and finding terms that are highly relevant to your niche.

Step 4: Analyze Keyword Results

After running your keyword search, Google will provide a list of keywords along with important metrics. When you analyze keyword results, pay attention to the following key data points:

1. Average Monthly Searches: This tells you how often people search for a specific keyword each month.
2. Competition: This shows how many advertisers are bidding on the keyword in Google Ads. Competition is categorized as low, medium, or high.
3. Bid Range (Top of Page): This shows the range of what advertisers typically pay for the keyword to appear at the top of search results in ads.

This information gives you a deeper understanding of each keyword’s potential, helping you determine which ones are worth targeting.

Step 5: Refine Your Keyword Search

Sometimes, the initial list of keywords might be too broad. If that happens, you can refine your keyword search by applying filters. You can narrow down results based on:

1. Location: Focus on a specific geographic area.
2. Language: Specify the language of your target audience.
3. Search Network: Choose to analyze keywords across Google or Google’s search partners.
4. Negative Keywords: Exclude certain terms that aren’t relevant to your business.

By refining your search, you can focus on the most relevant and profitable keywords for your campaign or content strategy.

Step 6: Get Search Volume and Forecasts for Specific Keywords

If you already have a list of keywords you’re interested in, you can use the Get Search Volume and Forecasts option to see detailed data. Simply paste your keywords into the search bar and Google Keyword Planner will display key information, such as:

1. Projected Clicks: The estimated number of clicks you can expect for the keyword.
2. Impressions: The number of times your ads might be shown based on search volume.
3. Cost: The estimated cost you’d pay if you were to run Google Ads for that keyword.
4. CTR (Click-Through Rate): The ratio of clicks to impressions.
5. CPC (Cost Per Click): The amount you’d pay for each click on your ad.

These metrics help you determine whether a keyword is worth investing in for SEO or Google Ads.

Step 7: Create a Keyword Plan

Once you’ve identified a strong set of keywords, it’s time to create a keyword plan. A keyword plan helps you organize your selected keywords and map out your strategies for using them, either for organic SEO or paid Google Ads campaigns.

You can save the keywords you want to focus on and use them to create targeted ad groups or SEO content. Google Keyword Planner allows you to organize and refine your plan based on your business goals.

Step 8: Export Keyword Data

If you need to share your data with a team or analyze it further in a spreadsheet, you can easily export keyword data from Google Keyword Planner. Here’s how:

1. In the Keyword Planner dashboard, click on the Download button (downward arrow icon).
2. Choose CSV format to export the data into a spreadsheet.
3. Open the file in Excel or Google Sheets to analyze the data further.

This feature is especially useful for larger projects or teams working on collaborative campaigns.

Step 9: Use Keywords for SEO and Content Strategy

The insights gained from Google Keyword Planner can significantly improve your SEO and content strategy. Here are a few ways to use the keywords effectively:

1. Content Creation: Use high-volume, low-competition keywords to create blog posts, landing pages and other content that aligns with what your audience is searching for.
2. On-Page SEO: Implement keywords in key areas of your website, such as titles, meta descriptions, headers and body text.
3. Backlink Strategy: Use high-performing keywords to create link-building campaigns that help improve your website’s authority and search rankings.

By aligning your content with the right keywords, you can boost organic traffic to your website.

Step 10: Use Keywords for Google Ads Campaigns

Finally, Google Keyword Planner is also a crucial tool for improving your Google Ads campaigns. Here’s how to apply the data:

1. Targeted Ads: Focus on keywords with high commercial intent to create ads that target potential customers.
2. Bid Strategy: Use the bid range data to optimize your bids and ensure your ads appear at the top of search results.
3. Ad Groups: Organize your keywords into relevant ad groups to improve your ad relevance and quality scores.

By using the right keywords, you can improve the effectiveness of your Google Ads campaigns and maximize your return on investment (ROI).

Final Thoughts

The Google Keyword Planner is an indispensable tool for anyone looking to enhance their SEO strategies or optimize their Google Ads campaigns.

By following this step-by-step guide, beginners can easily discover new keywords, analyze their performance, and refine their digital marketing efforts. Whether you’re aiming to improve organic search results or create targeted ads, Keyword Planner provides valuable insights to help you achieve your goals.