A Guide to Keyword Planner: Top Use Cases and Pro Tips

Business owners use technology to their advantage when expanding their market and increasing their sales. Digital marketing is an effective method to engage with customers and promote their brands. Experts, such as SEO specialists, use keywords to analyze customers’ behavior and identify their preferences. Coming up with effective keyword ideas, however, can be difficult, which is why knowing how to use Keyword Planner is so useful. 

Google Keyword Planner is an awesome tool for generating valuable keyword lists that you can use for your advertising plan. If you feel like you’re always scrambling to find a good keyword suggestion, this is the article for you. In this guide to Keyword Planner, we’ll show you what you need to prepare before using this tool, as well as some Keyword Planner tips.

What Is Keyword Planner?

Google Keyword Planner is a popular keyword research tool.  This free keyword planner tool provides you with effective keyword lists that you can use to optimize your search campaign. The Google Keyword Planner can also help you analyze the search volumes of each keyword suggestion. If you are an SEO expert or just starting your career in SEO, the Google Keyword Planner is a powerful tool to have.

Why Do You Need Keyword Planner?

Keyword research is an important part of digital marketing. If you are a business owner, you might want to consider using this method of promoting your product to grow your sales. To have a successful campaign and raise the ranking of your web or blog content, you need to use relevant keywords. An SEO tool like Google Keyword Planner can generate the right keyword lists for you to use for your marketing campaign.

Keyword Planner Use Cases

• Researching Keywords: Searching a keyword in the Google Keyword Planner will give you a list of relevant keywords. This is a fast way to generate competitive keywords that match your products or services. It will also increase your overall campaign performance.
• Creating Search Ad Campaigns: The Google Keyword Planner lets you create effective new campaigns with commercial intent through deep keyword research. 
• Viewing Keyword Cost: When using the Google Keyword Planner, you can look at the average cost of your ads when they are shown on searches of a particular keyword. Through this feature, you can easily choose the best individual keywords for your campaign.
• Viewing the Number of Keyword Monthly Searches: The Google Keyword Planner can show you the monthly search volume of keywords Keyword volume tells how frequently people use a particular keyword over a specific time period. This can help you pick stronger potential keywords.
• Organize Keyword Lists: Another helpful feature of the Google Keyword Planner is keyword groupings. It enables you to better manage keywords by grouping them into different categories. This will help you with your keyword performance.

Key Terms You Need to Know to Use Keyword Planner

Search Campaign

A search campaign is an advertising technique where businesses show ads on web pages based on users’ searches. They identify a user’s intent and use keywords to allow their site to appear when the user searches using keyword combinations related to their products or services. 

Keyword

A keyword is a search term that a person types into a search engine when browsing the Internet. Generic keywords are important in increasing the ranking of your website. To attract more visitors, you must identify and use keywords that people are using when they browse. SEO considers the length of keywords since it can describe the search volume. The three types of keywords by length are long-tail keywords, mid-tail keywords, and short-tail keywords.

SERP

A Search Engine Results Page, or SERP, is the page that search engines display after searching a query. SERPs include two types of results – paid and organic search results. Paid, or non-organic search results, are ads paid by businesses to make their websites get a higher rank on the SERP. The organic search results are the most relevant results based on the keywords used in the search. These are not paid ads.

SEO

Search engine optimization, commonly known as SEO, refers to the strategy of boosting the position of your website on a SERP. A higher rank means more potential visitors and clients. SEO is the process of identifying what users search for and the most used keywords. Knowing the search intent of users will help you determine the right SEO keywords for your website. SEO tools like the Google keyword tool are a great way to find keywords.

Landing Page

The landing page is where the user gets redirected after clicking an ad, marketing email, promotion, or any other form of online advertisement. The landing page aims to obtain target sales or clients. This is also a strategy to get the visitors’ information in exchange for a special offer.

Equipment You’ll Need for Keyword Planner

• Computer. This is the main device where you will install the Google Chrome Internet browser. Chrome works on Windows 7 and later versions. For Mac users, your PC should be running OS X El Capitan 10.11 or higher. 
• Google Chrome. The Google Keyword Planner is accessible in Google Ads, which you can access on Google Chrome. You’ll first need to create a Google account before creating a Google Ads account.
• Internet Router and Provider. Chrome will run on your computer when it is connected to the Internet through a router. There are many Internet providers in the United States such as AT&T Internet, Comcast, Verizon, and CenturyLink. According to HighSpeedInternet.com, the fastest internet provider in the US is Google Fiber, with a maximum speed of 2,000 Mbps.

How to Set Up and Start Using Keyword Planner

Step 1: Install Chrome Browser

Before you install Chrome, be sure that your computer meets the minimum requirements. Download the Google Chrome browser and install it on your computer. Chrome installer is free to download and use.

Step 2: Create Your Google and Google Ads Account

After installing the Chrome browser on your computer, you can now create a Google account. You’ll need to have a Google account before you can create a Google ads account. Once you’ve done this, go to the Google Ads home page and click the Sign In button. You will be required to provide the necessary information about your website when creating an account in Google Ads. 

Step 3: Set Your Google Ads Account to “Expert Mode”

Your account will need to be set to “Expert Mode” before you can use the Keyword Planner. There are two versions of Google Ads – Smart Mode and Expert Mode. Smart Mode is recommended for beginners, while advanced users should use Expert Mode, as it provides the full Google Ads features and full control of your campaigns. 

Step 4: Start Your Keyword Plan

You’ll have access to Keyword Planner as you’ve set up your account. Go to the Tools and Settings icon and select Keyword Planner on the dropdown menu under Planning List. This tool has two options for creating your plan. The first one is the Discover New Keywords that will allow you to look for a new keyword. The Get Search Volume and Forecasts option will let you upload and use existing keywords. 

Step 5: Create Your First Campaign

After you’ve created your keyword plan, you can start creating your first campaign. You can choose from the Forcast, Negative Keywords, and Saved Keywords page to create a campaign. You can still see the Keyword Forecast of your plan but you are only allowed to change the keywords.

The Importance of Keyword Planner for Business

Using a popular keyword tool like Keyword Planner will help you get effective content ideas for your website. Your content must be based on your audience’s needs and preferences. Keyword Planner enables you to align your content with what your target demographic is looking for.

Top Keyword Planner Tips: Use Keyword Planner Like a Pro

• Choose Quality Keywords: It is better to choose more businesslike keywords than those with a high keyword search volume. A high search volume could also mean high competition for it. 
• Use Competitor Analysis: Competitive keyword analysis allows you to know and evaluate your competitor’s keywords. You can copy and paste the landing page of your competitor to Keyword Planner to get keyword ideas to use for your campaign.
• Identify Search Intent: When planning your SEO strategy, you should identify the reasons people search for things online and what they are looking for. The four types of search intent are information intent, commercial intent, navigational intent, and transactional intent. 
• Use the Filter Function: Use the filter function properly. When the Keyword Planner gives you a list of keywords, filter them to easily categorize keywords.
• Use Negative Keyword Research: Negative keywords function will prevent irrelevant traffic to your website. This can help you save money and lessen the average cost per click.

Keyword Planner for Different Professions

Should You Use Keyword Planner?

Yes, Keyword Planner is a valuable tool that can help you accomplish your advertising goals. Advertisement is vital for sales. Digital marketing is one of the most effective ways to build connections with your target audience and generate more sales. Through the use of Google Keyword Planner, you can implement a better marketing strategy.

How to Use Keyword Planner FAQ