Get the Most from Google’s Keyword Planner
If you are wondering about how to get the most from Google’s Keyword Planner and are new to the field of SEO, this one is for you!
But first, let’s delve deep into the basics.
What is Google’s Keyword Planner?
Google’s Keyword Planner is an essential part of the Google Adwords platform which permits the users to search and analyze all kinds of keywords which they can use in their digital advertising campaigns.
Google’s Keyword Planner is a tool designed as a paid search platform where the data can be analyzed and used very well by the SEO teams around the globe.
With the help of Google’s Keyword Planner, you can look out for the following –
- Keywords and usage ideas, in accordance with phrases, pages and categories.
- Search volume for a keyword in a particular period.
- Average monthly search volume
Now, since keywords have been an integral part of the Digital Marketing realm, Google’s Keyword Planner becomes ever so important for everyone. Everything, literally everything revolves around keywords and keyword planning. They are the soul of the digital marketing body. You are only required to choose good quality keywords and place them correctly in your content, and voila! You are done.
However, most of us are confused about using the platform to gain benefits. You might not know how to search for appropriate keywords or you might be approaching the platform wrong, all in all everything falls apart.
Getting your basic concepts right is the key here. We often see people talking about SEO, SME, PPC, and other digital marketing techniques and strategies. But nobody gives the Keyword Planner its due share of importance. People often forget keywords are really the foundation stone of SEO and digital marketing blocks. And this is why we are here to help you. We want you to delve into a world of keywords, so that you gain all the benefits you can.
But wait!
For getting all the benefits, you need to follow a couple of simple steps!
Get access to Google AdWords. It is pretty simple to login on to the platform. You simply need to sign up on the Google AdWords page with a valid Email ID, preferably your business ID. Once you get the access, you can follow our lead.
The biggest benefit you get from the Keyword Planner platform is the warehouse, a storage place of literally all possible keywords you can opt for, along with their costs and values.
To unravel this storage house, you need to find ‘Keyword Planner’ on the AdWords Page, at the top under the ‘Tools’ category. Once you do that, you are going to be presented with five options to choose from.
- Search for new keywords using phrases, website or category
You can enter your keywords and/or a URL to get an array of ideas to begin your journey on the Keywords platform
- Get search volume data and trends
Under this option, you can type your choice of keywords from an existing list and Google will help you with an average number of people who are actually searching for such a keyword/phrases at a moment over some time. This estimate is calculated for you on a month’s average usage of such keywords.
- Multiply keyword lists to get new keywords
You can take two totally different lists of keywords to combine them later, to get you one huge list of keywords. This master list is going to be your ultimate partner in your keywords journey. You could take one list of the product you have to offer to the public and another one of the variety of the product you are selling. Combined together, they are going to give you one huge master list.
However wonderful it may be, it might not be very useful. The feature can be handful for some people because of the variety of choices you get. You sometimes do get an odd choice of words to be used as keywords this way. You might not get the desired site traffic. Moreover, if you keep opting for such an option over a period of time, Google will start penalizing you by either making you bid more the next time or making your advertisement appearances less and less over the next few weeks.
That being said, the other two options are great if you are looking to plan your budget and your spendings in the future. But you can also choose to ignore it right now at time moment.
For now, you should be focusing on “Searching for new keywords using phrases, website or category” option. For this, you should begin with a single phrase or a word that describes your products and services well. If you do not have the words or phrases, you can simply enter the URL of your site to do the same. When you do this, you will have the option to select categories for further steps, however, this isn’t really important at this point.
In the end, you would want to click on the ‘Get Ideas’ tab to see the results.
Google is going to give you numerous ideas for keywords which directly or indirectly relate to your product or website theme. Let’s say you entered the word laptop. For ideas you would be getting business laptops, gaming laptops, ad ideas for lifestyle laptops, another idea for a slim 13 inch laptop, etc.
All this is going to be viewed under the ‘Ad Group Ideas’. However, once you perform this search task, you are going to see another tab ‘Keyword Ideas’. When you click on this, you are going to receive abundant information regarding the suggested keywords. Along with this, you are also going to see multiple features on left side of your screen. One feature being ‘Targeting’ and another one being ‘Customize your search’. Both these options can be used to get an endless list of Google’s suggestions for you to use.
When you click on the ‘Targeting’ tab, you are going to be able to refine your search process.
If your business and your products and services are limited to a geographic boundary, you should specify the same under this tab. You can also go ahead and adjust the option to further see the Google Stats regarding estimated searches made for the product or service in a particular location, or even Average monthly search data. It could vary from time to time, of course.
This a simple feature set to “all languages” by default, which you shouldn’t change.
With the help of Network option, you can get your advertisements featured on Google search sites and its partner sites. While starting out, choose the basic plans for the same and then grow out your options along with your business development.
Under this option, you can enter your desired keyword and Google will suggest you with something appropriate which you should not be using as it is not a search term or a good quality keyword.
All these activities are surely going to help you expand in the long run. However, as a content marketer, your biggest concern must be to find out exactly how many keywords should you be using?
Well, it is pretty simple!
When you are done with your lists and the procedures mentioned above, you can do two things – you can either download the list of keywords you found out and add it later to your existing keyword ideas, or you can import the list of keywords directly to use in your ad campaign.
The onus of choice completely lies on you. You can follow any of the above two tasks or you can even do something additional.
Beginners however, assume that keywords are mainly about the volumes. They try to make them work by hook or by crook, and this is how they fall into a trap. The practicality of the situation is completely different here. Practically speaking, too many keywords can be a horrendous situation. It is worse than having no keywords at all. You would want to have some control and experience to settle for a zone where the keywords are neither too many, nor too few. Your keywords should reflect your efforts, not dilute them altogether. And this is why it is important to look for that perfect ‘safe’ zone, so you can see the results!
While starting out in the realm, you should opt for a safe zone of 100-200. Although 250 should be your limit. You can have more than this, but you would want to stay away from complicating matters.
And this is why it is important to know what to keep and what to eliminate.
To figure this out, you need to find a target for your project. And what is this target? The perfect keywords!
Everything beyond this target is not perfect. Achieving this target is going to help you in the long run. Things beyond this target might be closely matched to perfect, but still not perfect. The perfect targeted keywords are likely to bring you not just site traffic, but more revenues.
When you are looking forward to shortlisting your first keywords, you need to work meticulously through the Google’s Keyword Planner platform and work your way out from this platform. With this platform, you can definitely tap excellent opportunities and grow more!
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