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By using Keyword Planner when placing advertisements or writing
SEO
articles, you will be able to take effective keyword measures. On the other hand, many people are having trouble knowing how to use Google Keyword Planner effectively and how to set it up.
Therefore, in this article, we will explain the steps to use Google Keyword Planner, which allows you to check the monthly search volume of keywords for free if you are running Google ads, and how to use it effectively.
If you want to carry out efficient keyword strategies, please refer to this article.
What is Google Keyword Planner?
Google Keyword Planner is a tool that allows you to research keywords when distributing Google ads or writing SEO articles. It is provided free of charge by Google and allows you to check the monthly search volume, cost per click, competition, etc. for each keyword.
When you enter a keyword, related keywords will be comprehensively displayed along with their information, so it is very useful if you are not sure what keywords to use for advertising or writing articles.
Until 2016, you could use all the functions completely free of charge, but as of 2023, if you do not advertise on Google Ads, only a rough estimate of the monthly search volume will be displayed.
Please note that if you want to know the exact numbers, you need to continue posting on Google Ads, even if it is a small amount.
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Purpose of using Google Keyword Planner
Although Google Keyword Planner is free to use, it is an SEO checking tool with paid keyword search capabilities.
In the world of online search, Google is currently the strongest, so SEO measures using Google Keyword Planner should be a priority.
Originally a service aimed at users of Google Ads.
Google Keyword Planner is a service originally provided to users of Google Ads (formerly Google AdWords), which is Google’s paid advertising.
In other words, Google Keyword Planner is a tool that is intended to be used for the purpose of placing ads on Google Ads. It is mainly used to carry out the following measures.
Collection of various information for placing Google ads
Google Keyword Planner is a free tool that allows you to utilize the huge amount of data that Google has collected and accumulated over a long period of time.
You can obtain various information such as the search queries entered by users in the search window, the time of year, trending keywords by time of day, and the number of monthly searches for keywords. You can also check the bid price, number of clicks, and competition status, which is useful for comparison when selecting bid words and placing advertisements.
To carry out SEO measures
The most effective way to implement SEO measures is to directly refer to the data provided by Google. As explained in the previous section “Purpose of using Google Keyword Planner”, Google is currently the most powerful search engine in the world, and we do not recommend using any other data.
Yahoo!, which once boasted the top market share in Japan, has adopted Google’s search
algorithm
since December 2010, and although there are some differences in search results between Google and Yahoo!, the results are almost the same.
Therefore, if you only do SEO for Google, you are also doing SEO for Yahoo!’s search engine at the same time.
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How to use Google Keyword Planner
By using Google Keyword Planner, you can find out the following:
search volume
Search volume is a number that shows how many times a keyword is searched over a certain period of time.
For example, if the search volume for a given period is 50, that keyword has been searched 50 times. If your website can rank high for keywords with high search volume, you can gain a lot of access.
Therefore, when building a website, it is common to select keywords with high search volume, but since there is a lot of competition for such keywords, it is necessary to further narrow down the target using related keywords.
competitiveness
Naturally, keywords with high search volume will have a lot of competition. If you only select keywords that have a high search volume without considering competition, you may end up with the wrong result of not being ranked in the top 10 or even 20 pages.
According to the click rate data released in November 2021 by the US Search Award-winning SEO
platform
“seoClarity,” the click rate for the first search ranking is “13.94%,” the second and lower ranks have a significant drop to “7.52%,” and the third place is “4.68%”.
In 10th place, it was only 1.32%, and after that it remained at the 1% and 2% level.
Source: 2021 CTR Research Study: The Largest Ever for SEO
(
https://www.seoclarity.net/mobile-desktop-ctr-study-11302/
)
In other words, statistics show that there are almost no clicks after the first page, and even if the website appears after the 10th or 20th page, it is essentially the same as not existing online. You can receive it.
Therefore, when selecting a keyword, it is necessary to first check the competition and see how much content the competing websites that are ranked high for that keyword have.
Related keywords
Based on the above background, it is necessary to further narrow down the target by utilizing related keywords. In Google Keyword Planner, you can obtain related keywords from the “Related Keyword Retrieval Tool”.
Even if you cannot rank high for a so-called “single keyword” of one word, if you use a “compound keyword” that combines two or three related keywords, you can successfully fill the gap and rank high even if you select a big keyword. The possibility increases.
Naturally, if you use compound keywords, the number of accesses will decrease, but you will be able to expect an influx of targeted users who are closer to the attributes of the keyword.
How to register for Google Keyword Planner
The steps to register with Google Keyword Planner are as follows.
1. Log in to Google Ads
2. Select advertising goals
3. Determining business user demographics
4. Effect measurement
5. Create an ad
6. Keyword theme settings
7. Regional settings
8. Budget setting
9. Payment method settings
10. Final confirmation
11. Stopping the campaign
I will explain each in turn.
1. Log in to Google Ads
Access
the Google Ads home page
and click “Log in” or “Start now” in the top right corner.
If you already have a Google Ads account, select “Login” and enter your login information.
If you don’t have an account, select Get Started now to set up an advertising account using your Google Account.
2. Select advertising goal
To set up your ad, first select your ad goal.
Even if you are posting a small amount of money, you must always choose an advertising goal. No matter which goal you choose, the general method for setting it is the same.
This time, select “Increase product purchases and applications on the website” and proceed with the settings.
3. Determining business user demographics
After you select your advertising goal, you’ll be asked to enter your business name and URL.
Write down the name of your current business or blog, and then enter the URL that matches that.
4.Efficacy measurement
For effect measurement, you will be asked to link Google Analytics and Google Ads.
Of course, if you want to run Google ads in earnest, you should link with Google Analytics here.
However, this item can be skipped. If you are placing an ad using Google Keyword Planner, no integration is required, so we will skip this step and proceed to the next step.
5.Creating an ad
Next, create your ad.
When creating an ad, set the wording for the headline when the ad is displayed as a search result.
Sample text is included by default, so if you just want to use Google Keyword Planner, you can just move on to the next step with the sample text.
6. Keyword theme settings
When setting a keyword theme, select the keywords that will be exposed as advertisements.
Again, if you are placing an ad solely to use Google Keyword Planner, there is no need to make any settings.
7.Regional settings
In the region settings, you can specify the regions where Google ads will be placed, or conversely, the regions you want to exclude.
The default setting is all of Japan, and there is no problem leaving it as is, so let’s proceed with the default settings.
8. Budget setting
In order to use all of Keyword Planner’s features, you will need to run Google Ads, so let’s set a monthly budget here.
Select “Enter your own budget” and enter the minimum amount.
9. Payment method settings
Once you have set your budget, the final step is to set your payment method.
When setting up your payment method, enter your basic information, credit card information, and agree to the terms of service.
You will also need to choose between “Personal” and “Business.” Whichever option you choose, you can use Google Keyword Planner, so it’s a good idea to choose the one that applies to you.
10.Final confirmation
On the final confirmation page, you can review all the information you have entered so far.
If there are no problems, select “Next” at the bottom left.
After that, a confirmation page will be displayed again, but there is no problem if you click “Send”. Advertising will now begin.
11.Stopping the campaign
Once you’ve run your ad, you can use Google Keyword Planner to stop your campaign.
Select “Confirm Campaign” on the page after submitting your final confirmation.
After that, click on the field where your campaign is either “active” or “on hold” and select “Pause.”
Since no advertising will be placed, you will be able to use Google Keyword Planner without wasting your money.
At this stage, Google Ads settings are complete.
How to use Google Keyword Planner
To make effective use of Google Keyword Planner, here are the steps you should remember:
1. Change to expert mode
2. Find new keywords
3. Download keywords
I will explain each in turn.
1. Change to expert mode
When you enter the Google Ads page for the first time, it is in “smart mode” with only basic functions. To take full advantage of Google Keyword Planner’s features, switch to “Expert Mode.”
To change to expert mode, simply select “Switch to expert mode” from the settings button in the upper left. Once you are in expert mode, you can click on “Tools & Settings” from the menu at the top of the Google Ads page and the “Keyword Planner” item will appear.
Selecting it will take you to the Keyword Planner page.
2. Find new keywords
As mentioned earlier, the Keyword Planner allows you to check detailed information about keywords and identify related keywords. Therefore, you can find keywords related to the keywords you are trying to advertise or write articles about.
Related keywords include long-tail keywords that are searched using three or more words, and although the search volume is low, you can discover keywords that are sure to be in demand.
In some cases, it may be a hidden keyword that your competitors haven’t used, or it may be a keyword with a high closing rate, so make effective use of the keyword planner when finding keywords.
3. Download keywords
You can download the displayed list of keywords as a
CSV
file or Google spreadsheet.
To download keywords, select “Download Keyword Suggestions” in the top right while the list of keywords is displayed. You can download it in either a CSV file or Google Spreadsheet format, so download it in whatever format is most convenient for you.
After downloading, you can check not only the keywords but also the search volume and cost per click in the selected format. It is also very useful when sharing keyword information with other companies, so be sure to use it actively if you need to share it.
Useful features you can use with Google Keyword Planner
Here are some useful features you can use with Google Keyword Planner:
1. Competitor site keywords
2. Keyword search volume
I will explain each in turn.
1.Competitor site keywords
Google Keyword Planner lets you see what keywords your competing sites are using to get search traffic.
Here’s how to check the search traffic keywords of your competitors’ sites:
- Copy the URL of the site where you want to check search traffic keywords.
- In Google Keyword Planner, select “Start with website” from “Find new keywords”
- Paste the URL of the site you copied into the input field and click “Show results”
By following the steps above, you will be able to see what keywords your competitors are using to acquire users. It is very useful for competitive research and finding effective keywords, so make sure to use it proactively.
2. Keyword search volume
Google Keyword Planner allows you to check the search volume details of individual keywords. If you only want to check information for a given keyword, check the search volume using the steps below.
- In Google Keyword Planner, select “Check search volume and forecast data”
- Enter one keyword per line. If you want to search for multiple keywords, separate them with commas (,) or use a new line for each keyword.
- Click “Get Started”
By following the steps above, you can quickly research any keyword, so if you already have a set of keywords, it’s a good idea to follow these steps.
Points to look for in Google Keyword Planner
We will explain the points that should be looked at in the keyword planner from the perspectives of both “advertising operations staff” and “SEO countermeasures staff.”
1. Advertising operation
2. SEO measures
1. Advertisement operation
Items that advertising operations managers should pay attention to include:
Monthly average search volume
Ad operations managers first look at the average monthly search volume for that keyword. If the average monthly search volume is low, it can be determined that the number of searches for that keyword is low and demand is low.
Even if a website were to be ranked high using such keywords, there would be no point in placing advertisements since the number of accesses could not be expected in the first place. As a guideline, choose keywords that have an average monthly search volume of at least 10,000 or more.
competitiveness
Competitiveness is expressed as “low, medium, or high”, with “high” being a red ocean keyword with a lot of competition, and “low” being a blue ocean keyword with little competition. Naturally, keywords marked with “high” have a high cost per click, ranging from several hundred yen to several thousand yen per click.
However, placing ads on red ocean keywords does not necessarily lead to results. One effective method is to use blue ocean keywords with low cost per click to guide potential customers to your website.
This is where advertising operations staff can show off their skills.
Bid price for advertisements posted at the top of the page (low range/high range)
When you post an ad and it actually appears in the search results, the price range for the cost per click will be divided into low and high price ranges. If you set a cost-per-click that is close to the high range, the chances of your ad appearing higher in search results will increase accordingly.
On the other hand, if you set a cost per click that is close to the low price range, there is a high possibility that your ad will be displayed at the bottom of the search results ad inventory. In addition, impressions will increase if you set a CPC price close to the high price range, and decrease if you set a CPC cost close to the low price range.
Of course, if you set the cost per click below the low price range, your ad may not be placed at all. Advertising operations staff need to understand this system and, instead of just blindly aiming for higher rankings, they need to find the best position to make profits while keeping costs down.
2.SEO measures
One item that SEO managers should pay attention to is the monthly average search volume. In order to aim for high rankings, the selected keywords must be appropriately scattered throughout the website.
Furthermore, in addition to the selected keywords, it is also necessary to actively use closely related keywords and co-occurring words. All of these keywords are selected based on the average monthly search volume.
How to select keywords with Google Keyword Planner
We will explain how to select keywords using Google Keyword Planner. We will select keywords using the following three steps.
1. Collect words related to the main keyword you are targeting
2. Create a keyword list
3. Keyword selection
1. Collect words related to the main keyword you are aiming for
First, collect all related keywords and co-occurring words related to the main keyword you are targeting. The more words you have, the better, so we collect words searched not only on Google but also on other search engines and social networking sites such as Yahoo!, Bing, and YouTube.
Useful tools for this purpose are keyword suggestion tools such as “Otter Keywords”, “Lisket”, and “Ubersuggest”. Some companies charge a fee for their services, but the tools mentioned above are currently available for free.
Enter the main keyword you are aiming for into the search window of these tools and collect related keywords and co-occurring words.
2.Creating a keyword list
Next, use Google Keyword Planner to research the words you collected using the keyword suggestion tool.
First, click on “See search volume and forecast data,” then enter keywords one by one or copy and paste them.
Once you have entered all the keywords and clicked the “Start” button, detailed data about each individual keyword will be displayed in a list. This list can be saved in CSV format or Google Spreadsheet.
3.Selection of keywords
Select keywords from the keyword list you created. We will create article content by referring to the data in these lists.
We comprehensively take into account factors such as the average monthly search volume, high/low competition, and trending words at that time. If you are thinking about posting on Google Ads, etc., in addition to the above conditions, pay attention to things like the cost per click.
In this way, we will select the most suitable keywords while keeping an eye on the target and create better article content.
Alternative to Google Keyword Planner
Below, we will introduce tools that have similar functionality to Google Keyword Planner.
There are paid ones and free ones, but the paid ones may have features that Google Keyword Planner does not have.
TACT SEO
“TACT SEO” provided by Will Gate Co., Ltd. is a paid SEO tool with an initial cost of 100,000 yen and a monthly usage fee of 90,000 yen. You can use functions that Google Keyword Planner does not have, such as keyword research, SEO issue analysis, and ranking measurement.
In the above item “How to select keywords with Google Keyword Planner”, we explained other sites such as “Otter Keyword”, “Lisket”, “Ubersuggest”, etc. as a way to collect related keywords and suggestion keywords, but “TACT SEO” These keywords can also be collected with one tool.
Ubersuggest
“Ubersuggest” is an SEO tool provided by NP Digital, LLC, a US company with offices all over the world.
In addition to “Ubersuggest”, we offer a number of tools related to SEO measures such as “SEO Analyzer”, “Backlink Checker”, and “Website Traffic Checker”, and it can be said that most SEO measures can be completed with these tools alone.
Ubersuggest is a tool that specializes in keyword collection.
This is free to use and allows you to collect a large amount of keywords, from head term keywords to long tail keywords. Information such as search volume, competition, and trends for the keywords collected will also be displayed at the same time.
It also has a function that allows you to display a list of competing websites and popular pages that rank high based on organic keywords or search queries entered by users in the search window.
These functions can significantly reduce the effort and time required to manually check each item one by one.
Mielka
“Mieruka” is an SEO tool provided by Faber Company, Inc.
In addition to “Mieruka,” we also offer “Mieruka HEATMAP,” which improves CV (conversion), and “LOCAL Mieruka,” a tool for attracting customers from search engines, and are a company that has a good reputation for general SEO measures.
“Mierka” has been selected as “No. 1 in ease of use,” “No. 1 in functional satisfaction,” and “No. 1 in service stability” in the SEO tool category of “BOXIL SaaS AWARD Winter 2022,” making it a popular tool. It can be said to be one of the.
A major feature of Mieruka that differs from other SEO tools is that it is equipped with AI. You can analyze what users are thinking when they type in the keyword, and understand whether they have an intention to make a purchase or not.
In addition, AI automatically analyzes the keywords that your competitors are acquiring, and you can also display the number of monthly searches for those keywords.
Furthermore, the keyword collection function is also enhanced, and by simply entering the main keyword, related keywords and suggested keywords are automatically extracted, allowing you to dig deeper into the user’s search intent.
summary
In this article, we explained the steps you need to take to use Google Keyword Planner, how to use it, and its useful features. When placing advertisements or writing articles, keyword selection is one of the important tasks that greatly affects the effectiveness.
By making effective use of Google Keyword Planner, you will be able to take measures using keywords that are more likely to produce results. Please refer to this article and make effective use of Google Keyword Planner.