Effective keyword research is the foundation of any successful SEO or PPC strategy. While many advanced tools exist, Google's own Keyword Planner remains one of the most valuable and accessible resources—and it's completely free. This guide will serve as a practical walkthrough of its core functions to help you find the right keywords for your business.
Getting Started: Accessing Keyword Planner
To use the Keyword Planner, you'll need a Google Ads account. You don't need to run an active campaign to access it. Once you're in your Google Ads dashboard, you can find it under "Tools & Settings" > "Planning" > "Keyword Planner."
Core Function 1: Discover New Keywords
This is where your research begins. You can input "seed terms"—broad topics or phrases related to your business (e.g., "digital marketing services," "local seo kerala"). Keyword Planner will then generate a list of hundreds or even thousands of related keyword ideas that real users are searching for. This is invaluable for brainstorming content topics and identifying long-tail keywords you might have missed.
Core Function 2: Get Search Volume and Forecasts
Once you have a list of potential keywords, you can analyze them to understand their potential. Keyword Planner provides crucial metrics for each term:
- Average monthly searches: Shows how many times a keyword is searched for each month, helping you gauge its popularity.
- Competition: Labeled as Low, Medium, or High, this metric indicates how many advertisers are bidding on a particular keyword. While it's a PPC metric, it's also a great proxy for organic SEO difficulty.
- Top of page bid (low and high range): For PPC campaigns, this shows the estimated cost-per-click (CPC) to have your ad appear at the top of the search results.
By understanding these metrics, you can make data-driven decisions for both your SEO content strategy (targeting keywords with good volume and manageable competition) and your PPC campaigns (budgeting effectively for ad spend).