Author
Marilyn Cowley
When working in marketing, paying attention to how you implement Search Engine Optimization (SEO) tactics is a key element to ensure success in your long-term marketing strategy. In simple terms, good SEO allows your business or brand to reach more people online in an organic way. Most importantly, the traffic from SEO is mostly hot leads because they were searching for terms related to your business.
Even though there are many different ways you should be improving your SEO, including highly searched keywords and phrases into your website copy (among other “behind-the-scenes” tactics) is one of the most important factors in increasing online visibility.
One of the best ways to find the best keywords would be utilizing Google Keyword Planner. This platform allows you to discover specific terms an audience is using to find businesses just like yours.
Besides Google Keyword Planner also being free (and we love free!)
Keyword Planner allows users to:
- Find new keywords, phrases, websites and categories that can be used for target campaigns
- Discover search volume trends for specific keywords and phrases
- Understand how keyword searches have changed over time and much more
The more you familiarize yourself with this tool, the more value you gain from it, but to keep things simple, we’ll start by focusing on how this tool helps you discover new keywords that can be utilized for SEO purposes when creating websites, blogs and ads.
First and foremost, it’s recommended to have a Googled campaign running when accessing Keyword Planner. This is because those who have ad campaigns running on Google Accounts are able to see more accurate search volume data on keywords. Those who are logged into a Google Account, but do not have an ad campaign running, are only shown ranges of data instead of exact numbers for keywords.
Although it’s not necessary to have an ad campaign running, we highly encourage you that you do when utilizing this tool to have more accurate data.
How To Find New Keywords on Google Keyword Planner
1: Once you’ve logged into your Google Ads account go to Tools and Settings > Planning > Keyword Planner. Once you’re on this page you’re given two options:
- Discover new keywords
- Get search volume and forecasts
2: Click on discover new keywords and under the phrase that says: “Enter products or services closely related to your business,” do exactly that! Pretty simple right? For example, if you sell women’s clothing, words that you can enter into the search bar can include items such as dresses, shoes, t-shirts, etc.
You also have the opportunity to change the location and language of your search. For instance, if you want to find popular keywords that are being searched specifically in San Diego, you can change your location settings to include places around the area like Chula Vista, Oceanside, Escondido, Carlsbad, El Cajon and Vista. You can also enter a domain link to use as a filter.
Up to 10 keywords can be searched for at once. To do this, separate each keyword with commas.
3: After hitting search, a long list of keywords will appear ranked by relevance. Keyword Planner will list in this category the keywords you provided in the search engine and also keyword ideas. Keyword ideas show other topics that users are searching for from the keywords you provided.
Example: If I owned a solar company in San Diego and wanted to effectively create blogs that would drive traffic to my website, I would use Keyword planner to help me learn more about what topics people are interested in when Googling “solar panels in San Diego”.
To begin, I would enter the keywords, “Solar Panels San Diego,” into my search engine. After clicking submit, Keyword Planner provides me with the number of times these specific keywords were searched for on Google. It will also show a list of suggested keywords that have also been searched for when people are googling “Solar Panels San Diego.”
Other keywords suggested by Keyword Planner include, “best solar companies in San Diego,” solar power installation in San Diego,” “cost of solar panels in San Diego,” “residential solar in San Diego” and more.
After seeing these statistics, I can now determine what topics and keywords I should be using when creating blog posts for my website to increase SEO. You never want to saturate your blog with keywords but you want to tastefully insert keywords and phrases where necessary. Google knows if you are trying to trick the algorithm, so don’t create a blog with just keywords!
For instance, I can now write a blog on why my solar company is the “best solar company in San Diego,” or what starting costs for solar panels at my company are. I can also write a blog that talks about how my company installs solar panels in San Diego and what the average rates for installation cost.
Various categories will also appear on the Keyword Planner page including average monthly searches, the level of paid competition and much more, but for SEO keyword purposes focus on keyword ideas and average monthly searches.
It’s recommended that you start with broader keywords that pertain to your business's services before typing in keywords that are more niche to your brand. This is because Keyword Planner will then show you a large list of suggested keywords that have been searched by users and can provide you with more insight into what customers are also searching for when searching for the keyword you provided.
If you know your target audience's niche well, don’t be afraid to get more specific when starting your searches. Keyword Planner is a tool with endless opportunities and lets you gain more insight into how consumers are searching, allowing you a chance to better meet their needs when creating content.
Knowing specific keywords that your audience is searching for means incorporating these keywords into your on-page SEO such as onto your website homepage or various blogs. It will even help when creating ads for your business!
Keyword Planner is a great tool that you need to be using when trying to improve your SEO and to ensure success in your long-term marketing strategy.
