Find Great Keywords Using Google Autocomplete
What is Google Keyword Planner?
Google Keyword Planner is an essential tool within Google Ads designed to assist advertisers in finding keywords for ad targeting. It allows users to discover keyword ideas, explore search volumes, assess Google Ads competition, and determine cost-per-click (CPC) data for various search terms.
However, Google Keyword Planner is not accessible for free. To use this tool, you must have a Google Ads account and actively spend on advertising.
How to Use Google Keyword Planner?
While there is no direct charge for using Google Keyword Planner, it is not available for free. The costs are indirect; you must spend money on Google Ads to utilize this tool effectively.
To access Google Keyword Planner, you must follow these steps:
- Create a Google Ads account.
- Connect a billing method, typically a credit card, to your Google Ads account.
- Initiate and maintain a Google Ads campaign that actively spends money.
If you wish to view precise search volume data in Google Keyword Planner, continuous Google Ads campaigns with significant monthly spending, often in the range of hundreds or thousands of US dollars, are necessary.
If Google deems your ad spending insufficient, precise search volume data will be replaced with search volume ranges. To retain access to detailed data, maintaining your Google Ads expenditure is essential.
Note that reducing your spending on Google Ads could result in limited access to keyword data within Google Keyword Planner and even potential loss of access altogether.
The Best Google Keyword Planner Alternatives
Even if you have full access to Google's Keyword Planner through your Google Ads spending, you might want to explore alternative keyword research tools. While Keyword Planner is tailored for finding keywords for advertising, it often omits popular long-tail keywords that can be crucial for content strategies.
Google Trends: This free tool by Google provides insights into the relative popularity of keywords. It's an excellent resource for comparing keyword trends over time and across different regions. For instance, you can analyze the popularity dynamics between "coffee" and "tea" in the US over the last year. However, Google Trends does not reveal the actual search volume, instead presenting data on a scale from 0 to 100.
Google Suggest: Integrated into Google Search, this feature suggests search terms as you type into the search box. It's particularly effective for uncovering long-tail keywords. Although not initially designed for marketing purposes, Google Suggest offers valuable insights into trending terms and user behavior. To leverage this, simply begin typing a keyword followed by a letter or number to see a range of related search terms.
Keyword Tool: A top alternative to Google Keyword Planner, Keyword Tool specializes in extracting thousands of keywords from Google Suggest in moments. Unlike Keyword Planner, which requires a Google Ads account, Keyword Tool is accessible for free without any account or payment necessary. Just enter a keyword in its search box, hit "Enter," and receive a multitude of long-tail keyword suggestions.
