Keyword analysis is one of the first steps in the process of search engine optimization. Luckily, there is a tool that can help you out with keyword analysis so that you can think about best ways to optimize your website according to the results from the analysis.
Google's AdWords Keyword Tool is a tool that has been replaced with Keyword Planner. Still, Keyword Planner is a free tool that helps you search for keywords and create ads on Google.
You need a Google AdWords account in order to access to this feature. Sign in to your account and find the tab Tools at the top of the page.
Choose the option Keyword Planner from the drop down menu to access the tool.
Now you will be able to choose several actions available.
Keyword Planner allows you to:
- Search for new keyword and ad group ideas - Using this feature you can explore the keywords and keyword phrases related to your website or category.
- Get search volume for a list of keywords or group them into ad groups - You can enter or upload a list of keywords to research the historical stats about those keywords, such as search volume.
- Get traffic estimates for a list of keywords - If you want to get estimates on how much your ads are going to cost, you can use this option. Once you enter or upload the keyword list you will get estimates on clicks, as well as cost estimates.
- Multiply keyword lists to get new keyword ideas - This option allows you to create new keyword combinations and get search volume stats for those keyword ideas.
Benefits of using Keyword Planner:
- Maximize the effect of you ads - The main purpose of this tool is to provide insights into which keyword you should use in your ads in order to run effective online campaigns. Besides keyword suggestions, this tool also provides cost estimates, which are certainly important for planning the campaign budget.
- Research keywords - If you are not sure how to optimize your website or which keywords to add to your online campaign, Keyword Planner is a perfect tool to be used. You can search keywords based on some terms or groups of terms related to your product or your website.
- Get statistics - Keyword Planner provides estimates based on statistics so that you get the estimates on how many clicks and how much traffic can you expect. The results are based on the data from the largest search engine Google, so that you get the idea what kind of results you can expect with a certain keyword or a group of keywords.
Targeting and filtering the results:
Keyword research provides more accurate results if you apply targeting and filtering options that are available within Keyword Planner.
When conducting a keyword research, choose the option targeting to narrow down the keywords ideas and statistics for a certain campaign.
- Location - You can target by location, in terms of countries, territories, regions or cities. You can also use "Nearby" link, to choose nearby location suggested from the list. If you do not want to target your audience based on location, you can always remove the location and the targeting will be set to all.
- Language - Targeting users by a specific language is similar to targeting location. Simply choose one of the languages from the list if you want to use this targeting option. If not, the targeting will automatically be set to all.
- Networking - It is possible to choose between two options: "Google" and "Google and search partners" which includes Map and Images.
Filter your results based on different criteria:
- Filter by historical statistics - If you use this option, the results will be filtered by the number of average monthly searches, average cost-per-click, or competition data.
- Filter by keyword option - Examine the keywords that are currently being used in your account or the keywords you plan on using.
- Include or exclude - If you use a phrase you need to use quotation marks around the phrase in order to include both terms in the research. The exclude ideas list displays the terms you want to exclude from the keyword box.