Google’s tried and tested AdWords tool has been a vital part of keyword planning and SEO activity for a while. The good news is that it has just grown more sophisticated, with the introduction of a brand new keyword tool, designed to make keyword searches and analysis even better than before.
What is Google Keyword Planner
Keyword Planner works like any other standard keyword research function, but has plenty of added extras to impress. Put simply, it combines the advantages of existing Keyword Tool and Traffic Planner functions and lets you find keywords and create ad group ideas much more easily.
For example, you can search for keywords based on multiple categories, including your product or service, your landing page’s URL, product category or all of the above.
You can also specify targeting options, such as country, language or search network to narrow down search parameters and get more accurate PPC estimates for each chosen keyword. It can present your findings in either a list view (as per the existing tool) or in a group view, with keywords placed according to their relevance to your search.
Also for the first time, you will be able to multiply keyword lists with others in your searches to generate many more combinations. You will also be able to target specific towns and regions in searches, not just countries.
Keyword Planner has been specifically designed for creating AdWord campaigns. It walks you through the whole process, from choosing how to see your keyword results to generating performance estimates and exporting data. It will remember your searches too, allowing you to leave the tool, come back later and retrieve your saved searches and data.
Your resultant keyword plan ends up like a ‘keyword shopping cart’ awaiting your attention. You can even import keyword lists from other analytics tools to further enhance its functionality.
So, how can you get your hands on the new keyword planner tool? You will need to register and log into AdWords to use Keyword Planner, in order to generate more customised results and PPC estimates.
It is currently in limited beta stage testing, and has only been made available to a few AdWords users to date. Visit your AdWords account now, and check under the Tools and Analysis tab to see if you are part of the estimated 1% to already have access to Keyword Planner.
If you find that Keyword Planner isn’t there yet, don’t despair: Google has said that the technology is being rolled out to more accounts soon, so keep checking back and you will hopefully be able to access it before long.