How To Use Google Keyword Planner (With Screenshots)
A step-by-step tutorial on using the world’s most popular advertising tool
For the successful PPC Ads and SEO campaigns, businesses must know how the different elements of digital marketing work together. There are two types of SEO to consider: on-page and off-page. However, it is impossible to achieve a successful SEO strategy without first conducting proper keyword research in Singapore.
While there are tons of keyword research tools, Google Keyword Planner is the most powerful. Google Keyword Planner’s primary use is to give your PPC advertising and the overall digital marketing campaign a competitive edge. However, it is also useful in determining the proper keywords to incorporate in your SEO content.
Steps for Google Keyword Planner
- Access Google Keyword Planner.
- Choose your tool.
- Filter and sort the results.
- Analyze the keyword ideas.
- Choose a keyword.
Step 1: Access Google Keyword Planner
The Keyword Planner is free with a Google Ads account, and you can set it up in a couple of minutes. Moreover, you do not need an active SEO campaign to use Google Keyword Planner. Simply input the information about you and your business, and you are good to go. Here is how to go about it:
- Log in to your Google Ads account.
- Click the wrench icon in the toolbar on the top of the page.
- Choose “Keyword Planner,” and you will see two different tools: “Find new keywords” and “Get metrics and forecasts for your keywords.”
These tools under the Keyword Planner option will generate thousands of potential keywords for your internet marketing in Singapore. With that said, the Keyword Planner has more features that work for SEO, while others work for PPC Ads.
Step 2: Choose Your Tool
As outlined above, there are two tools available on the Google Keyword Planner: “Find new keywords” and “Get metrics and forecasts for your keywords.” The first tool, “Find new keywords,” allows you to discover new keywords for your search engine optimisation campaigns in Singapore and abroad.
It is an easy and straightforward tool, and you only need to input your desired information on “Enter words, phrases, or a URL related to your business.” Your results will depend on the information you input.
Here is a simple guide to help you get the best utility from the “Find new keywords” tool:
- Enter words—Here you can input single words that best represent your business. The results will be derived from Google’s internal database of similar keywords used in different industries.
- Phrases—This is where you input seed keywords, otherwise known as long-tail keywords. The trick here is to input at least two keywords.
- URL related to your business—Google Ads users will get the best utility from this option. It will help you find the most appropriate keywords to use on your website’s homepage.
The “Get metrics and forecasts for your keywords” tool is only useful if you have compiled a list of appropriate keywords. The tool will help you identify the search volume of the desired keywords. The results from these tools will be shown in the “Keyword Results Page.”
Step 3: Filter and Sort the Results
Looking at the Keyword Results page, it is time for you to narrow down the list of keywords to the phrases and words that will work best for your campaigns. At the top of the results page, you will see three targeting options: Locations, Language, and Search networks.
The “Language” and “Locations” tabs are set to English and USA respectively, and you can change them to suit your target audience in Singapore. The “Search networks” tab is set for Google, and it is recommended that you leave it unchanged. This is because Google is the biggest and most popular search engine, no matter the location and language used by your target audience.
You will also find an “Add filter” feature that gives you numerous filtering options.
They include:
- Keyword text—This option only shows you the keywords that contain a specific word or phrase.
- Exclude keywords in my account—This option excludes the keywords you are already bidding on in your PPC ads.
- Exclude adult ideas—This feature removes any adult-related keywords.
- Average monthly searches—This sorting tool comes in handy when filtering out keywords with a high search volume since they tend to be very competitive. Moreover, you can also filter out keywords that barely get any searches.
- Competition—This option allows you to set the Google Keyword Planner to sort and show the keywords that have low, medium, or high competition. However, the competition score refers to the Google Ads competition.
- Ad impression share—This setting also applies to Google Ads, and you could leave it blank for the sake of SEO.
- Top of page bid—This setting shows you the amount you should pay for your ad to appear at the top of the page for your keywords. You can choose between “Top of page bid (low range)” or “Top of page bid (high range).”
- Organic impression share—This option shows you how often your site appears in organic search results for your keywords. However, you must connect your Google Search Console account to your Google Ads account.
- Organic average position—This option shows you where you rank on average for each keyword.
The keywords in the list are worth incorporating, but you need ways to prioritize how you integrate them into your content. However, unlike popular belief, choosing low competition keywords with high search volumes might not always be the wisest strategy.
The best way to filter and sort the keyword results is by organizing the keyword ideas by low competition, high competition, low search, and high search volume. You can narrow it down to the most appropriate keywords by using “closely related ideas.”
You can sort the “Top of page bid (high range)” in ascending order, and you will find ideas and inspiration for future blog topics.
Step 4: Analyze the Keyword Ideas
This section has several terms that you need to take note of, including:
- Keyword (by relevance) is the list of keyword that Google considers the most relevant to the URL or keyword you typed.
- Average monthly searches shows the range of average searches in a month for your keyword. However, it is not an accurate indicator of the actual search volume.
You also need to watch out for seasonal keywords. For example, Christmas gift cards may get millions of likes between November and December but get 200 searches in March.
Step 5: Choose a Keyword
Having looked at all the terms and features common in the Google Keyword Planner, it is time for you to settle on the best keyword for your digital marketing in Singapore. However, it is not as easy as picking one keyword and running with it.
There are numerous factors that you should consider, and it is more of an art than a science. Start with a broad keyword that also describes your content idea, service, or product. With that in mind, input it into the field and click “Get Started.”
You will then get hundreds of keywords to choose from.
Here are the factors to help you make the best choice:
- Pick a keyword with a high average search volume since they have the best potential to send more organic traffic to your site.
- Consider keywords that have a higher suggested bid and competition. They will be easier to convert traffic into customers.
- Look at the websites ranking on Google’s first results page, and figure out how you can outrank them.
You could also search for the questions that people are asking, which will help you come up with content ideas. This used to be the forte of professionals doing internet marketing in Singapore, but it is not as difficult as they make it seem.
The best criterion for choosing the most appropriate keyword is the “Top of page bid (high Range)” column. It shows the higher range of what your competitors are paying based on your search network settings and location settings.
Go to “filter,” then click “Keyword text,” then “Contains,” and enter one of the following words: what, who, why, where, when, or how. Repeat this for every keyword you have, and you will understand how users draft queries. With the keywords in place, you can export the terms in Google Sheets or Excel.
Conclusion
Google Keyword Planner is the ultimate keyword research tool that everyone doing SEO in Singapore should use. While it will not show you the actual projected search volumes, you will get a forecast of all your desired keywords.
However, before you carry out any campaign using the keywords, make sure to check which of your competitors are using them. You can do this by searching the keyword in Google and checking the ads that pop up. More importantly, make sure that the website design is user friendly to spur engagement with the visitors.
