How to Use Google Keyword Planner
Google Keyword Planner, housed inside the Google Ads dashboard, is still one of the most practical ways to find out exactly what people type into Google. Marketers, advertisers, bloggers, and SEO specialists all use the tool to surface new keyword ideas, judge search interest, and estimate the level of competition — information that is useful whether your goal is to launch a pay-per-click campaign or to strengthen organic rankings.
This updated 2025 walkthrough explains how to take full advantage of Keyword Planner — covering both paid-ad planning and zero-cost keyword research — without spending any money up front. Be aware that if you do not have an active ad running, Google hides certain granular metrics (for example, precise search-volume counts). We’ll clarify which numbers are unavailable and show practical work-arounds so you can still create a solid plan.
What is Google Keyword Planner?
Originally built for advertisers, Keyword Planner has evolved into a versatile research hub for anyone who publishes online. The platform supplies:
- Average monthly search volumes
- Competition indicators for each term
- Forecasted cost-per-click ranges for top ad positions
These data points help shape both paid-search budgets and content calendars aimed at organic growth.
Using Keyword Planner, you can:
- Discover new keyword ideas related to products, services, or topics that matter to your business.
- Check historical and seasonal trends to see whether interest is rising, falling, or peaking at predictable times of year.
- Compare competition levels to assess how many advertisers are bidding on a term and how hard it may be to rank organically.
- Review bid estimates to gauge potential CPC and set realistic budgets for PPC campaigns.
- Download and organize keyword lists for deeper analysis in spreadsheets or to import directly into ad groups.
Whether you are preparing an ad strategy or mapping out long-form content, Keyword Planner’s metrics let you prioritize the phrases most likely to drive qualified traffic — without guessing and without an immediate advertising spend.
Step-by-Step Guide
Step 1: How to Access Google Keyword Planner
To get started with Google Keyword Planner, you’ll need to log in through a Google Ads account. If you haven’t created one yet, here’s what to do:
1. Sign in at https://ads.google.com
2. Set up a Google Ads account using your existing Google login.
3. Make sure to switch to Expert Mode — this is essential, as it grants full access to the keyword planning features.
And now, we’re ready to dive into the most important part: how to actually work with Keyword Planner.
💡 Pro Tip: You don’t have to launch a real advertising campaign see steps below.
4. Go to Tools & Settings → Planning → Keyword Planner.
Step 2: How to Use Google Keyword Planner Without Creating an Ad
It’s completely possible to use Google Keyword Planner without running any paid ads. After creating a Google Ads account, you can bypass the campaign setup and head directly to the Keyword Planner through the “Tools & Settings” menu.
From there, you’ll have access to essential keyword insights — allowing you to examine search trends, discover content opportunities, and refine your SEO strategy, all without spending a cent.
Here’s how to begin your keyword research:
1. Now we have opened the Keyword Planner. (You should see a screen like this, if not – repeat the previous step)
There’s no shortage of menus, pop-ups, and dropdowns in the Google Ads interface — it might seem overwhelming at first glance. But don’t worry. We’ll walk through everything step by step, showing you exactly where to click and what to enter so you can start using the Keyword Planner without any confusion.
2. Select “Discover new keywords.”
This is your main dashboard — the starting point you’ll return to whenever you’re preparing to research a new topic, whether it’s for launching a PPC campaign or crafting SEO-friendly content.
3. Choose to: Start with keywords → Enter one or more seed terms (e.g., “roofers in london”).
Keyword Planner includes another input method — “Start with a website.” Here you can paste a page URL, let Google analyze the content, and receive a list of related keyword ideas. We’ll cover that workflow in a separate lesson.
For now, enter the sample keyword we’ve provided so your results line up with the next steps in this guide. Later, when you conduct a full round of research, use everyday, conversational phrases — the exact wording a potential customer would type into Google while hunting for your product or service. This habit keeps your keyword list aligned with real-world search intent and improves the relevance of both your ads and organic content.
4. Select your language and location.
This step is important. Choose the correct geographic filter before you pull any numbers; otherwise the insights won’t reflect your real market. A roofing contractor in London, for example, gains nothing from search-volume data drawn from New York. Set the location to match where your customers live — country, region, or even city — so that every metric (search volume, competition, and bid estimates) represents the audience you actually want to reach and can act on.
5. Click “Get Results.”
After Keyword Planner generates suggestions, it displays a table of metrics for every term:
- Avg. monthly searches – the typical volume a keyword receives in a month, indicating potential traffic.
- Competition – Google’s gauge of how many advertisers are bidding, useful for estimating how hard it will be to rank or win auctions.
- Top-of-page bid (high and low) – a projected cost-per-click for ads that appear in the premium positions.
Review these numbers against your objectives. High-volume, high-competition phrases may suit a well-funded PPC campaign; moderate-volume terms with lower competition often make better targets for SEO content. By comparing search demand, rival activity, and CPC estimates, you can decide which keywords warrant investment — whether that means allocating ad spend or building an article around them.
Step 3: How to Refine Your Keyword List
By narrowing your keyword list, you can concentrate on terms that align with your business objectives and resonate directly with the audience you want to reach. By trimming away marginal terms, you highlight keywords that accurately describe your products or services and have the best chance of attracting qualified visitors. A leaner, more relevant set of keywords improves click-through and conversion rates because each term supports a clearly defined intent.
After compiling an initial batch of ideas in Google Keyword Planner, use the built-in filters — search-volume range, competition level, top-of-page bid, or location — to tighten your selection. This step produces a curated list that is better suited for both SEO content planning and PPC ad groups, helping your campaigns achieve measurable, meaningful results.
- Use the “Add filter” button to include/exclude certain terms.
For example, we’re not interested in emergency roof repair services. Let’s add a related term to the exclusions.
To do this, click on “Add filter” -> “Keyword” -> switch the button to “Does not contain” -> add the keyword to exclusions and click “Apply”.
After this, all rows containing the entered word will disappear from the table, and a notification block will appear at the top, informing you that the word has been excluded.
On the right-hand side, you’ll find the “Refine keywords” option, which allows you to filter out irrelevant terms, such as brand names or topics that don’t align with your objectives.
This panel provides additional filtering options to help you further narrow down your keyword list, ensuring that only the most relevant terms remain for your SEO or PPC efforts.
Click ‘Expand all’ and deselect the checkboxes next to any terms that aren’t relevant (for example, areas you don’t serve, like North London). This will remove those keywords from your results.
A pop-up window will appear at the bottom of the screen with the names of the disabled terms, which will no longer be shown in the table. If you clicked by mistake, you can undo the action by clicking “Dismiss”.
- Save high-potential terms to a plan or export them.
This step is crucial for ensuring that you focus only on the most relevant search terms, whether you’re preparing to launch a paid campaign or crafting optimized SEO content.
Step 4: Analyze Search Volumes for SEO
Search volume represents the average number of times a keyword is queried on Google each month. It serves as a reliable indicator of the potential audience your content could reach and therefore helps you assign realistic traffic forecasts to every topic on your list.
Inside Google Keyword Planner, you’ll find this metric in the “Avg. monthly searches” column. Use it as the first sorting layer when building a keyword plan:
- Short-list high-volume terms
Terms sitting in the upper end of the range (for example, 10 k–100 k searches) can deliver significant visibility, provided your site can compete for them. - Capture mid-range opportunities
Keywords that show a moderate range (1 k–10 k) often strike a balance between attainable rankings and meaningful traffic. They are good candidates when you need growth without confronting the most competitive phrases. - Leverage low-volume, high-intent phrases
Even keywords in the 100–1 k bracket can be worth targeting if they align tightly with your product or service and signal strong user intent. - Compare against competition and CPC
A high search volume alone is not enough. Cross-reference the “Competition” and “Top of page bid” columns to judge how difficult and costly it might be to earn clicks.
By combining search-volume insights with competitiveness metrics and trend data, you can prioritize the keywords that promise the greatest return on effort and better allocate your content resources.
Note that Google presents keyword metrics in broad ranges, which can make it hard to compare terms or single out the best prospects. After you add advertising credit — typically US $100 – $150, depending on your region — the platform supplies narrower, more accurate figures. For early-stage research and SEO copy development, though, the approximate numbers are usually adequate.
You can download your chosen keywords with the export button, open the file in Excel, and work with the data: set filters, build charts, or run any other analysis that fits your process.
By now, you can see that the keywords you gathered make it possible to reach potential customers without paying for Google Ads. Rather than allocating budget to ad campaigns, invest your time in publishing well-structured, keyword-focused articles that can earn high positions in Google’s organic results. This strategy delivers a consistent flow of visitors and generates leads or sales without the ongoing expense of pay-per-click advertising.
For step-by-step guidance on producing content that ranks, refer to our article “15 Best ChatGPT Prompts for SEO”. Pair the prompts in that guide with the keywords you extracted from Google Ads, and you’ll be able to craft optimized content that climbs search results and attracts the right audience. This approach strengthens your SEO strategy while keeping paid advertising costs to a minimum.
Step 5: How to Separate SEO Keywords from PPC Keywords
SEO (Search Engine Optimization) focuses on improving a website’s position in unpaid search results. The objective is to attract steady, long-term traffic without incurring a cost for every visit. SEO keywords are integrated into blog posts, landing pages, product descriptions, and other on-site content so that the pages appear for relevant search queries.
PPC (Pay-Per-Click) is a paid advertising model in which you are charged each time a user clicks your ad. Through platforms such as Google Ads, you bid on specific keywords, and your ads are shown above or below organic results when those terms are searched. PPC keywords generally target users who are ready to take action — buying, booking, or signing up — so they are effective for campaigns aimed at rapid traffic and conversions.
With these differences defined, we can now look at how to separate SEO and PPC keywords in your overall marketing strategy.
Here’s how to differentiate between SEO and PPC keywords:
SEO keywords (long-tail, informational intent)
For organic optimisation, prioritise multi-word expressions — typically three words or more that reflect precise questions or niche subject areas (e.g., “best budget mirrorless camera for travel”). Because such phrases address specialised interests, monthly search volume is usually modest; however, the audience they reach is well defined and motivated to learn. Search intent is predominantly informational, so these terms perform best in tutorial articles, how-to guides, FAQ pages and other resources designed to educate. Their lower commercial pressure translates into reduced ranking difficulty and a higher probability of securing first-page positions, thereby generating sustained, cost-free traffic over time.
PPC keywords (short-tail, transactional intent)
In a paid-search campaign, focus on concise, high-commercial-intent terms that signal an imminent transaction (e.g., “buy mirrorless camera” or “camera deals”). Because a purchase, booking or sign-up is likely to occur immediately after the click, competition for these keywords is intense. Advertisers should therefore monitor Google Keyword Planner metrics closely. The “Top of page bid” column indicates the average cost required to appear in premium ad slots, while the “Competition” column shows how many advertisers are bidding on the same term. A high value in both columns implies greater expenditure and stricter performance targets; conversely, lower values suggest an opportunity to capture conversions at a reduced cost.
By aligning long-tail, low-competition queries with SEO content and reserving budget for high-value, transaction-oriented PPC terms, marketers can create a balanced search strategy that maximises visibility and return on investment.
Step 6: Analyze Competition and Estimate PPC Costs
When multiple advertisers target the same keywords, standing out in search results becomes more challenging — and running paid ads for those terms can get expensive.
Here’s how you can assess competition levels and cost expectations for both PPC and SEO purposes:
Understanding PPC Competition
Google Keyword Planner offers several useful indicators to help you gauge how competitive a keyword is in the ad space and what kind of budget you may need:
- Top of Page Bid (Low Range):
This is the lower boundary of what advertisers have paid for the top position in search results. It gives a baseline idea of the minimum cost per click (CPC) for that keyword. - Top of Page Bid (High Range):
This figure shows the upper end of historical bids, giving you a sense of the maximum CPC that advertisers are willing to pay for a top ad spot. - Competition Level (Qualitative):
Displayed as “Low,” “Medium,” or “High” (or occasionally “–” if there’s insufficient data), this shows how many advertisers are targeting that keyword compared to others.
When you sift through keyword metrics, imagine yourself as a jeweler holding each gem up to the light — testing clarity, checking value, deciding which stones deserve a place in the final necklace. The data tells you which search terms sparkle at a bargain and which will cost a premium to secure that coveted showcase spot at the top of paid results. Treat this appraisal seriously; it guides every dollar of ad spend toward the words most likely to shine, attract attention, and pay you back.
Conclusion
Learning to navigate Google Keyword Planner is like gaining a seasoned captain’s map before launching your marketing voyage. With nothing more than a Google Ads login, you unlock currents of search-trend data, competitive tides, and hidden coves of high-value phrases — no upfront ad budget required. Master the tool and you’ll chart a route where organic content sails smoothly alongside precisely targeted PPC campaigns, each powered by informed, data-driven choices.
If keyword research has ever felt like wandering a foggy coastline, let Keyword Planner be the lighthouse. Use it to anchor your strategy, steer investment toward profitable terms, and ensure every piece of content or advertisement advances the broader goals of your business. Start today, and you’ll navigate future campaigns with confidence and a clear line of sight to higher returns.
