TL;DR
The primary Google AdWords SEO tool is the free Google Keyword Planner, found within the Google Ads platform. It's designed for advertisers but widely used by SEO professionals to discover keyword ideas and estimate search volume directly from Google. While it's a foundational resource, many marketers supplement it with powerful third-party tools that offer more advanced features like in-depth competitor analysis, precise search data, and extensive long-tail keyword generation.
What Is Google Keyword Planner and How Does It Work?
Google Keyword Planner is a free tool provided by Google to help advertisers research and select keywords for their campaigns. Though its name connects it to paid advertising (formerly AdWords, now Google Ads), it has become an indispensable resource for SEO professionals aiming to improve organic search rankings. Its core purpose is to provide insights into what people are searching for, allowing you to build a content and advertising strategy around the most relevant and popular terms for your business.
The tool operates on two main functions. The first is "Discover new keywords," where you can enter words, phrases, or even a website URL related to your business to generate a list of relevant keyword ideas. The second is "Get search volume and forecasts," which allows you to upload an existing list of keywords to see their historical search volumes and predict their future performance. This dual functionality supports both the exploratory and analytical phases of keyword research, making it a versatile starting point for any digital marketing strategy.
To use Keyword Planner, you need a Google Ads account, though you don't have to be running an active paid campaign to access it. Once inside, the tool provides several key data points for each keyword suggestion:
- Average monthly searches: An estimate of how many times a keyword is searched for each month. For accounts without active ad spend, this is often presented as a broad range (e.g., 1K-10K).
- Competition: An indicator (low, medium, or high) of how many advertisers are bidding on a particular keyword. While this is a paid metric, it can serve as a proxy for organic difficulty.
- Top of page bid (low and high range): Suggested bid amounts for advertisers, which can also signal the commercial intent and value of a keyword.
The main advantage of using Google Keyword Planner is that the data comes directly from Google, the world's largest search engine, making it a highly reliable source for search trends. However, the reliance on search volume ranges can be a limitation for SEOs seeking precise data. This is one of the primary reasons why many professionals turn to specialized third-party tools to complement their research.
Top Alternatives to Google Keyword Planner for Advanced SEO
While Google Keyword Planner is an essential starting point, the digital marketing landscape is filled with specialized tools that offer more granular data and advanced features. These alternatives are particularly valuable for gaining a competitive edge, uncovering long-tail opportunities, and getting more precise search volume data. They help answer questions that Keyword Planner can't, such as what specific keywords your competitors are ranking for or which long-tail phrases are driving qualified traffic.
Once you've compiled your target keywords using these tools, the next challenge is creating high-quality content at scale. For marketers looking to streamline this process, tools like BlogSpark can revolutionize the workflow. This AI blog post generator transforms keyword lists into engaging, SEO-optimized articles, helping you act on your research efficiently.
Here are some of the top alternatives and how they fill the gaps left by Google's native tool:
SpyFu: As its name suggests, SpyFu's greatest strength is competitive intelligence. It allows you to enter any competitor's domain and see every keyword they've ranked for organically and every ad they've bought on Google Ads for over a decade. This insight is invaluable for reverse-engineering successful strategies and finding profitable keywords that your competitors have already vetted. It effectively exposes their search marketing playbook, giving you a significant strategic advantage.
WordStream's Free Keyword Tool: This tool positions itself as a direct and user-friendly alternative to Keyword Planner. One of its key advantages is providing more concrete search volume data instead of the broad ranges Google often shows, especially for users without active ad campaigns. It also allows you to filter keyword suggestions by industry and country, helping you find highly relevant terms for your specific niche and target audience.
KeywordTool.io: This tool excels at generating a massive number of long-tail keywords. It uses Google Autocomplete data to find hundreds or even thousands of keyword variations for a single seed term. Long-tail keywords (phrases of three or more words) are often less competitive and have higher conversion rates because they are more specific. KeywordTool.io is ideal for content creators and bloggers looking for a wealth of topic ideas to address specific user needs.
| Tool | Primary Use Case | Key Feature | Pricing Model |
|---|---|---|---|
| Google Keyword Planner | Foundational keyword research | Direct data from Google search | Free with Google Ads account |
| SpyFu | Competitor Intelligence | Download competitor keywords & PPC ad copy | Freemium/Paid |
| WordStream Free Keyword Tool | Quick keyword discovery | Provides specific search volume data | Free |
| KeywordTool.io | Long-tail keyword generation | Uses Google Autocomplete for suggestions | Freemium/Paid |
How to Use Google Keyword Planner for SEO (Step-by-Step)
Using Google Keyword Planner effectively for SEO involves focusing on metrics and features that inform organic content strategy, rather than just paid campaigns. By following a structured process, you can uncover valuable insights to guide your content creation and optimization efforts. Here is a step-by-step guide to leveraging the tool for organic growth.
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1. Access the Tool and Choose Your Path
First, you'll need to sign in to your Google Ads account. If you don't have one, you can create one for free without needing to run an ad. Once in the dashboard, navigate to "Tools & Settings" and select "Keyword Planner." You'll be presented with two main options: "Discover new keywords" and "Get search volume and forecasts." For SEO content ideation, you'll almost always start with "Discover new keywords."
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2. Discover New Keyword Ideas
In this section, you can either "Start with keywords" or "Start with a website." For brainstorming new content, enter up to 10 seed keywords related to your topic. For example, a fitness blog might enter "high-intensity interval training" and "at-home workouts." Alternatively, using "Start with a website" allows you to enter a competitor's URL to see what keywords Google associates with their content, providing a great source of competitive insights.
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3. Filter and Refine Your Keyword List
The initial results can be overwhelming, so refining them is crucial. Use the filters at the top of the results page to narrow the list. You can filter by location to target specific countries or regions, by language, and by date range to analyze trends. You can also filter out keywords that include certain words (negative keywords) or focus on terms with a specific competition level. For SEO, you might look for keywords with high search volume and low-to-medium competition.
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4. Analyze Keyword Metrics for SEO Potential
As you review the keyword list, focus on two primary metrics for SEO. "Avg. monthly searches" gives you a sense of a keyword's popularity and traffic potential. "Competition" (low, medium, high), while an advertiser metric, can be a useful proxy for how difficult it might be to rank for that term organically. A keyword with high search volume and low competition is often a strong candidate for a new piece of content. Also, observe the top-of-page bid ranges; a high bid range often indicates strong commercial intent, meaning users searching for that term are closer to making a purchase.
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5. Organize and Export Your Plan
Once you've identified promising keywords, you can add them to a "plan." This allows you to group related keywords into ad groups, which for SEO purposes can be thought of as content clusters or topic categories. After organizing your keywords, you can export the entire list as a CSV or Google Sheets file. This exported document becomes the foundation for your content calendar, helping you map specific keywords to blog posts, landing pages, and other website content.
Frequently Asked Questions About SEO Keyword Tools
1. What is the Google AdWords tool?
The term "Google AdWords tool" generally refers to Google Keyword Planner. Google AdWords was the former name for Google's advertising platform, which is now called Google Ads. Keyword Planner is a free tool within Google Ads designed to help with keyword research for both paid search campaigns and organic SEO strategies.
2. What is SEO in Google Ads?
While SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and Google Ads (PPC) are distinct marketing channels, they are closely related. SEO focuses on earning unpaid, organic traffic from search engines, whereas Google Ads involves paying for traffic. However, the keyword research you conduct for SEO is highly valuable for Google Ads campaigns, and vice versa. Using Keyword Planner helps you understand the terms users are searching for, allowing you to create relevant content for organic rankings and build targeted ad campaigns, creating a holistic search marketing strategy.
