How to do keyword research with Google Keyword Planner

Get access

1. Sign in to Google AdsYou need a Google account and a Google Ads account. Google prompts new users to create a campaign, and you can usually exit before launching it. Interface wording changes, so look for the option to skip campaign creation or switch to Expert Mode.
2. Open ToolsIn the top menu, select Tools, then under Planning choose Keyword Planner.
3. Pick your taskYou will see two cards: Discover new keywords, and Get search volume and forecasts.

You will not be charged for using the planner. Charges only arise if you launch and fund a campaign.

The two tools and when to use each

For a first pass, use Discover with 3 to 5 seeds taken from customer language. Review the results, export them, then use the second tool to check the shortlist.

Reading the results

Each row gives you a phrase, an average monthly search figure, a competition label, and low and high bid ranges. Treat each carefully.

• Average monthly searches: if you have no active ad spend, Google tends to show ranges such as 1K to 10K rather than exact numbers. The range is too wide to rank phrases against each other.
• Competition: this describes how many advertisers bid, not how hard it is to rank organically. Do not use it as an SEO difficulty score.
• Bid ranges: they show advertiser cost per click. High bids mean commercial value, which is a useful signal that a phrase leads to purchases.
• Related phrases: Google groups similar queries, so volume can include close variations.

A habit that helps: sort by relevance to your offer first, volume second. Delete rows that do not match what you sell before you look at any number.

A short worked session

Say you run a mobile car-valeting business. You enter three seeds: car valeting, mobile car wash, interior car cleaning. Planner returns a few hundred ideas. You then do this:

1. Set the locationChoose your city and country, and the language your customers use.
2. Delete mismatchesRemove rows about car dealerships, waxes you do not stock and do-it-yourself guides.
3. GroupKeep three groups: service names, service plus place, and price questions.
4. ExportDownload the shortlist to a sheet and add your own columns for page and priority.

The example is invented. The point is that the planner supplies raw phrases; the choosing is yours.

Limits for SEO use

Because it serves advertisers, Keyword Planner tends to favor commercial phrases and may show fewer informational questions. It also merges close variants and may hide very low-volume phrases that still matter for a specific service. Use it alongside the other sources in how to research keywords, and with your own data from Search Console, which shows what you already appear for.

If you are planning paid ads, the planner is the more natural fit, and keyword research for Google Ads covers match types and negatives.

Pitfalls

• Setting location to the wrong country, so the volumes describe the wrong market. Check the location and language filter before reading anything.
• Mixing up the two tools and expecting forecasts from a list of seeds.
• Using one range figure to decide on a whole content plan.
• Forgetting to exclude brand names of competitors you do not want to target.
• Ignoring phrases with no data. They can still be worth a page if they match your offer.

Keyword Planner is a good start, but it is one source. If you want the research combined with a page plan and technical checks, our SEO audit does that, with a fixed quote after a short call.