How to Use Google Keyword Planner: Tutorial

The Google Keyword Planner is the preeminent keyword discovery tool for SEO, Google Ads (AdWords), and even Social Media Marketing (SMM).I like to think of the Keyword Planner as my keyword “fish finder,” and I use it to brainstorm the following. First, keyword ideas. What is the universe of available keywords? What are customers searching for or talking about on social media? The Keyword Planner is a great tool for keyword discovery, helping you to find synonyms, adjacent keywords, and helper words. Second, keyword volume. You want to “fish where the fish are,” and the Keyword Planner gives you keyword volume data telling you how many searches there are for a given search query. Third, keyword value or CPC (Cost-per-click). Google knows how much advertisers are willing to bid to “get the click” from Google, and so the Keyword Planner gives you this CPC data, telling you not just “where the fish are,” but also which fish are “yummy” and worth catching. Finally, keyword organization – Keyword Planner can help you with how to organize your keywords, both for Google Ads and for SEO (Landing Pages).

It’s an amazing keyword discovery tool. Let’s get started!

 

 

HOW TO USE GOOGLE ADS KEYWORD PLANNER

How to Rank for Featured Snippets

KEYWORDS DRIVE ADS (AND SEO, AND AI)

What are “keywords?” Keywords are the terms your customers enter into Google, YouTube, or even ChatGPT (AI) when they are searching for a product, answer, service, etc. For example, if I am looking to stash my cat in San Francisco, I might enter “Cat Boarding.” If I am thinking of getting divorced (hashtag / Sad)… I might enter “family law” or “divorce” or even “divorce lawyer near me.” Keywords start the process, and go from early stage (“hair loss”) to medium stage (“treatments for hair loss”) to late stage (“hair transplant near me”) to branded (“Dr. Alex Smith, hair transplant surgeon in San Francisco.”). YOU GOTTA KNOW YOUR KEYWORDS! And this includes Google Ads, SEO (Search Engine Optimization), AEO (Answer Optimization for AI.

ENTER KEYWORD PLANNER

Google’s Keyword Planner is a free tool located inside of Google Ads. (You’ll need to set up a Google Ads account, first, if you don’t have one – and then, if you like pause your credit card). It’s located inside of Google Ads via Tools > Planner > Keyword Planner.  Start with a “seed” keyword – this is a basic, logical keyword that your customers search.  An example would be “divorce.” Enter that and you’ll get a list of keywords, monthly searches, and the top of page bid. Let’s discuss each of those:

  • DISCOVERY. Use Keyword Planner to discover relevant keywords.  Not just divorce, but also family law. Not just lawyer, but also attorney. Not just divorce but child custody, etc… These are often across the top of the page. Brainstorm a complete list of possible keywords, with an eye to the late-stage or most valuable keywords for your business.
  • VOLUME vs. VALUE. I think of this like fish in a lake. Volume = how many fish there are, like how many salmon vs. tilapia vs. carp.  Volume in terms of search is how many searches occur per month (the default is in the United States). Value, in contrast, is how “yummy” the keyword is. The price of organic salmon flown in today from Alaska is more than the value of frozen tilapia. The value is the amount advertisers are willing to pay for the click. Higher bids or higher values mean more likely to be a sale or more likely to be a good customer. You want to identify keywords with sufficient volume but also of higher value to your business.
  • ORGANIZATION. You can switch from “keyword view” to “grouped view” to get an AI-based analysis of the organization of keywords. In general, you want to organize around themes.

ALTERNATIVES TO KEYWORD PLANNER

Although Keyword Planner is one of the best keyword research tools, there are others. Among these would be:

 

  1. Google Autocomplete. Just type into Google (for example, “cat boarding”) and see what it “suggests.” Also look at “related searches.”
  2. Twinwords. Twinwords is a free / paid tool for keywords discovery.
  3. AHREFS, MOZ, SEMRUSH – each has its own version of keyword planner.
  4. ChatGPT. You can use ChatGPT (Google Gemini, Claude, etc.) for keyword discovery. Have a conversation with AI about what keywords it thinks are the best for your business….

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

There a lots of blogs posts, videos, and resources about how to use the Google Ads Keyword planner. Here are some of my recommendations:

 

  1. Keyword Planner – Google’s official help file.
  2. How to Use Google Keyword Planner for SEO (It’s FREE!)
  3. How to Do Google Ads Keyword Research (2025): A Step-by-Step Guide

LEARN MORE ABOUT JASON MCDONALD AND THE JM INTERNET GROUP

My name is Jason McDonald. I provide consulting, coaching, and teaching about digital marketing – SEO, Google Ads, and Social Media. I work with companies, both large and small, as well as individuals who want one-on-one training. Reach out for a free call if you might be interested in a paid relationship.

The JM INTERNET GROUP focuses on small business and local business digital marketing. We provide hands-on management of SEO, Google Ads, and Social Media for companies. Call 800-298-4065 or send a message to book an introductory call.