Google Keyword Planner

Keyword Planner has two main modes. The first, Discover new keywords, takes a seed term, product, service or website URL and returns a list of related queries with average monthly search volume, a competition rating and a range of top-of-page bid estimates. The second, Get search volume and forecasts, takes a list of keywords you already have and projects how they might perform with a given budget and bid. Both modes export cleanly to a spreadsheet, which is where most real research and prioritisation actually happens.

The numbers are estimates, not guarantees, and you need to read them with care. Search volumes are shown as ranges that widen for accounts spending little, and the competition column reflects paid competition among advertisers, not how hard a term is to rank for organically. Bid estimates are historical and reflect what advertisers paid for top positions, so treat them as a planning baseline rather than the price you will actually pay. The real value is in the relative comparison between terms, not the absolute figures.

You access Keyword Planner from the Tools section of any Google Ads account. Enter seed keywords or a URL, then filter by language, location and date range to match your target market. The tool pulls historical query data from Google Search, groups it into themes and adds bid and competition signals. You can refine the list with included or excluded words, then add the keywords you want straight into a plan that estimates clicks, cost and conversions for a chosen budget.

Keyword Planner is the starting point for almost every search campaign, because it tells you whether demand for a term even exists before you spend a euro testing it. It reveals long-tail variants and related queries you would never brainstorm on your own, and the forecasting view gives you a defensible budget estimate to put in front of a client or finance team. Used well, it stops you from building campaigns around terms nobody searches for, or bidding blind on terms that are far more expensive than you assumed.