What if your SEO efforts were doomed from the beginning?
Because that's exactly what happens when you don't properly plan your SEO strategy from the start.
The free SERP planning tool from Google, Keyword Planner is easy and intuitive to use. Keep reading to learn 5 ways to use KW planner in your marketing campaigns.
1. Keyword Research
Sure, you can see cost per click, or average monthly impressions of terms you already know, but this Google ads tools primary purpose is to help you discover new keywords. Start with what you think is going to be a good search term for your campaigns and take a look at the closely related search terms it comes back with.
The Planner Helps You Find
- Search terms that show intent similar to your best keywords
- Search terms that have a lower cost per click
- Keywords with lower competition
- Negative keywords you should be using
KW planner can also help you get a better idea of what your budget should be for your PPC marketing & help you dial in your SEO campaigns.
2. Check Which Devices Are Used Most
One of the lesser-known features of KW planner is seeing which devices your visitors will be using. This information is very helpful and can guide your conversion optimization efforts.
For example, most online visitors use smartphones to access the internet. But this may not be true for your particular demographic or search terms. Our corporate catering clients typically see the best return by targeting people who are using their desktop to plan an event while at work.
Knowing what device your potential traffic will be using most also helps you plan your landing page design. If most of your traffic is mobile your site should be streamlined and responsive (although with the 2018 & 2019 google core updates your site should always be mobile first).
If your traffic is mostly desktop make sure you tailor your splash page for desktop. Typically mobile sites are slimmed down, while desktop sites are more feature rich. Take a look at your future traffics device breakdown and include that information in your plan from the start.
3. Local Search Stats
Global SEO is important for global businesses. But what about local SEO?
Keyword planner allows you to view search term stats specific to geographic regions. This is super helpful for clients considering a location change or wanting to better understand how much traffic they can expect from a particular region.
Knowing this information is also great for any business considering expanding. While you may not have had the luxury to fully plan your first location, factoring in the amount of traffic you can count on from PPC or local SEO campaigns for new locations has helped our clients avoid locations that otherwise looked desirable.
4. Answer Customer Questions
If you didn't already know, countless people search Google by asking questions. And you can use the planner to find out what those questions are.
Go to the filter and add in the classic words, one at a time: who, what, when, where, how, and why.
This lets you see the kinds of questions that large numbers of users are asking. You can then tailor your content to answer those questions and incorporate relevant info along the way.
5. Competitor Research & Gap Analysis
I absolutely love using the planner for competitor research. Google makes this super easy by allowing you to input a URL directly into the planner. The free keyword tool will then analyze the site and find keywords it currently ranks for. This gives us get a good picture of what keywords are driving users to competitor websites. It's also the first step in conducting a keyword or content gap analysis.
Gap analysis is crucial when creating your content strategy, simply put your domain and your competitor's domains into the planner and find out what terms they rank for that you arent/
You can then reverse-engineer some of the results to come up with your own keyword ideas. Make what works for the competition work for you also!
Google Keyword Planner - The Bottom Line
Now you have our top tips for using the Google Keyword Planner search. But do you know what steps to take next?
Once you bring users in, you need to convert them and close the sale.
Contact us today to find out how MassConvert can help increase your conversions with digital marketing.