Week 4: Keyword Planners

When I first heard of keyword planners, I was so confused. I had no idea what my professor meant. But now I’m more knowledgeable. Keyword planners are very important tools in the digital marketing world. In order to understand what keyword planners are, you need to know what keywords are in the digital marketing sphere.

Keywords are words that people search for in search engines. Search engines scan websites and ads for keywords to match people’s searches with the right content that also contains the keywords in their content, website, or ads.

What keyword planners do is allow you to research and see the results of what people search for. Some of the most powerful and useful keyword planners are:

Google Keyword Planner

  • It’s free if you create a Google Ads account.
  • It is really good for planning and strategizing PPC campaigns.
  • It is great for basic keyword research for SEO purposes.
  • It also has the most accurate results because it’s literally Google getting results from Google.
  • It is key to success when creating Google Ads campaigns.

Semrush

  • It is powerful and offers several amazing services:
    • In-depth keyword data
    • Analysis of competitors
    • Data on the competitive nature of keywords
  • It is a great tool for SEO, content creation, and optimizing PPC campaigns.

The Hoth Keyword Planner

  • It’s free and beginner-friendly. It is great for marketers or small businesses starting their journey into SEO and keyword research.
  • It has several beneficial features:
    • Suggestions of keywords and their search volume metrics
    • Data on the competition of keywords
    • CPC data for PPC campaigns
  • This keyword planner is best for beginners because it’s free and simple to use.

What to Use Keyword Planners For

Keyword planners can help improve SEO on ads, websites, and content by:

  • Finding keywords
  • Knowing the difference between long-tail and short-tail keywords and their purposes:
    • Long-tail keywords are meant to be specific, more niche, and have lower competition and cost. However, they will most likely have a lower search volume and a more specific search intent.
    • Short-tail keywords will generally have a greater search volume, but they will be less niche, have varied search intent, and are typically more competitive.
  • Finding search volume
  • Determining competitive levels
  • Analyzing results by location
  • Understanding the intention behind keyword searches

Four Types of Search Intent

Use these to your advantage:

  1. Informational
  2. Transactional
  3. Navigational
  4. Commercial

Tools to Track Metrics and Improve SEO Over Time

  • Google Analytics:
    • Organic traffic
    • CTR (click-through rate)
  • Google Search Console
  • Semrush Position Tracking
  • Google Ads: Ranking of websites

Analyzing Competitors

  • Semrush has tools to track the ranking of your website and competitors.
  • It can also scan competitors’ sites and show what keywords they are ranking for.

Works Cited

Shewan, Dan. “How to Use Google Keyword Planner for SEO and PPC.” SEMrush Blog, 27 Sept. 2023, www.semrush.com/blog/google-keyword-planner/. Accessed 5 Dec. 2024.