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09 Jul

Google Adwords Keyword Planner and how it helps with local keyword research

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SEO Companies benefit from Google Keyword Planner Tool

If you have ever used googles adwords keyword tool, you may at one point have become frustrated with it's inability to accurately show you a keyword search volume in a specific area for a certain keyword. 

how to use google keywords planner tool

For example, let's say you are trying to optimize a website for a local plumber, Bob's Plumbing Company in St. Louis Missouri.  Bob would like to target customers searching for a plumber or plumbing services in St. Louis Missouri.  Google's keyword tool would allow you to check the search volume for "plumbers" (globally or the vague term 'local') or for "plumbers St. Louis" but not let you specifically check for people searching the broad keyword "plumbers" that resided in St. Louis. 

How to use Google Adwords Keyword Planner tool

Here is where Google Adwords Keyword Planner comes in.  Log into your google adwords account, and from the tools and analysis dropdown click on "Keyword Planner".  This may be a godsend for some SEO Companies.  now you can specify a set of keywords, and also define a specific city, cities, or region on a map to get data for specific keywords searched on google from that specific region.  You will want to start out with a good set of keywords, as well as some synonyms and related searches that you may think apply.

After you enter your keywords into google keyword planner, add your city/cities and then hit enter.  You will see average monthly searches, as well as the competition for those phrases (same as with the google adwords keyword tool) as well as keyword ideas in a tab up top.

You can add these keyword ideas to the list and see which ones would be worthwhile trying to optimize for.  Remember that keywords with low to medium competition and a decent amount of monthly searches are ideal.  Higher competition keywords take time and effort to rank for, and you may need to build up content and rank for some longer tail phrases first before attacking them. 

Rick Eckert