Google Keyword Planner for SEO works as a free source of keyword ideas and average monthly searches, so you can compare demand before you write a page. It's a Google Ads tool: you need a Google Ads account with billing details, not a running campaign. Judge ranking difficulty from the results page, not from its Competition column.
Key takeaways
- Keyword Planner is free; you need a Google Ads account with billing details, but you don't have to run ads.
- Use Discover new keywords to find ideas and Get search volume and forecasts to check a list you already have.
- Accounts with little ad spend can see ranges such as 1K–10K instead of exact figures; for SEO, the order of magnitude is usually enough.
- The Competition column measures advertisers, not organic difficulty; check the results page for that.
Is Google Keyword Planner free, and can you use it without running ads?
Yes. Google calls Keyword Planner "a free resource to help advertisers build keyword lists for search campaigns" (Google Ads). The catch is access: "You must complete your account setup by entering your billing information" (Use Keyword Planner). Google's pages disagree on whether you also need a campaign, so there are two paths.
- Sign up for Google Ads with your Google account.
- When setup pushes you to build a campaign, skip it. Google's sign-up guide says you "have the option to create an account without a campaign" and "can skip all recommendations to create a campaign" (Create a Google Ads account).
- Enter your billing country, time zone and payment details. The same guide says Google may ask for "a small prepayment for verification purposes", which is refundable.
- Open Tools and choose Keyword Planner.
Google's Keyword Planner page takes the other line: "To access Keyword Planner, you first need to complete your Google Ads Account setup and create a campaign" (Google Ads). If your account asks for one, create a campaign and pause it right away: "Your ads won't accrue charges while they're paused" (Pause or resume your ads). Screens change; this reflects Google's pages as of October 2026.
Discover new keywords vs Get search volume and forecasts
Keyword Planner opens with two options: Discover new keywords finds ideas, and Get search volume and forecasts checks a list you already have.
Discover new keywords | Get search volume and forecasts | |
|---|---|---|
Input | Words or phrases, or a website URL | A keyword list, pasted or uploaded as a CSV |
Output | Related ideas with average monthly searches, competition and bids | Historical metrics and ad forecasts for your list |
Best SEO use | Expanding seed topics into a keyword list | Checking volumes for a list from Search Console or brainstorming |
Ignore for SEO | Bid columns, unless you also advertise | The forecasts, which estimate ad results "based on your spend", not organic traffic |
How to use Google Keyword Planner for SEO, step by step
Here is how to use Google Keyword Planner to turn a few seed topics into a shortlist.
- Choose Discover new keywords, then Start with keywords. Enter two to five phrases your customers use.
- Add your domain. Google "will try to exclude keywords not related to what you offer" (Use Keyword Planner).
- Set the location to the country you want to rank in; Google says average monthly searches are based on "the location and Search Network settings you selected" (About Keyword Planner forecasts).
- Refine the list. Untick unrelated themes in the Refine keywords panel; use Add filter on keyword text to keep, say, ideas containing "how".
- Try Start with a website on a competitor. Google "will look for keywords related to the content on that site"; that is not a list of the keywords the site ranks for.
- Export and clean up. Download the ideas, delete irrelevant rows and tag each keyword with its search intent, so you know what kind of page it needs.
How to read Keyword Planner's columns for SEO
Keyword Planner's columns were built for advertisers. Definitions below are from Google's About Keyword Planner forecasts page.
Column | What Google says it means | How to use it for SEO |
|---|---|---|
Avg. monthly searches | Searches "for a keyword and its close variants", averaged over 12 months by default | Compare demand; check seasonal terms month by month |
Competition | "The number of advertisers that showed on each keyword relative to all keywords across Google" | Not a difficulty score; high means advertisers value the term |
Top of page bid (low and high range) | About the 20th and 80th percentile of what advertisers have paid for top placement | A hint of commercial value: high bids usually mean buyers |
Why does Keyword Planner show ranges instead of exact volumes?
Keyword Planner can show ranges such as 1K–10K instead of exact figures when an account spends little on ads. The clearest statement dates from August 2016, when a Google AdWords community manager announced that "Advertisers with lower monthly spend may see a limited data view in the Keyword Planner"; Search Engine Journal reported the ranges as 0, 1–100, 100–1K, 1K–10K, 10K–100K, 100K–1M and 1M+ (Search Engine Journal, August 15, 2016). Google didn't define "lower monthly spend" then, and its current Keyword Planner help pages give no threshold.
Exact numbers aren't precise either: Google says "Your search volume statistics are rounded" (About Keyword Planner forecasts), and keywords "with very low search volumes" don't appear at all (Use Keyword Planner). For SEO the range is usually enough, because the decision is about scale. When two keywords share a range, let the results page and business value decide.
Is the Competition column the same as keyword difficulty?
No. The Competition column measures how many advertisers showed ads on a keyword, not organic ranking difficulty. A keyword can be "High" while the organic results are thin forum threads, or "Low" while large publishers hold every organic slot. Judge organic difficulty from the results page; our keyword difficulty guide shows how.
Combine Keyword Planner with SERP analysis
Keyword Planner shows how many people search; the results page shows what they want and who you're up against. Search each shortlisted keyword in your target country and check:
- Page type: guides, product pages or lists? Build the type Google already ranks.
- Who ranks: big brands everywhere means a long road; forums and small blogs mean an opening.
- What the top pages cover: the subtopics most of them share, and their length.
- What else appears: ads and AI Overviews take clicks; People also ask shows sub-questions to answer.
How to do this in RankTera
RankTera doesn't show search volume, so take volumes from Keyword Planner and use RankTera for the results page. In KW Research, enter the keyword and country, then choose which Google results to analyse (up to 5) in Select SERP Results. RankTera extracts the phrases they use under their H2–H6 headings with each one's average count, plus the pages' average word count and heading structure. It also reverse-engineers the terms in the pages ChatGPT and Gemini cite.
What we found: what top pages for this keyword cover
We ran "google keyword planner for seo" through RankTera's KW Research on October 15, 2026, using US Google results. The pages it analysed (keywordplanner.net, semrush.com, coursera.org and ahrefs.com) averaged 1,215 words, and it found 46 keywords. The six most used:
Term | Average count per page |
|---|---|
Keyword Planner | 10 |
Google Keyword Planner | 5 |
search volumes | 4 |
keyword ideas | 3 |
Google Ads account | 3 |
monthly searches | 3 |
Access and the first screen ("Google Ads account" three times per page, "Discover new keywords" twice) are core to the topic, so this guide starts there. Our separate analysis of six top Google results the same day found 616 to 2,246 words (median 1,510); three had an FAQ section and two used a table.
Worked example: a houseplant shop picks its first keywords
This example is illustrative, not real data. A US houseplant shop with a no-spend Google Ads account enters "snake plant", "pothos care" and "repotting plants", adds its domain and sets the location to the United States.
Keyword | Avg. monthly searches (range) | Competition | Results page | Decision |
|---|---|---|---|---|
snake plant care | 10K–100K | Low | Large gardening publishers | Later, after supporting pages |
how to repot a snake plant | 1K–10K | Low | Small blogs; few cover pot size and drainage | Write first |
pothos yellow leaves | 1K–10K | Low | Forum threads and short posts | Write second |
snake plant soil | 1K–10K | High | Retailers' product pages | Target with the soil category page |
"Snake plant soil" is High because retailers advertise on it; its results show product pages, so a category page fits, not a blog post. Specific questions like these are where a new site can win, as our long-tail keywords guide explains.
Frequently asked questions
Can I use Google Keyword Planner without running ads?
Yes. You need a Google Ads account with billing details, but not a live campaign. Google's sign-up guide offers an option to create an account without a campaign, though its Keyword Planner page says to create one. If your account asks for a campaign, create it and pause it: Google says paused ads don't accrue charges.
Is Google Keyword Planner accurate for SEO?
It's accurate enough to compare demand, not to forecast traffic. Volumes are rounded, pool close variants and are averaged over 12 months by default, so seasonal terms look flatter than they are. Ranking first doesn't win every search either, because ads and AI Overviews also take clicks.
What is the best free keyword research tool?
No single free tool covers everything. Keyword Planner gives volume and ideas, Search Console shows the queries your site already appears for, Google Trends shows seasonality, and People also ask surfaces questions. Our keyword research guide shows how to combine them.
What are the four types of keywords?
Keywords are usually grouped by intent: informational (learn something), commercial (compare options), transactional (buy now) and navigational (reach a specific site). Keyword Planner doesn't label intent, so read it from the pages Google ranks: if page one is all how-to guides, the intent is informational.
Pick keywords you can actually rank for
Google Keyword Planner for SEO tells you what people search; the results page tells you whether you can win it. RankTera's KW Research reverse-engineers the terms the first results use on Google, ChatGPT and Gemini, and the Rank Tracker checks your Google positions and ChatGPT/Gemini citations once you publish. Start your 14-day free tier — no card needed; it includes 3 keyword researches and 3 AI articles. Plans are on the pricing page.