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Term

Keyword Planner

Free research tool inside Google Ads. Returns search volume, competition, CPC estimates, and new keyword ideas — the data backbone for campaign planning and SEO research.

Keyword Planner — in more detail

The Keyword Planner is Google’s built-in research tool inside Google Ads. It offers two core functions: “Discover new keywords” suggests ideas based on a seed keyword, a website URL, or a product category; “Get search volume and forecasts” returns average search volume, competition level (low/medium/high), and top-of-page bid ranges for a list of keywords you provide. Important caveat: accounts without active spend see only rounded volume buckets (e.g. “1K–10K”) — exact numbers unlock once real campaign spend is in place.

Example / In practice

Before launching a new shoe campaign, you feed the seed women's running shoes into the Planner. It returns related terms (women's running shoes review, women's marathon shoes, women's jogging shoes), volume bands, and CPC ranges — the basis for ad-group structure, budget planning, and realistic CPC expectations.

Distinction from similar terms

Third-party tools like Ahrefs, Semrush, or Sistrix often deliver more precise volumes (proprietary crawlers plus clickstream data) and richer SEO metrics. The Performance Planner is the forecasting tool for existing campaigns — the Keyword Planner plans new ones.

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