It’s not been easy making keyword researches especially since Google took down their keyword research tool which many of us has relied on for our keyword researches. There is no doubt that the Google Keyword Tool is the best keyword research tool out there and the fact that it is free also makes it the most widely used keyword research tool but now that is has been taken down by Google is the keyword planner good enough to replace the keyword tool?
The new Google AdWords Keyword Planner introduced in place of the keyword tool is a bit complicated and does not present data in the way one could easily understand it, I really don’t find it that useful yet. Am I the only one with this idea about the Google AdWords Keyword Planner?
Every time Google says its new Keyword Planner is better than the old Keyword Tool
Google has said that the Keyword Planner is a replacement for the Keyword tool but this is a claim I will not put much hopes on as the keyword planner lack some major properties that made the keyword tool awesome. The keyword planner has some cool new features especially its integration with the Google Traffic Estimator but the absence of the Exact and Phrase Match features of the keyword tool makes it no replacement for me.
The keyword tool showed broad match, exact match and phrase match statistics for every keyword you searched, but the keyword planner only shows historical statistics for exact match which makes it not suitable to research on seasonal keywords. The Google keyword planner will show you the same statistics for a keyword whether you used broad, exact or phrase matches. Google keyword planner statistical data for search volume can only be retrieved for the match type “exact” and not for “phrase” and “broad”. This makes our job as blogger even more difficult because there is no how to determine the broad and phrase match traffic stats for a keyword.
Another downside to the use of the Google keyword planner is its inability to specifically target mobile devices unlike the keyword tool. This means you cannot determine the correct average search volume data as compared to the keyword tool in keyword planner because you will be given the average number of searches for your keyword idea on all devices as laptops and desktop computers, mobiles phones, tablets etc. This figure is always higher because you cannot target specific devices with the keyword planner.
Also you cannot determine the local monthly searches and global monthly searches anymore with the Google keyword planner as the two have been replaced by the average monthly searches. Same with Ad Share as it has been replaced with ad impression and the search share column has entirely been taken off. The approximate CPC has also been replaced with the Average CPC.
Another area that worries me is the area of language settings, when a particular language is chosen for example Spanish, English keywords are automatically sorted and removed from the list which means you cannot differentiate and this affects the chances for a more detailed analysis.
Bloggers like me relied on the Google keyword tool to identify new keywords, get traffic estimates etc but may not enjoy such keyword ideas anymore as all you can get with the keyword planner is just variations of your keyword lists. Getting used to the new keyword planner may take some time and can be a little arduous since it appears a bit cumbersome.
Maybe I have not given myself enough chance to learn this new keyword planner, how do you find this tool? How have you used it and what feature do you find most interesting and why? Maybe you can help me get a clearer picture of the Google keyword planner. Share your opinion about the tool below using the comment section.
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Hi Nwosu,
First of all, thanks for writing this up.
I am a heavy user for Google Keyword Tools and when it went out of business, it was huge for me. I am still facing issues trying to understand how Google Keyword Planner works. It seems like Google is trying to focus more into Adwords business than just giving the tool for us to use.
At least, that’s what I think but certainly, hoping to experience it more soon :)
Timely stuff Nwosu because I just used Planner for the first time yesterday. It might take a few days to learn the system; the learning curve can be challenging to cut down. I liked the old version better but based on feedback, and experience of course, we should be able to use it effectively. Great share buddy.
Awesome post, i think the old tool was better and btw thanx for writing this awesome post
Reginald glad you shared your experience to confirm my claims. Thanks for commenting.
Hy Nwosu,
Yes Google’s keyword search tool was very blogger-friendly as we used to get a perfect scenario we were planning to create. But yea as per you have mentioned the use of this keyword planner I think it will take time but will broaden many things simultaneously.
Thanks Ryan for your contribution, i have bee trying to get my head around this tool.
Thanks Eric for your comment, what exactly do you miss in the old tool?
Thanks Charmie for your contribution.
thanks for sharing your thoughts on the issue. i think google keyword tool was an easy way to find the best low competition keywords, but after the introducing the new keyword planner, iam still learning it and i think it will take some time to get used to it.
I’m also missing Google keyword tool. It was much more powerful and perhaps focused differently than keyword planner.
Once the keyword tool is lifted up, I’m being completely unable to do proper keyword research. I guess I need to look some other tool now.
Thanks for also sharing your thoughts…
Glad i am not the only one feeling this way.
Hi Nwosu,
I haven’t started using Google Keyword Planner yet, but will have to take a look at it soon. Thanks for sharing your experience with this tool and for highlighting the issue with this tool it will definitely help me understand how it works. Also I agree with Reginald that this might be another strategy from Google to create demand for Google Adwords
Hey Bro great useful post because we lost the Google keyword tool this is the other option we have including me have some little search problem with this tool glad this post give some idea
It’s very sad that Google Keyword tool is no longer available. I also tried using Keyword Planner and i fully agree with the problems you faced. One of worst things which i like in the Keyword Planner is that one needs to be logged in before entering any query. Thanks for sharing your views with us. I have recently written article on closing of Google Keyword Tool which i have shared below.
Hi Nwosu,
I am also missing Google keyword tool and I agree with Reginald that Google is more focusing on Adwords by inviting us to Keyword planner tool.
great article about the new Google keyword planner, i naturally am beginning to understand the new Google tool now. Nwosu thanks
I’m actually liking it Nwosu – I find it a little more intuitive to use than the old keyword planner. It takes a few times of using it to get used to it. I like that is shows the low and medium searches too – not just the high ones that are so competitive. I try to go for the not so competititve ones now.
Great post! I don’t know why, but I too have also difficulties in using Google keyword planner…. Well, I guess you need to learn using this the difficult way. But with this post, I think it is best to let everybody knows how to overcome these difficulties. Thanks for sharing this post! ;)
Google tool is very useful for a set of keywords. However, you have struggled to find the phrases that are in demand and have low competition.
I am comfortable using this new keyword planner tool. I love this new move by google. It is clearn & crispy for me. For beginning it may be difficult but gradually you would love this tool.
hi nwosu. i also find it hard for me to use the keyword planner tool. perhaps i need more practice to understand completely how this tool works and enjoy the benefits of it
Hy Nwosu,
I read your previous article about the google keyword search tool and now read your review regarding the same. As such I haven’t tried my hands on it but I am surely gonna give it a try and find out how much will I be compatible with the same.
Google Keyword Planner is the best because it is most trusted
Hi Nwosu,
I haven’t used keyword planner yet. After reading your post it seems that it is really tough to handle Keyword Planner as compared to Google Keyword Tool. Thanks for sharing the information. I am going to use it quickly and share the experience with you.
Hey Nwosu,
I have to agree with you. I find it more challenging to use versus the old keyword tool. I like the fact that we can look for the exact phrases and the monthly search in the old google keyword tool, but so far I haven’t really seen keyword planner too useful as far as choosing keywords that will bring in the traffic. It must be something we’re all missing!
That was one of the challenges i had using the new Google keyword planner to find keywords, i guess we have to turn to alternative tools.
Hi Nwosu,
I am totally comfortable with the new keyword planner tool because it provides all the main features i am looking for. Along with this tool, I am also using long tail platinum which is paid tool and helps me to find profitable keywords and to increase traffic from search engine.
Actually the new google keyword planner tool is much more advance than the old one. I was also a little bit confused when it comes to using it.
But i gave myself time to research on it and find out that it is so easy to use and it gives more in dept views on the keyword you are targeting.
Like the trends, the exact match and all…
Try it out, you will love it!
I really like the new keyword planner, quiet easy to use and it really helped me. I can give credits to the new keyword planner as one of the factor for increasing my revenue to 4 times than what it was before. Thank you for this wonderful article, I am getting to learn more. However I still miss the old one, it was kind of a habit to use the old one.
Thanks Nwosu
PS: The gif is awesome :D love it.
Thanks Ron for your awesome contribution and please can you share with me your secret of finding the golden eggs with keyword planner?
Thank you for sharing this, very useful!