SEO Keyword Research - Google Keyword Planner vs Keyword Keg
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Read Time: 6 Minutes
Effective keyword research is a crucial first step in your SEO strategy which is why when it comes to looking to optimising your website, choosing the right keyword research tool can make all the difference. Today we're comparing two of the most popular ones - Google Keyword Planner and Keyword Keg.
While Google Keyword Planner is a popular choice due to its free access, its limitations in ease of use and comprehensiveness often leave users searching for alternatives. Keyword Keg, on the other hand, despite requiring a subscription, offers a user-friendly interface and advanced features that cater to the needs of marketers who demand more from their keyword research. Here we'll explore how these tools stack up against each other, helping you make an informed decision for your SEO strategy.
While Google Keyword Planner is a popular choice due to its free access, its limitations in ease of use and comprehensiveness often leave users searching for alternatives. Keyword Keg, on the other hand, despite requiring a subscription, offers a user-friendly interface and advanced features that cater to the needs of marketers who demand more from their keyword research. Here we'll explore how these tools stack up against each other, helping you make an informed decision for your SEO strategy.
What Google Keyword Planner Can Do:
- Generate Keyword Ideas: Discover new keywords related to your product or service.
- Estimate Search Volume: Determine how often people search for specific keywords.
- Analyse Competition: Understand the level of competition for different keywords.
- Identify Keyword Trends: See how search volume for keywords changes over time.
- Organise Keywords: Group keywords into relevant themes or categories.
How to Use Google Keyword Planner:
1) Accessing Google Keyword Planner
- Create a Google Ads Account: You need a Google Ads account to access the Keyword Planner. Don’t worry, you don’t need to run ads to use the tool.
- Navigate to Keyword Planner: Once logged in to your Google Ads account, go to Tools & Settings > Planning > Keyword Planner.
2) Discovering and Analysing Keywords
- Discover New Keywords
- Enter a website URL, product or service, or a list of keywords.
- Keyword Planner will suggest related keywords based on your input.
- Get Search Volume and Forecasts
- Enter a list of keywords to get search volume estimates and trends.
- Access historical data and forecasts for future search volume.
- Analyse Competition
- Infer competition based on search volume and ad competition.
- Identify Keyword Trends
- Observe how search volume for keywords has changed over time.
- Identify seasonal trends or emerging keywords.
- Organise Keywords
- Group keywords into ad groups or themes to better manage your keyword list.
- Keyword Planner can help you automatically organise keywords based on your input.
3) Key Insights and Considerations
- Focus on Relevant Keywords: Use filters to narrow down your keyword list.
- Consider Search Intent: Understand why people are searching for a specific keyword.
- Evaluate Keyword Difficulty: Use search volume and ad competition as indicators.
- Combine with Other Tools: Use Keyword Planner alongside other SEO tools for a comprehensive analysis.
- Data Limitations: Be aware that Keyword Planner data might not be entirely accurate or up-to-date.
Keyword Keg
1) Features of Keyword Keg
- Generate Long-Tail Keywords: Utilises data from 11 different APIs (including Google, YouTube, Bing, Amazon, eBay, and more) to provide extensive keyword suggestions, ensuring a broad and varied list of potential keywords (KeywordSuite) (KeywordSuite).
- Bulk Keyword Upload: You can upload Excel/CSV files containing up to 500,000 keywords to quickly get metrics for them. This feature is particularly useful for handling large keyword lists efficiently (ManyTools).
- Keyword Metrics: Provides essential metrics like search volume, cost-per-click (CPC), and competition levels. This helps you understand the potential value and competitiveness of each keyword (QuickCreator) (ManyTools).
- Intent-Based Filtering: Automatically categorises keywords based on user intent, such as buyer intent, product info, and questions. This allows you to focus on keywords that align with specific marketing goals, like driving sales or answering user queries (Moving Traffic Media).
- Competitor Analysis: Facilitates in-depth analysis of competitor keywords and provides insights into SERP features, helping you understand how your competitors are positioning themselves (QuickCreator).
- Real-Time Data: Unlike some tools that update less frequently, Keyword Keg offers near real-time data, ensuring you have the most current insights into search trends and behaviours (KeywordSuite).
- Export Options: Export keyword data and metrics into various formats such as CSV, Excel, and PDF, with the option to white-label reports for client presentations (ManyTools).
- Merge Words Tool: Generates multiple combinations from a list of keywords, useful for e-commerce businesses looking to cover various product variations and attributes (KeywordSuite).
- API Data Sources: While Google Keyword Planner primarily uses data from Google's own database, Keyword Keg aggregates data from 11 different APIs, providing a broader set of keyword suggestions (KeywordSuite) (KeywordSuite).
- Bulk Upload Capabilities: Keyword Keg’s ability to handle up to 500,000 keywords in a single upload surpasses Google Keyword Planner, which has more limited bulk processing capabilities (ManyTools).
- Intent-Based Categorisation: Keyword Keg automatically categorises keywords based on user intent, which is a more advanced feature compared to the standard grouping offered by Google Keyword Planner (Moving Traffic Media).
- Export and Reporting: Both tools allow data export, but Keyword Keg provides additional formats and white-label options, making it more versatile for professional reporting (ManyTools).
- Competitor and SERP Analysis: Keyword Keg offers more detailed insights into competitor strategies and SERP features, whereas Google Keyword Planner focuses primarily on keyword metrics (QuickCreator).
- Real-Time Updates: Keyword Keg’s frequent data updates provide more current insights compared to Google Keyword Planner’s less frequent updates (KeywordSuite).
Additional Tool: MergeWordsMergeWords is also a great tool to find golden keyword opportunities by combining thousands of keyword combinations. It pairs excellently with Keyword Keg, making it very easy to import the thousands of combinations you have created. For more information, visit MergeWords.
For the reasons we've discussed above, we prefer to use Keyword Keg. Its ease of use, comprehensive features, and additional functionalities make it a superior choice for keyword research compared to Google Keyword Planner.
If you would like help with your keyword research, we offer two options:
- SEO Training: Gain the skills and knowledge to perform your own keyword research and improve your SEO strategy.
- Done-for-You Comprehensive Keyword Research Service: Let us handle the keyword research for you, providing a detailed and actionable report.
For more information, see: