How to Use Google Keyword Planner for SEO (It's FREE!)

Summary of Technological Concepts / Product Features (Google Keyword Planner for SEO)

• The video explains how good keyword selection and usage can help you rank on Google.
• It introduces Google Keyword Planner as a free alternative to paid SEO tools such as SEMrush and Ahrefs.
• Google Keyword Planner can display, for specific keywords:
  • Search volume (monthly ranges)
  • Keyword competition level (Google categorizes as low / medium / high)
  • Trends over time, including year-over-year change (and it also mentions a three-month change)
  • Keyword ideas generated from the inputs you provide

Tutorial / Guide Steps Covered

Accessing the tool (free)

1. Go to ads.google.com
2. Create a free ad account (you don’t need to run spend)
3. Sign in using an existing Google account
4. Open Tools → Keyword Planner

Choosing the workflow

• Use “Discover new keywords” (the main focus)

How to generate keyword ideas

• Enter either:
  • Keyword ideas (examples given: “landscaping services”, “rock wall installation”, “lawn care”)
  • Optionally, a website URL (to use a competitor as a “seed”)
• Example process shown:
  1. Find a competitor’s site (e.g., “Millennium Lawn and Landscape”)
  2. Paste the competitor’s domain into Keyword Planner
  3. Add related landscaping terms
  4. Click Get results

Reading the results for SEO use

• The video notes that some columns (such as low/high CPC range) are primarily relevant to Google Ads, and are less important for organic SEO.
• For SEO, the key focus is on:
  • Keyword ideas
  • Monthly search volume
  • Competition (low / medium / high)
  • Trend indicators (e.g., keywords declining by a large percentage year-over-year)

Keyword Strategy Recommendations (from the analysis)

• Avoid keywords that are too competitive (the video frames this as choosing unwinnable terms).
• Prefer low-competition keywords when possible.
• Use long-tail keywords (stated as more than three words) since they’re often easier to rank for, for example:
  • “landscaping services near me”

• Caution about “near me” keywords:

  • The video claims Google personalizes/localizes results based on the searcher’s IP location, so performance may vary.

• Emphasizes relevance + momentum, including examples tied to:

  • Strong year-over-year increases (one example mentions a very large increase)
  • Low competition

Mentioned Follow-up Resource

• The creator references another video for going more advanced, including:
  • Picking keywords using keyword difficulty
  • Determining the “arena” your site can realistically compete in based on what top-ranking sites already win

Reviews / Tutorials / Guides Highlight

• This is mainly a hands-on tutorial using step-by-step Google Keyword Planner usage to support SEO keyword discovery and qualification via:
  • Volume
  • Competition
  • Trend data

Main Speakers or Sources

• Source: Google (official platform) via Google Keyword Planner inside Google Ads
• Speaker/creator: The video narrator/host (not explicitly named in the subtitles) guiding the tutorial.