How to Use Google’s Keyword Search Tool for SEO

SEO begins with keywords. Google’s free AdWords: Keyword Tool can help you find the right keywords to drive traffic to your page. By using primary and alternate keywords in the right places in your content, you can capitalize on the searches people conduct on keyword phrases related to your content. Not sure how to use a keyword tool to generate keywords for your SEO? Google’s AdWords: Keyword Tool is simple and easy to use.

Go to Google’s AdWords: Keyword Tool

You don’t have to have an AdWords account to use Google’s keyword tool. Simply go here to access the keyword tool, and you’ll see the form where you have various options to generate keywords.

Generate Keywords from Descriptive Words or Phrases

The default selection on the keyword tool is to generate keywords from descriptive words or phrases. You simply type in the word or phrase; one per line. Use phrases related to your article idea: for example, for a real-estate related article, your keyword search box might include:

• Real estate
• Home buying
• Home sales
• Selling a home
• Buying a home
• Real estate Atlanta, GA
• Home mortgage

Or any other words or phrases related to the content of your page. Then, type the validation characters from the validation image in the designated box, and click the “Get Keyword Ideas” button.

When you click the button, Google’s keyword tool generates a list of keywords related to the terms entered, and a second list of additional terms to consider. The search summary gives you two columns of results; local search volume for the preceding month, and global search volume. You can then choose keywords with a high search volume, niche keywords with a relatively high search volume, or keywords with low advertiser competition, depending on your goal. By using keywords from both the primary keyword list and the alternate keyword list, you can widen your search results and potentially increase the number of people who can easily find your page.

Generate Keywords from Website Content

The second option when using Google’s keyword search tool is to generate keywords from website content. You can enter the URL of an existing website, which the Google keywords tool analyzes and then suggests keywords based on your copy. For example, when I enter my own website URL, I get keyword results related to: copy writing, a copywriter, copywriting, writing, copywriter, copy, writer, freelance, writers, editor, copywriters, and miscellaneous keywords. In theory, I could use these keyword search results to optimize my website for popular keyword searches and thereby increase the number of people who click through to my website.

How to Use SEO-Friendly Keywords on Your Website

Once you have the keywords related to your niche or website, select specific keywords for optimization, depending on your needs. If you simply want to capitalize on popular keyword searches in order to increase the potential of readers finding your website, select the most popular keywords for your SEO. However, keep in mind that these popular keywords are typically highly competitive (as indicated by the advertising competition bar on the page) and your page might come up very low in the results on popular keywords.

More useful is selecting a niche keyword and pairing it with a popular keyword, or optimizing your page to appeal specifically to the niche. If you want conversion, appealing to the appropriate niche is more likely to land you qualified leads. Concentrating on the widest possible search range brings you leads, but they might not necessarily be qualified. The ideal combination for good SEO is to pair a popular keyword search with a niche keyword for optimal results.