New Google Keyword Tool

Monday, April 26th, 2010

posted by guest

131 Comments

New Google Keyword Tool

The following is a guest blog post by Matthew Carter:

Hey everybody,

So it looks like Google has brought out a new keyword tool!

I have recently spent some time using it, and overall I was really impressed with the new metrics and the way Google are displaying the keyword data.

In this post I have provided an explanation with screen shots, of some of the initial things that I think are going to be really useful with the new tool.

The first and very obvious difference that I can see, is that Google now displays the search by "website" box in a very obvious place, which wasn't the case in the old interface.



Searching on websites for keywords is a great way to spy on your competition, and uncover all the keywords that Google thinks the site is about. These are keywords that you could consider targeting for your campaigns, and also use in your webpage content, as Google obviously thinks these words are relevant.

Another major difference that I can see is that when you search on a keyword, the results that Google gives are now related categories, rather than just words that contain your original keyword in them.

If you look at the example in the image below, I have searched for "learn spanish online" and will notice that Google now displays results for lateral keywords. For example "spanish courses" and even "learn German" and "learn Italian".

Although this may take some getting used to, as the results are no longer just keywords with your original 'seed keyword' in them, I think by providing lateral keywords, Google gives you some great ideas of other keywords, niches and even subniches you could potentially target.



If you look over to the left of the interface you'll see the categories that Google has included for the keywords that it's displaying. You can simply uncheck the boxes of categories that you are not interested in, and refine you search to categories you think are more relevant for you.



I think that this data on categories will be very helpful, however you can choose to search based on keywords related to the seed keyword also if you prefer. All you have to do is check the box at the top under the "Advanced options" that says "ideas containing my search terms"



Under the same "Advanced options" category, you'll also notice that Google has now provided the option for "mobile search". This is an interesting addition to the tool, as I think Google are possibly alluding to the importance of targeting mobile devices. Although the search results are not as high, I think this is something that Google feels is going to change, and perhaps something to consider for your own campaigns.



I'm not totally convinced yet, on the return on investment that targeting mobile devices will give at this stage, as currently the lack of flash videos on mobile devices is a concern. However, perhaps marketing some CPA form fill offer might work best.

One more feature in the tool, that I found interesting was over on the left menu, where Google has displayed, in blue text, the category that the keywords it is displaying fall under.



I find this fascinating as Google are telling you how they categorize their keywords. This sort of information is useful to know when you are building your sites. As to get the best effect for SEO, it's best to create a 'Silo' structure. Therefore you can now easily replicate the way Google does this and give back to them what they want. I can't help but think this will have a positive effect for your SEO.

Finally one more addition that is very obvious, is the inclusion of a link to "Google Insights" next to each keyword entry. This provides some very rich data on the history of the keyword in Google over time, and is excellent market intelligence data at the click of the mouse. You can immediately see if the keyword is experiencing positive growth or is declining.



All in all I think there are some great additions to the tool, however it will take some getting used to, as the major difference is the way Google now displays related keywords that are lateral to the original seed keyword phrase you searched on, mixed in together with 'lateral' keywords also.

I hope you enjoy this blog post, I'm really interested in hearing your comments below.

Also, if you gained value from this post, then you'll LOVE my new FREE report on How to get high search engine rankings and cash in with free traffic, I've already received over 200 positive comments about this report on my own blog already, I recommend you check it out.

Note: The above guest blog post by Matthew Carter may not reflect the views and opinions of Affilorama.



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View all 131 comments (Currently displaying latest 20)

By kay at 16:46 30 Apr 2010

Brilliant! Thank you so much. I am finding the new layout so different that I keep clicking "old interface" now I think I'll spend a bit of time getting used to it.

By Con Van Dyk at 17:44 30 Apr 2010

When I got to the Google keyword tool site I thought I got to the wrong site. I was somewhat confused at first but got used to the new format. However, your post was extremely helpful to me and shortened my learning curve. I think once we get used to the new and improved format we'll get even better insights to our keywords. Matt, as always, thanks for the great info.

By glapaida at 23:06 30 Apr 2010

great post before I signed in today I just started using google keyword tool and like you said the changes are better than before and give people the chance to use it differently.

By French Property Agency at 8:04 1 May 2010

Priceless info and have already used this to identify some interesting niche phrases I had simply not thought of!
http://www.frenchpropertyagency.com/

By kitejunkiee at 13:50 1 May 2010

Thanks AmpieG - Guess Ill have to paste each keyword manually! :( : (

By Jose at 1:57 2 May 2010

This information is super usefull thank you all

By CourtneyC at 18:41 2 May 2010

Nice job covering the bases on this one. Maybe Google should post you up for tutorial...it got me through the highlights and changes quickly enough. Thanks again.

By muslih72 at 6:01 3 May 2010

nice article, but where we got adword tool from google ?
thanks

By secondclick at 7:23 3 May 2010

Thanks! Google continues to rule the internet with tools like this for FREE ! :-)

By ffbvgd at 21:42 5 May 2010

i hate the new interface . its rubbish .
got to keep going back to old
...

By Barb Pattison at 19:43 7 May 2010

Thanks for posting this. You explain things very clearly. I didn't like the look of the new version so immediately clicked back to the old one. After reading your post, I'm going to give the new tool another shot. It sounds like it has some important advantages.

By Alyssa at 16:22 12 May 2010

Does anyone know how to paste a bunch of keywords in the tool and only show the results for these keywords? For example I place 30 keywords in the "Word or Phrase" box and then the tool returns keyword ideas as well as my keywords, however I only want my keywords period...

I can't work out how to do this, but I remember I used to be able to do it fine with the old version, is there something Im missing?

By snowwookie at 22:19 12 May 2010

I find the new Google tool to be really good but its gonna take some getting used to like you said. I like that you can now check and get Broad, , and "phase" keyword data with out typing it in your self. Very fun stuff!!

By Miles at 18:42 20 May 2010

Thanks for helping me understand this new tool! I had a couple of Ah Ha! Moments while reading your blog. Thanks.

By simon at 22:18 26 May 2010

Great post, well done!

By junaid at 9:55 28 May 2010

Thanks for helping me understand this new tool! I had a couple of Ah Ha! Moments while reading your blog. Thanks.

By Joko Susilo at 14:18 30 May 2010

But personally which one do you choose: new version or old version?

By Chester8111 at 23:18 5 Jun 2010

I appreciate the tips on Google's Keyword tool. I have been drilling deeper into keyword phrases to pickup the extra traffic. The related categories aspect of the keyword tool is great for new ideas and phrases.

By blogger03 at 15:46 16 Jun 2010

Great Post! The google keyword tool used to be one of my preferred methods for research, but it feels like it is lacking now.

Another great tool to use can be found at http://www.visible.net/tools/keywords/

I look forward to reading more articles from you!

By Gamertag at 13:26 20 Jun 2010

The only thing I'm having trouble with is getting the estimated/average cpc to display. I guess I will need to login to get that info.

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