How to Research Profitable Keywords for Your Campaigns with Google Keyword Planner
Keyword research is still the backbone of profitable Google Ads campaigns.
Get it right, and you lower your costs, reach high-intent buyers, and scale faster.
Get it wrong, and you waste budget on clicks that never convert.
Google’s Keyword Planner is one of the most powerful tools available for planning search campaigns, but most advertisers only scratch the surface of what it can do. When you combine solid keyword research with real-time competitor ad monitoring, you get a serious edge in any competitive market.
This guide shows you how to research keywords using Keyword Planner, how to interpret the data like a pro, and how to combine it with competitive insights from a SaaS platform like AdPeekr to build campaigns that are smarter, faster, and more profitable.
What Is Google Keyword Planner and Why It Matters
Keyword Planner is a free tool inside Google Ads that helps you
- Discover new keyword ideas for search campaigns
- See search volume ranges and trends
- Estimate cost per click (CPC) and competition levels
- Forecast traffic and cost based on your budget and bids
It is primarily built for search campaigns, but the insights also help with Performance Max, YouTube and even SEO planning.
For digital marketers and ecommerce owners, Keyword Planner matters because it answers three critical questions
- What are people actually searching for when they want what I sell
- How many of those searches happen each month
- How competitive and expensive is it to appear for those searches
When you layer this with competitor ad monitoring, you can also answer a fourth question
Which keywords are my competitors actively betting money on right now
That combination is where serious campaign performance gains are made.
How to Access and Set Up Keyword Planner
You need a Google Ads account to use Keyword Planner. You do not have to be running active campaigns, but you must be logged in.
Step 1 Open Keyword Planner
Once inside Google Ads
- Click the “Tools & Settings” icon in the top navigation
- Under “Planning”, select “Keyword Planner”
- You will see two main options
- “Discover new keywords”
- “Get search volume and forecasts”
Each serves a different purpose when planning campaigns.
Step 2 Clarify Your Objective Before You Click Anything
Before you start typing keywords into the tool, get clear on what you actually want
- Launching a new campaign You need discovery
- Optimizing existing campaigns You need volume, CPC and forecast data
- Testing new markets or product lines You need both discovery and forecasts
Knowing this upfront keeps you from drowning in data that you never use.
Discover New Keywords From Seed Ideas to Scalable Lists
The “Discover new keywords” feature is where most advertisers start. Here is how to use it in a structured, strategic way.
Method 1 Start with Seed Keywords
In the “Start with keywords” tab, enter a few core keywords that describe what you offer. For example
- “running shoes for women”
- “B2B SEO software”
- “email marketing service”
Then
- Choose your target locations
- Set your language
- Optionally choose your search networks (Google alone or Google and search partners)
- Click “Get results”
You will now see
- Hundreds or thousands of related keyword ideas
- Average monthly searches (ranges for most accounts)
- Competition rating (Low, Medium, High)
- Top of page bid (low and high range)
How to Read These Results Strategically
Do not focus only on search volume. For performance marketers, more important signals are
- Intent Does the keyword reveal a buying mindset or just curiosity
Example- “best trail running shoes for flat feet” often signals a near purchase
- “how to start running” is informational and may require a different funnel
- Competition level High competition keywords can still be profitable if they are tightly matched to your most valuable offers, but they will demand better creative and landing pages
- Top of page bid This is a proxy for commercial value. If smart advertisers are willing to pay a high CPC, that keyword usually has strong revenue potential
Your goal here is to build a focused list of relevant, commercial-intent keywords, not a giant spreadsheet you will never use.
Method 2 Discover Keywords from a Website
The “Start with a website” option is often underused but very powerful, especially with a competitor mindset.
You can
- Enter your own website or a specific landing page to get keyword ideas aligned with your content
- Enter a competitor’s website or landing page to see what topics and potential keywords Google associates with them
Then choose “Use the entire site” or “Use only this page” and hit “Get results”.
This feature is particularly interesting when paired with live ad intelligence. For example, if AdPeekr shows that a competitor has just launched a new Google Ads campaign for a specific landing page, you can plug that URL into Keyword Planner to
- Understand which themes and keywords that page is built around
- Spot new keyword angles they may be targeting
- Identify gaps where you can launch ads or build better content
You are essentially reverse engineering their keyword strategy through both their landing pages and their live ads.
Evaluate Keyword Metrics What Actually Matters
Keyword Planner shows lots of metrics. Not all are equally important when you are planning real campaigns in a competitive market.
Average Monthly Searches
This number tells you the approximate search demand. But do not chase volume blindly.
- High volume, broad keywords often have lower conversion rates and higher CPC
- Lower volume, long tail keywords can be cheaper, more specific, and closer to purchase
Example
- “shoes” huge volume, weak intent, very expensive
- “women’s waterproof hiking shoes size 7” low volume, extremely clear intent
In many ecommerce and B2B markets, long tail keywords end up delivering the best ROAS and lower CPAs.
Competition Level
Google labels keyword competition as Low, Medium, or High based on how many advertisers appear for each term.
Use it as
- A directional signal of how many competitors are bidding
- A cue to prepare stronger creative and landing pages for highly competitive terms
But do not automatically avoid high competition keywords. If competitors are consistently active there, that often signals profitable intent. AdPeekr can help validate this by showing which keywords your competitors seem to be supporting with persistent, ongoing ad spend across Google and social channels.
Top of Page Bid (Low and High Range)
These ranges show what advertisers typically spend to appear at the top of search results.
Use this to
- Estimate how realistic it is for you to be competitive on a given budget
- Rank your keywords by commercial value
- Separate nice to have traffic from must win searches
If you see a term with low volume but a very high top of page bid, that often means the clicks are highly valuable. Combine this with competitor insight if multiple competitors are paying for that term and have stable, long running ads, the keyword probably works.
Organizing Keywords into Campaigns and Ad Groups
Keyword Planner does not just give you ideas. It can also help you structure your campaigns more intelligently.
Group Keywords by Intent, Not Just by Topic
Once you have your list, categorize them by the intent behind each search. For example, a shoe retailer might create
- Transactional intent
- “buy women’s running shoes online”
- “women’s trail running shoes free shipping”
- Comparison intent
- “best women’s running shoes 2025”
- “nike vs adidas women’s running shoes”
- Problem solution intent
- “running shoes for flat feet women”
- “running shoes for bad knees”
Build ad groups and ads that tightly match each intent cluster. This improves
- Quality Score
- Click through rates
- Conversion rates
- Cost per click efficiency
Use Competitor Insights to Refine Structure
If you have access to real-time competitor ad alerts, you can refine this structure further.
For instance
- You see a competitor launching a “new arrivals” shoe campaign focusing on “wide fit trail running shoes”
- You plug that angle into Keyword Planner and see a cluster of low competition, mid CPC long tail terms around “wide fit trail shoes”, “wide toe box trail running shoes” and similar
- You create a dedicated ad group and landing page around this very specific intent
You are not copying their campaign. You are using their move as a prompt to research, validate, and then build something more focused and more profitable.
Using the Forecasts Feature to Plan Budget and Performance
Once you have a preliminary keyword list, the “Get search volume and forecasts” feature helps you translate ideas into numbers.
How to Use the Forecast Tool
- Click “Get search volume and forecasts”
- Paste or upload your keyword list
- Select your target locations and language
- Review the forecast data for clicks, impressions, cost, CTR, and average CPC
You can adjust
- Max CPC bids
- Daily budget
- Date ranges
to see how your potential performance shifts.
What Forecasts Are Good For
Use forecasts to
- Get a realistic view of how much traffic a keyword cluster can drive
- Estimate whether your current budget can support your goals
- Prioritize which ad groups to launch first
Forecasts are not perfect predictions, but they are extremely helpful for directional planning and stakeholder conversations.
Practical Keyword Research Workflow for Marketers and Ecommerce Brands
To bring this all together, here is a practical end to end workflow that blends Keyword Planner with competitor intelligence.
Step 1 Start with Your Core Offers and Margins
List
- Your main product categories or services
- Your average order values (AOV)
- Your acceptable CPA or target ROAS
This ensures your keyword research is grounded in business reality, not just traffic numbers.
Step 2 Collect Seed Keywords and Competitor URLs
For each offer, gather
- 3 to 10 seed keywords that describe it
- A few direct competitor homepages or category pages
- Any landing pages you know competitors are actively driving traffic to
If you are using AdPeekr, this is where real-time alerts shine. When you receive an alert that a competitor has launched a new ad, save that landing page URL as a candidate for Keyword Planner analysis.
Step 3 Generate Keyword Ideas with Both Methods
Use Keyword Planner to
- Discover new keywords from your seed terms
- Analyze keywords based on your own website
- Analyze keywords using competitor pages
Tag each keyword idea as
- High intent
- Medium intent
- Low intent
and filter out irrelevant or low commercial value terms.
Step 4 Compare Your Findings with Live Competitor Activity
At this stage, cross reference your keyword ideas with what you see in the market.
If a SaaS platform like AdPeekr is notifying you every time your competitors launch or modify ads, you can
- Spot which product lines or angles they are suddenly focusing on
- Identify new regions they are targeting
- Detect seasonal or promotional campaigns in real time
Then check those themes inside Keyword Planner
- Is there strong search volume backing this new angle
- Are CPCs manageable or very high
- Are there long tail variations they appear to be ignoring
This helps you avoid being reactive and instead be strategic. You are not blindly following competitor moves. You are validating each move against actual search data and then deciding whether to mirror, outflank, or ignore it.
Step 5 Build Tight Ad Groups and Messaging
Now, use your final keyword clusters to
- Build campaigns around each major product or service line
- Create ad groups based on intent and closely related terms
- Write ads that reflect the specific language and pain points of each cluster
In competitive spaces, messaging is where you differentiate. Competitors might be targeting the same keyword, but if you
- Reference more specific use cases from your long tail research
- Address objections directly in your copy
- Offer clearer guarantees or benefits
you can often win more clicks at a lower effective CPC, even if your bid is similar.
Using Keyword Planner to Defend and Expand in Competitive Markets
Keyword research is not a one time task. Markets evolve, new competitors appear, and user behavior shifts.
Defensive Use Protect Your Brand and Core Terms
Monitor
- Branded keywords (your brand plus key products)
- High value generic searches that consistently drive ROI
If competitor alerts show that other brands suddenly start running conquest campaigns on your branded terms or your top generic money keywords, return to Keyword Planner to
- Review new search trends or variants
- Identify long tail phrases where you can secure dominant presence
- Adjust bids and budgets for your most profitable terms to maintain visibility
Offensive Use Find Opportunities They Are Missing
Keyword Planner is excellent at surfacing long tail gaps. Combine it with competitor data to
- Find mid and long tail keywords with healthy volume and moderate CPC where your competitors seldom appear
- Launch specialized campaigns around niche use cases
- Test new ad angles and landing pages with smaller, lower risk budgets
Over time, these “hidden” segments often become high performing pockets of profitable traffic.
Examples Keyword Planner + Competitor Alerts in Action
Example 1 Ecommerce Brand Selling Home Office Furniture
Scenario
- You sell ergonomic desks and chairs
- AdPeekr alerts you that a key competitor has launched a new campaign focused on “back to office” bundles
What you do with Keyword Planner
- Plug their landing page URL into Keyword Planner
- Identify keyword themes around “office chair bundle”, “desk and chair set”, “home office setup package”
- Discover long tail terms like “home office furniture bundle under 500” that show clear price sensitive buyer intent
- Use the forecast tool to estimate performance on these long tail bundle terms
Now you can
- Launch your own “bundle” campaign that specifically targets under-served long tail phrases
- Position your offers as better value or faster delivery without directly copying their messaging
Example 2 B2B SaaS Company Targeting Agency Owners
Scenario
- You sell software to digital marketing agencies
- Competitor ads suddenly highlight “white label reporting” in their headline
What you do with Keyword Planner
- Use “Discover new keywords” with seeds like “white label analytics”, “agency reporting tool”
- Analyze search volume for variations like “white label seo reports”, “client reporting software for agencies”
- Review competition and top of page bid to see how aggressively this space is being targeted
- Use forecasts to estimate potential new pipeline if you allocate part of your budget to this topic
You can then
- Decide whether it is worth building a dedicated landing page and campaign around “white label reporting”
- Craft ad copy that highlights differentiators competitors do not mention, like “unlimited client accounts” or “built in cross channel attribution”
This is a clear case of letting competitor moves guide what to research, and letting Keyword Planner data decide what to act on.
Where Keyword Planner Ends and Real-Time Competitor Monitoring Begins
Keyword Planner is excellent at
- Understanding search demand
- Estimating CPCs and competition
- Planning budget and forecasted traffic
- Generating keyword ideas from sites and seed terms
What it does not tell you is
- Exactly when competitors launch new campaigns
- How they position themselves in ad creative
- Which offers or bundles they are using to attack specific keywords
- How their messaging evolves over time
That is where a real-time competitive monitoring platform like AdPeekr becomes a force multiplier for your keyword strategy.
While Keyword Planner shows the size and cost of the battlefield, AdPeekr shows you where your competitors are currently deploying their troops, which weapons they chose, and how often they change tactics.
You can learn more about how AdPeekr tracks and surfaces these insights on the How It Works page, and decide which plan fits your stage of growth on the Pricing page.
Key Takeaways Using Keyword Planner Like a Pro
- Start with clear business objectives and margins before diving into the tool
- Use both seed keywords and website based discovery, especially competitor URLs
- Prioritize intent, CPC, and competitiveness over raw search volume
- Group keywords into tightly themed, intent based ad groups
- Use forecasts to align expectations, budgets, and timelines with reality
- Combine keyword data with real-time competitor ad alerts to decide where to defend, where to attack, and where to ignore
When you treat Keyword Planner as part of a larger competitive strategy instead of a standalone tool, your campaigns become far more resilient and significantly more profitable.