A lot of SEO specialists when asked which keyword tool they use (not considering pro SEO software) will immediately tell you “Google AdWords Keyword Tool!” For sure this search instrument has gained great popularity in the SEO industry, since it helps get the necessary keyword data in a structured way.
However, there’s one interesting thing not all people are aware of. The external keyword tool has limited functionality:
– It shows only 100 results (omitting some interesting key phrases I’ll mention a bit later.)
– It makes you type in the CAPTCHA to make sure you are not an evil bot.
In fact, the solution for this inconvenience is so simple, I can’t believe so many people still do not know about it. So to unlock the full functionality you need to:
1. Go to google.com and login to your account
2. Find adwords.google.com/
3. Then you’ll be redirected to the AdWords interface where you need to configure some settings that include your time zone and preferred currency. Click Next.
4. Hooray! Your AdWords account has been created. Now all you need is sign in.
5. That’s it. After you log in, find the Tools and Analysis tab and choose the Keywords tool. Now you have a full-functional tool that shows times more keywords for free. Though it lacks some cool features of professional SEO software, it is still great for a majority of marketers.
If you are still skeptical about signing up, I will tell you about a small experiment I have carried out. Say, I am an owner of a e-commerce shop, selling some stuff for kids. And one great day I decide to invest in a new type of themed good related to the greatest story by Alexander Milne, Winnie the Pooh. My first step is to analyze the search demand for this topic, so I go to the external keyword tool (with no AdWords account) and get 100 keywords related to “Winnie the Pooh.”
winnie the pooh bedding
winnie the pooh dvd
winnie the pooh music
winnie the pooh baby shower
winnie the pooh costumes
winnie the pooh watch
winnie the pooh toy
Looks good, right? But wait, most of these keywords are marked with “High competition,” which means that starting an ad campaign might be quite expensive.
Ok, now let’s get more data to decide on. I login into the AdWords account and perform the same experiment with the same key phrase. As a result, I get 800 (!) keywords, instead of 100. I just love the idea of getting more information, since it gives much more freedom with my further actions. Let’s see, what else I’ve found out:
winnie the pooh poetry – 1,600 searches
winnie the pooh colouring book – 1,900 searches
pooh puzzles – 3,600 searches
and much-much more!
Besides, these keywords are “low” in competition, so it may save me some money.
Probably, someone would be also interested in misspellings and variations:
winniethepooh – 8,100 searches
win the pooh – 9,900 searches
For sure, it may not be that mathematically correct, but for eight times more keywords implies eight times more ideas. Now, the best thing is get straight to action and find lots of new super-convertible keywords!