Hey Marathoners! Today’s episode is going to look a little different, and you might want to have your computer in front of you as I am going to give you a step-by-step walkthrough of Google’s Keyword Planner Tool. The Keyword Planner tool is a great way to determine what keywords you should be using in your online marketing to reach more people. It can also help you figure out if Google Ads may be a good fit for your business.

Step 1: Pull up the Keyword Planner Tool. If you don’t already have a Google Ads account, create one (don’t worry, it’s free!)

Step 2: Click on “Discovering New Keywords.” This feature can help you generate ideas of what keywords you might like to use in your marketing. You can insert your website’s URL here and it will generate keywords based on your website! You can even copy and paste the link to certain pages of your website and using the “use only text from this page” setting, it will suggest keywords based off of only that page of your website. 

Step 3: Click on “Get Search Volume and Forecast.” This feature is really going to help you determine which keywords you should be using based off of a number of different analytics. I go into a lot more detail in the podcast episode itself, but here is where you can see how each of your keywords are currently performing and how they may perform in the future based on impressions, geographic location, and your budget.

Some of my tips and tricks for using this feature include:

• When brainstorming keywords, try to think about how customers might search for you business on Google. Hint: tacking on the phrase “near me” can be EXTREMELY useful!

• Make sure your location is accurate for your business! I recommend going by county
• Base your searches off of data from the past year
• Google automatically optimizes your ad spending for you based on your budget, but I still recommend diving into that feature (under “Forecast”) so you can see exactly what return you can expect

The Keyword Planner Tool is an awesome asset for local business owners. It’s great for planning and adjusting your Google Ads throughout the year, especially if there are seasonal aspects to your business!

If you found today’s episode useful, please share it with another local business owner like you and me! Or if you’re feeling extra generous, leave me a 5-star review wherever you listen to this podcast. 

I have an exciting FREE webinar coming up, and I’d love to have you there! I’ll walk you through how you can set up your entire marketing in just ONE DAY. Click here to sign up!

Until next time, keep running your race!