Google warned last June that their Keyword Tool was about to be phased out very soon. Google has finally pushed through with the plan and replaced Keyword Tool with the improved Keyword Planner. You’ll see an introduction to the Keyword Planner when you visit the Google AdWords Keyword Tool page.
More Keyword Statistics Available
The Keyword Planner, which was announced last May, is a combination of the old Keyword Tool and the Traffic Estimator. Google has replaced displaying broad match statistics automatically with exact match historical statistics. This gives you more accurate traffic estimates for different match types, and helps clear the overlap between broad and phrase match keywords. The examples of overlaps that Google gave in their introductory page are clicks and cost – they consider both to help you decide what type of keyword is best for your campaign.
Targeting All Devices
Google AdWords recently launched Enhanced Campaigns, wherein you can create one general campaign and adjust the bids for different devices accordingly. This means you don’t need to do separate keyword research for your desktop and mobile campaigns. In keeping with this, Google does not let you target mobile devices specifically in the new Keyword Planner. Instead, the results you get targets all devices. Google noted that they are currently working on adding a feature that allows you to get traffic estimates by device type, and you can expect that to appear in the near future.
Data Column Changes
When you open the Keyword Planner tool on Google AdWords, you’ll be given three choices right off the bat: searching for keyword or ad group ideas, checking the performance of entered keywords, or creating keyword lists.
Clicking on each allows you to enter customized information about your keyword research. This will lead to the list of keywords, where you will see new and consolidated columns. What’s more striking, though, is what you won’t see:
Replaced / Consolidated
- Local monthly and global monthly searches – These have been consolidated and replaced by the “Average monthly searches” column.
- Ad share – This has been replaced by the column “Ad impressions.”
- Google Search Network – This has been replaced by the network option within the targeting settings. You can select “Google and search partners” at the beginning of your keyword research to get information from the entire Search Network.
- Approx. CPC (Search) – This has been replaced by the “Avg. CPC” column.
Moved
- Local search trends – This no longer appears as a column in the Keyword Planner interface, but is still available two ways: hover over the icon “Avg. monthly searches” or download your historical statistics.
- Extracted from webpage – This also no longer appears in the Keyword Planner interface, but is made available in the downloaded historical statistics. Note, however, that this is only available when you search keywords based on a URL.
Retired
- Search share – This column no longer appears on the interface, and no replacement has been announced.
What This Means for You
We’ve prepared for this change since Google’s announcement last May. Our team is trained in using the new tool to improve your campaigns further and help you reach your target audience more effectively. You can expect updated keyword strategies and more accurate statistics in your reports as we continue evolving with Google.
Talk to your account manager today to learn more about this change. If you’re not yet our partner, sign up for free today to get started. Check back soon for more updates!
