What Is Google Ads Keyword Planner?
Google Ads Keyword Planner is a free tool inside Google Ads that helps you discover keywords people are searching for, see how often they're searched, and estimate how much they'll cost per click. It's the starting point for any Google Ads campaign because it tells you what your potential customers are actually typing into Google.
The tool has two main modes: "Discover new keywords" (type in a service or URL and get keyword suggestions) and "Get search volume and forecasts" (paste keywords you already have and see their estimated performance). Both are useful, but most people start with discovery.
One important clarification: Keyword Planner costs nothing to use, but you need a Google Ads account, and Google says you must complete account setup, including billing information, to reach its basic features (Google Ads Help). You don't have to run a campaign. Since 2016, Google has said that advertisers with lower monthly spend may see ranges such as "1K-10K" instead of a single search volume (Search Engine Land). More on that limitation later.
How Do I Access Keyword Planner for Free?
You can access Keyword Planner by creating a Google Ads account, completing the account setup (including billing details), and opening Tools > Planning > Keyword Planner. You do not need to launch a campaign.
Here's the step-by-step:
- Go to ads.google.com and click "Start now"
- If the setup flow asks you to create a campaign, look for the option to skip it
- Fill in your business info (country, time zone, currency) and your billing details
- In your Google Ads account, open the Tools menu
- Under "Planning," click Keyword Planner
Google changes the sign-up screens from time to time, so the exact button names may differ.
That's it. You now have the same Keyword Planner that agencies use. The main difference for a new, low-spend account is that you may see search volume ranges instead of single numbers.
How Do I Search for Keywords in Keyword Planner?
Click "Discover new keywords," then choose between entering keywords or a URL. For local service businesses, entering a few specific phrases about your services works better than one broad word.
For example, if you're a plumber in Denver, type:
- "plumber Denver"
- "emergency plumber"
- "water heater repair"
Keyword Planner will return a long list of related keywords with metrics for each. Here's how to read the results table, using Google's own definitions (Google Ads Help):
| Metric | What It Means | What to Look For |
|---|---|---|
| Avg. monthly searches | Average searches for the keyword and its close variants, for your chosen locations, over the selected months | Enough local volume to matter for the jobs you want |
| Competition | How many advertisers showed on the keyword compared with all keywords on Google (Low/Medium/High) | High competition usually means other businesses find it worth paying for, so expect higher bids |
| Top of page bid (low range) | Roughly the 20th percentile of what advertisers have historically bid to show at the top of the page | The low end of what top-of-page placement has cost |
| Top of page bid (high range) | Roughly the 80th percentile of those historical top-of-page bids | The high end; it is a bid estimate, not your average CPC |
Pro Tip: Start With Your Services, Not Your Industry
A common mistake is searching for broad industry terms like "plumber" or "landscaping." These return thousands of irrelevant keywords mixed in with the good ones. Instead, search for specific services:
- Instead of "dentist" → search "teeth whitening [city]", "dental implant cost", "emergency dentist"
- Instead of "HVAC" → search "AC repair [city]", "furnace installation cost", "HVAC tune-up"
- Instead of "lawyer" → search "personal injury lawyer [city]", "DUI attorney", "divorce lawyer near me"
This gives you a more focused list of keywords that actually match what your customers search for.
How Do I Filter Keywords by Location?
Location filtering is critical for local service businesses because national search volume numbers are meaningless if you only serve one city. You can filter by country, state, city, or even zip code.
In Keyword Planner:
- Look for the location filter at the top of the results page (it defaults to your country)
- Click it and type your target city, metro area, or state
- Click "Save", all search volumes and bid estimates will update to reflect your local market
Here is what that looks like with real numbers. These are Google Keyword Planner results that we pulled for the city of Denver on September 11, 2026 (our own harvest for our trade pages; average monthly searches and top-of-page bid range):
| Keyword (Denver) | Avg. monthly searches | Top of page bid range |
|---|---|---|
| "plumbers near me" | 2,900 | $48.00 to $133.01 |
| "plumber" | 2,400 | $47.66 to $136.00 |
| "emergency plumber near me" | 480 | $60.80 to $152.73 |
| "water heater repair" | 480 | $39.52 to $120.00 |
| "emergency plumber" | 320 | $84.63 to $212.50 |
| "water heater repair near me" | 260 | $24.88 to $103.66 |
If you're a plumber in Denver, national numbers tell you nothing; this is your market. A keyword with 480 searches a month is about 16 searches a day, which is plenty for a single local business to build an ad group around. The bid ranges also show why the emergency terms need their own budget.
Also filter by language if you serve bilingual markets. In cities with large Spanish-speaking populations, run the same research with the language set to Spanish; the volumes and bids are reported separately and are worth checking before you assume they are small.
How Do I Find Negative Keywords Using Keyword Planner?
Negative keywords are search terms you don't want your ads to show for. Keyword Planner is one of the best tools for building your negative keyword list because it shows you exactly what Google associates with your service terms, including the irrelevant stuff.
When you run a keyword discovery search, scroll through the results and look for keywords that match these patterns:
Common negative keyword categories for local services:
| Category | Examples | Why Exclude |
|---|---|---|
| Job seekers | "plumber jobs", "HVAC technician salary", "electrician apprentice" | People looking for employment, not services |
| DIY/How-to | "how to fix leaky faucet", "DIY electrical wiring", "unclog drain yourself" | People who won't hire you |
| Education | "plumbing school", "HVAC certification", "electrician license" | Students, not customers |
| Products | "plumbing supplies", "HVAC filters", "electrical wire" | Shopping for parts, not service |
| Other locations | City names outside your service area | Wasted clicks from non-serviceable areas |
| Unrelated services | "drain cleaning" (if you don't offer it), "pool plumbing" | Services you don't provide |
How to Build Your Negative Keyword List
- Run your keyword discovery search
- Sort by "Avg. monthly searches" descending, the high-volume irrelevant terms are the most dangerous
- Scan for any keyword that doesn't represent a paying customer
- Export the results to a spreadsheet (download button at top right)
- Mark irrelevant keywords and add them to your campaign's negative keyword list
A large share of the suggestions for any local service search are job seekers, DIY searchers and shoppers. If you skip this step, part of your budget goes to clicks that can never become customers.
For a pre-built negative keyword list for common service industries, check out our free Negative Keywords Tool, which lists the most common waste terms for local service trades.
How Do I Group Keywords by Theme?
Keyword Planner has built-in grouping (the "Refine keywords" categories, and an "Organize keywords into ad groups" option in English), but I find it unreliable for local services. It groups by semantic similarity, which often creates categories that don't match how you'd structure a real campaign. Manual grouping by service type and intent is better.
Here's the process I recommend:
- Export your keyword list from Keyword Planner to a spreadsheet
- Create columns for: Service Type, Intent Level (emergency/scheduled/research), and Include/Exclude
- Group by service type first, these become your ad groups
- Within each group, prioritize by intent, "emergency plumber near me" > "plumber" > "plumbing tips"
- Keep each ad group small, enough variety to capture traffic, tight enough for relevant ad copy
Each keyword group should be specific enough that you can write one ad that's relevant to every keyword in the group. If you can't, the group is too broad, split it.
For example, these should be separate ad groups:
| Ad Group | Keywords |
|---|---|
| Water Heater Repair | "water heater repair near me", "hot water heater not working", "water heater leaking" |
| Water Heater Installation | "new water heater installation cost", "tankless water heater install", "water heater replacement" |
Even though both are "water heater" keywords, the intent is different (repair vs. replace), the ad copy should be different, and the landing pages should be different.
What Are the Limitations of Keyword Planner?
Keyword Planner is useful but has significant limitations that you should be aware of. Understanding these will prevent you from making decisions based on incomplete data.
1. Search volume ranges instead of exact numbers. Google's own wording is that advertisers with lower monthly spend "may see a limited data view", with buckets like 1K-10K or 10K-100K (Search Engine Land). The difference between 1,000 and 10,000 searches is enormous. Running campaigns generally gets you more precise numbers, and even then they're rounded.
2. It groups similar keywords together. Google says average monthly searches cover a keyword and its close variants (Google Ads Help), so "plumber near me" and "plumbers near me" can show the same combined number. That makes individual keyword estimates less reliable.
3. Competition means advertiser competition, not ranking difficulty. "Competition: Low" doesn't mean the keyword is easy to rank for, it means few advertisers bid on it. This could mean it's an untapped opportunity, or it could mean the keyword doesn't convert well enough for other advertisers to bother.
4. Bid estimates are not your CPC. The "top of page bid" columns are historical bid ranges across advertisers, not a quote. Your actual CPC depends on your ad quality, the competitors in each auction and your market, so treat the estimates as a starting point for budgeting.
5. No conversion data. Keyword Planner tells you how many people search for a keyword, but not how many of those searches turn into customers. As a made-up example, a keyword with 10,000 searches that converts 0.5% of the time produces fewer customers than one with 500 searches that converts 15% of the time.
| Limitation | Impact | Workaround |
|---|---|---|
| Volume ranges | Can't distinguish 1K from 10K | Run a small campaign to unlock better data, or use third-party tools |
| Grouped volumes | Individual keyword estimates inflated | Look at the group, not individual keywords |
| Competition metric | Misleading about keyword value | Ignore "Low/Medium/High", focus on bid estimates instead |
| Bid estimate accuracy | Budget planning is approximate | Leave room in the budget and check real CPCs after launch |
| No conversion data | Can't predict ROI from volumes alone | Use published benchmarks to start: LocaliQ's 2025 home services median conversion rate was 7.33%, ranging from 3.70% for roofing to 17.65% for cleaning (LocaliQ) |
Are There Better Alternatives to Keyword Planner?
Keyword Planner is a solid starting point, but it's not the only keyword research tool. Several alternatives provide data that Keyword Planner doesn't, particularly exact search volumes, keyword difficulty scores, and competitor analysis.
Free alternatives:
- Google Search Console, Shows exact queries driving traffic to your site (if you have one). Real data, not estimates.
- Google Trends, Shows relative search interest over time. Great for seasonal planning.
- AnswerThePublic, Shows questions people ask around your keywords. Good for content and ad copy ideas.
Paid alternatives:
- Semrush, keyword volumes, keyword difficulty and competitor keyword research. Widely used, and priced for marketers rather than owners.
- Ahrefs, similar to Semrush with strong backlink data, and its own volume estimates.
- Ubersuggest, a lower-cost option with basic volume data.
Check each vendor's current pricing; it changes often, and all three estimate volumes from their own data rather than Google's.
My honest recommendation: For most single-location local service businesses, Keyword Planner is sufficient when combined with Google Search Console and common sense. The paid tools become worth it when you're managing multiple campaigns across multiple markets and need competitive intelligence.
The biggest gap in Keyword Planner is the lack of conversion data. That's why I always recommend running a small test campaign as soon as you can. Real campaign data from your own account, actual CPCs, actual conversion rates, actual cost per lead, is worth more than any tool's estimates.
How Often Should I Use Keyword Planner?
You should use Keyword Planner when you first set up campaigns, then revisit it quarterly. Search behavior changes with seasons, trends, and new competitors entering your market. A keyword's volume can rise or fall a lot from one year to the next.
A quarterly keyword review involves:
- Re-running your core service keywords to check for volume changes
- Looking for new keyword suggestions you haven't targeted
- Checking bid estimates against what you're actually paying (if CPCs have risen significantly, you may need to adjust budgets)
- Reviewing your search terms report in Google Ads for real queries that should become new keywords or negatives
Keyword Planner is a research tool, not a management tool. It tells you what people are searching for, but it doesn't manage your bids, write your ads, or track your conversions. For that, you need either manual campaign management, an agency, or a tool like VibeAds, whose agent reviews your account twice a day on Pro and Max and recommends optimizations based on real performance data rather than Keyword Planner estimates.