Search for “Google AdWords Keyword Tool” or just visit directly https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal.

Generate Keywords

At this point, we have two choices. We can generate keyword ideas by entering keywords we already know, or we can use the tool to generate ideas based on our site’s current content. Select which you want to do.

1. Descriptive words or phrases
   • Enter the keyword in the appropriate box. Start with the keywords you think are strongest, most descriptive or are most desirable to you. Enter the anti-spam security characters. You can search for more than one keyword at a time, but don’t search for more than 2 or 3, otherwise the results are too confusing to navigate easily. Finally, click Get keyword ideas
     
2. Website content
   • Enter your website URL. In this case, I’m going to search my whole site by checking Include other pages on my site. By contrast, I can also search by individual pages, which is many times preferable. Click Get keyword ideas
     

Either way, you should now have a list of keywords related to the term(s) entered. If you scroll down, you’ll also find additional keywords to consider.

Export

One of the great things about the Google Adwords Keyword Tool is the ease with which you can export the data. Here again, you have two options.

1. Download all keywords. If you scroll down, you’ll see a link for downloading the whole list as a text or .csv file. Click on your preferred method, and all the data will export into a file with which you can work.
   
2. Download selected keywords. You can create a custom list of keywords manually. Click the Add link in the far right column.

   The keywords you select will appear in a list on the right side of the screen, in a pale green box. When you’re ready, click the appropriate link to download the keywords. However, there’s a big disadvantage to going this route: when you download these keywords, all you get is the list of keywords. You lose the additional search volume and competition info.

Sometimes it’s simplest just to browse through the list, identify the handful that interest you and enter them onto your spreadsheet manually.

Don’t worry about the box Sign up with these keywords. That’s if you want to create a pay-per-click ad campaign with Google AdWords. I’ll cover that in a future post; today we’re just interested in research.

Video tutorial

Here’s a nice video resource for the Google AdWords Keyword Tool. It provides a basic introduction to doing keyword research with the Google AdWords Keyword Tool (about 7 minutes long).

“How to Do Keyword Research With Google AdWords Keyword Tool” by InterMarketingSmarts: