The Free Google Tool That Tells You Exactly What Your Customers Are Searching For (And How Hard It Will Be to Reach Them)

Here's an uncomfortable truth: most small business owners are guessing when it comes to their online marketing. They pick keywords based on gut instinct, spend money on ads that target phrases nobody actually searches, and wonder why their website sits on page seven of Google results while competitors dominate the first page.

Meanwhile, Google has been offering a free tool for over a decade that answers the exact questions you need answered: What are people actually searching for? How competitive is each keyword? And—here's the part most people miss—how much would it cost to show up at the top of the page versus the bottom?

That tool is Google Keyword Planner, buried inside the Google Ads platform. And while it was designed for advertisers, it's secretly one of the most powerful free research tools available to any business owner who wants to understand their market—whether or not they ever spend a dime on ads.

This guide will show you how to access Keyword Planner without running an active campaign, decode the competitive signals hidden in its data (specifically those "top of page" and "bottom of page" bid estimates), and build a keyword strategy that actually reflects how your customers search—not how you think they search.

Getting Access: Your Free Ticket to Professional-Grade Keyword Data

The first hurdle most people face is simply getting into Keyword Planner. Google doesn't exactly advertise that you can use it without spending money. Here's how to set yourself up properly.

Navigate to ads.google.com and sign in with your Google account (or create one if you haven't). Google will try to walk you through creating your first campaign—this is where most people either give up or start spending money prematurely. Look for the option to "Switch to Expert Mode" at the bottom of the setup screen. Click it.

In Expert Mode, you'll see an option to create an account without a campaign. Select this. Google will ask for billing information at some point—you can add a payment method without actually running ads. Your card won't be charged unless you deliberately launch and fund a campaign.

Once your account is set up, click the "Tools & Settings" icon (the wrench) in the top navigation, then select "Keyword Planner" under the Planning section. You now have access to the same research tool that marketing agencies charge clients thousands of dollars to use.

A note about data accuracy: Google provides more detailed keyword data to accounts that are actively spending money. If you've never run ads, you'll see search volume ranges (like "1K-10K") rather than exact numbers. This is still useful—more useful than guessing—but keep it in mind. Running even a small campaign ($5-10) for a week or two can unlock more precise data if you need it.

Decoding the Data: What Keyword Planner Actually Tells You

When you enter a seed keyword—say, "coffee shop near me" if you run a café—Keyword Planner returns a table of related keywords with several columns. Most people focus exclusively on search volume (how many times per month a term is searched). That's a mistake. The competitive intelligence is hiding in the columns most people ignore.

Search Volume: Important, But Not Everything

Search volume tells you demand. A keyword with 10,000 monthly searches has more potential traffic than one with 100 searches. But here's what volume doesn't tell you: whether those searchers are actually looking to buy, whether you have any realistic chance of ranking for that term, or whether the competition is so fierce that showing up would cost more than you'd ever make back.

High-volume keywords are seductive but often misleading. "Coffee" might get millions of searches, but someone typing "coffee" could be looking for recipes, history, health effects, or images. "Best espresso machine under $200" has far fewer searches but represents someone actively ready to spend money.

Competition Rating: The Simplified View

Keyword Planner shows a "Competition" column with values of Low, Medium, or High. This specifically measures how many advertisers are bidding on a keyword in Google Ads—not how difficult it would be to rank organically. A keyword with "Low" competition means few advertisers are buying ads for it, which could indicate an opportunity... or it could mean advertisers have learned that keyword doesn't convert well.

Use this metric as a starting point, but don't stop here. The real insight comes from the bid estimates.

Top of Page Bid vs. Bottom of Page Bid: The Hidden Intelligence

This is where Keyword Planner gets genuinely powerful—and where most small business owners have never looked.

For each keyword, Google shows two bid estimates: what you'd likely need to pay to appear at the top of the search results page, and what you'd need to pay to appear at the bottom. These numbers represent the actual money advertisers are willing to spend to reach people searching that term. And that makes them an incredibly accurate proxy for commercial value.

Consider what these numbers reveal:

High top-of-page bid (e.g., $15-50+): Advertisers have tested this keyword and found it converts—they're willing to pay premium prices because the customers are valuable. This is a commercial keyword with serious buying intent.

Low top-of-page bid (e.g., under $2): Either the keyword doesn't convert well, the industry has low margins, or there's an untapped opportunity that competitors haven't discovered yet.

Large gap between top and bottom bids: Position matters enormously for this keyword. The difference between showing up first versus fourth could dramatically impact your results.

Small gap between top and bottom bids: The auction is less competitive, or position matters less. You might be able to get nearly top-of-page results while bidding closer to bottom-of-page rates.

Here's an example that illustrates why this matters: Suppose you run a local plumbing business. "Plumber" might show a top-of-page bid of $25 and a bottom-of-page bid of $8. "Emergency plumber near me" might show $45 top-of-page and $35 bottom-of-page. That second keyword costs more, but the tight gap and high bids tell you something important: advertisers fight hard for it because those searchers are desperate and ready to hire immediately. That's a keyword worth targeting, whether through ads or organic content.

Finding Golden Keywords: The Art of Competitive Gap Analysis

Now that you understand what the data means, let's build a systematic approach to finding keywords that balance opportunity with achievability.

Step 1: Start With Your Seed Keywords

Enter 5-10 seed keywords that describe your business, products, or services. Don't overthink this—use the terms your customers use when they call or email you. If you sell handmade soap, your seeds might include "handmade soap," "natural soap," "organic skincare," and "artisan bath products."

You can also enter your website URL or a competitor's URL, and Keyword Planner will suggest keywords based on the site content. This is particularly useful for discovering terms you might not have considered.

Step 2: Export and Analyze the Results

Keyword Planner will generate hundreds or thousands of related keywords. Download the full list as a CSV or Google Sheets file. Working in a spreadsheet lets you sort, filter, and annotate—something the Keyword Planner interface makes frustratingly difficult.

Create additional columns in your spreadsheet for:

Bid Ratio (Top of Page Bid ÷ Bottom of Page Bid)

Intent Category (informational, commercial, transactional, navigational)

Relevance Score (your subjective rating of how well this keyword matches your actual offerings)

Step 3: Apply the Golden Keyword Filters

The keywords worth pursuing typically share these characteristics:

Meaningful search volume: Enough people search the term to matter for your business. For a local business, 100 monthly searches might be plenty. For an e-commerce store serving a national market, you might need 1,000+.

Moderate competition with high bids: A keyword showing "Medium" competition but a $20+ top-of-page bid suggests commercial value without impossibly fierce competition. Advertisers find it profitable, but it's not so saturated that only the biggest players can compete.

Clear commercial intent: Keywords containing words like "buy," "best," "review," "near me," "for sale," or "service" typically indicate someone ready to make a decision, not just browse.

Direct relevance to your offerings: A keyword can hit all the right metrics and still be wrong for you if you can't genuinely serve that searcher's need.

Step 4: Identify the Low-Competition Opportunities

Sort your spreadsheet by the Bid Ratio column you created. Keywords with a low ratio (close to 1.0) represent opportunities where position matters less—you can compete for these terms without needing the biggest budget.

Also look for long-tail variations—longer, more specific phrases—that have decent search volume but significantly lower bids than the broader terms. "Coffee shop" might be brutally competitive, while "quiet coffee shop with wifi downtown [your city]" could be wide open.

From Research to Action: Building Your Keyword Campaign

Data without action is just trivia. Here's how to turn your keyword research into actual results.

For Paid Search (Google Ads)

Group your keywords into tightly themed ad groups. Each group should contain keywords that would logically point to the same landing page and be served by the same ad copy. If someone searches "emergency AC repair" and someone else searches "HVAC maintenance plan," they need different ads and different landing pages—those belong in separate groups.

Use the top-of-page bid estimates to set realistic starting bids. If the top-of-page bid is $15, starting at $2 will get you nowhere. Start near the bottom-of-page bid estimate, then optimize based on actual performance data.

For keywords with large bid gaps (where top-of-page costs significantly more than bottom-of-page), test whether bottom-of-page positions actually work for your goals. Sometimes position 3 or 4 converts nearly as well as position 1 at a fraction of the cost.

For Organic Search (SEO)

The bid data from Keyword Planner translates directly to content priorities. Keywords with high commercial bid values deserve dedicated landing pages or detailed blog posts. A keyword worth $30 in ads is worth investing time to rank for organically.

Create a content calendar based on your keyword clusters. For each primary keyword, plan:

A pillar page (comprehensive coverage of the main topic)

Supporting articles targeting related long-tail keywords

Internal links connecting related content

Don't ignore keywords with lower bid values entirely. "Low bid" often means less competition, which could mean faster organic ranking wins. A collection of 10 keywords each bringing 50 visitors adds up to meaningful traffic.

For Local Businesses

Add location modifiers to your research. Run separate keyword analyses for "[your service] [your city]," "[your service] near me," and "best [your service] in [your area]." Local intent keywords often have dramatically different competitive landscapes than their generic equivalents.

The geographic settings in Keyword Planner let you filter results for your specific service area. A keyword might have huge volume nationally but modest volume in your metro area—or vice versa. Make sure you're seeing data relevant to where your customers actually are.

Advanced Moves: Getting More From Keyword Planner

Once you've mastered the basics, these techniques can sharpen your competitive edge.

Competitor URL Analysis

Instead of entering keywords, paste your competitor's website URL into Keyword Planner. Google will show you keywords it associates with that site—essentially revealing what your competitors are targeting. Compare these lists across three or four competitors to spot patterns and gaps.

Pay special attention to keywords that appear in competitor analyses but didn't appear in your own seed keyword research. These might represent market opportunities you hadn't considered.

Seasonal Trend Analysis

Keyword Planner shows historical search volume trends. Look for seasonality in your keywords—some businesses see dramatic swings based on time of year, holidays, or events. "Tax accountant" spikes every January through April. "Snow removal service" peaks in late fall. Understanding these patterns lets you time your campaigns for maximum impact.

Plan your content calendar 2-3 months ahead of seasonal peaks. Content takes time to rank organically; ads should launch as demand begins rising, not after it's peaked.

Device and Location Segmentation

Use Keyword Planner's targeting options to segment your research by device (mobile vs. desktop) and location. Mobile searchers often have different intent than desktop searchers—mobile queries tend to be more immediate and location-focused. If your business serves mobile customers (restaurants, emergency services, retail stores), prioritize keywords that perform well on mobile devices.

Combining With Free Tools

Keyword Planner works even better alongside other free tools:

Google Search Console: Shows which keywords are already bringing people to your site. Cross-reference this with Keyword Planner data to find keywords where you're ranking but could improve.

Google Trends: Provides more granular trend data and shows related queries that are rising in popularity. Great for spotting emerging opportunities before competitors notice them.

AnswerThePublic (free tier): Generates question-format keywords based on your seed terms. "How to," "what is," and "best way to" queries make excellent blog post topics.

Key Takeaways

Top-of-page and bottom-of-page bid estimates reveal commercial value better than any other metric. High bids mean advertisers have proven these keywords make money—that intelligence transfers directly to your strategy.

The bid gap tells you how competitive position really is. A small gap means you can compete at lower positions; a large gap means you'll need to pay for prominence or find alternative keywords.

"Competition" rating measures advertiser density, not ranking difficulty. Low competition with high bids often signals an opportunity—valuable keywords that haven't attracted a crowd of advertisers yet.

Keyword research informs both paid and organic strategy. Keywords worth paying for are worth creating content for. Don't treat ads and SEO as separate activities.

Competitor URL analysis reveals targeting gaps. See what keywords Google associates with your competitors, then ask yourself why you're not targeting those same terms.

Long-tail keywords compound into significant traffic. One keyword with 10,000 searches is harder to rank for than fifty keywords with 200 searches each—and the total traffic is the same.

Free tools exist—use them. Keyword Planner combined with Search Console and Google Trends gives you 80% of what expensive marketing tools provide.

Conclusion

Most small business owners approach keyword research backward. They start with what they want to be found for, rather than what their customers are actually searching. They look at search volume without asking whether those searchers have any intention of buying. They ignore the competitive signals that experienced advertisers have spent millions of dollars discovering.

Google Keyword Planner gives you access to all of this intelligence for free. The top-of-page and bottom-of-page bid estimates aren't just numbers for setting ad budgets—they're a real-time map of commercial intent, drawn by advertisers who've already tested what works.

The question isn't whether this data is valuable. The question is why you'd make another marketing decision without looking at it first.

What keyword assumptions have you been making that this data might challenge?