AdWords Help

The Keyword Tool allows you to build extensive, relevant keyword lists from one simple interface. Generate keyword ideas, review traffic estimations for existing and new keywords, and add keywords directly to your ad groups.

Here's how to access the Keyword Tool from within one of your ad groups:

1. Sign in to your AdWords account at https://adwords.google.com

2. On the Campaigns tab, click the campaign and ad group to which you'd like to add keywords.

3. Click +Add keywords above the keyword table.

4. You can add keywords right there that have been proposed automatically. For the full tool, click the Keyword Tool link.

5. In the column labeled "How would you like to generate keyword ideas?," use the options labeled Descriptive words or phrases, Website content, or Existing keyword. You can switch between options without losing your work. Detailed instructions for using each option are below.

6. Show or hide columns in the statistics table for each group with the Choose columns to display drop-down menu.

   • Select a column that you'd like to show or hide. After the table updates, you can select another column to show or hide, and so on.
   • Select Show all to see all columns.
   • Select Show defaults to restore the three columns that were showing originally: Advertiser Competition, Last Month's Search Volume, and Avg. Search Volume.

7. If you show the Estimated Ad Position or Estimated Avg. CPC columns, a field labeled Calculate estimates using a different maximum CPC bid will appear. If you leave the field blank, the estimates in these two columns will be based on the maximum cost-per-click (CPC) bid that would likely put your ads in the first, second, or third position on a Google search result page. To see how the estimates change, enter a different maximum CPC and click Recalculate.

8. Build your keyword list in the shaded box.

   • Match Type: Use the drop-down menu in the Match Type column if you'd like to change the match type for all your keyword results. The keywords are a broad match by default.

   • Add: Click Add next to a particular keyword to move it to the keyword list in the shaded box. The keyword will be added as a broad match. If you'd like to add it as a phrase, exact, or negative match, select your preferred match type from the drop-down menu next to Add. Keywords already in your ad group will be marked In ad group, and you won't be able to move them to your keyword list. (Important: Keywords in your account will not be marked if you access the Keyword Tool from the Tools menu or from the external URL. If you access the tool in one of these ways, be careful not to add keywords to an ad group where they already exist. If you do, you'll overwrite the keywords' destination URLs and cost-per-click (CPC) bids.)

   • Add all: Click this link at the bottom of the table to add all keyword results to the shaded box. Remember that you only want to add targeted keywords to your ad group. If the Keyword Tool has given you a long list of keywords that don't all closely relate to your product or service, you most likely do not want to click Add all. Instead, add individual keywords per the instructions above.

   • Remove/Remove all: Click Remove next to each keyword in the shaded box that you no longer wish to include in your ad group. Or, click Remove all to clear all the selected keywords from your ad group.

   • Click Add your own keywords to expand a field and add any more keywords that you think of. Click Add to List when you're done.

   • Click Get more related keywords to generate additional keyword ideas based on the keywords you selected for your ad group. This feature is a useful way to refine your original Keyword Tool results.

9. Download keywords by clicking "text", ".csv (for excel)", or ".csv". You'll need a spreadsheet program to open a .csv file.

10. Select a campaign and ad group where you'd like to save your keywords from the drop-down menu.

11. Click Estimate Search Traffic to see traffic estimates for the keyword list you've built. (This step will take you out of the Keyword Tool. We recommend that you not click Estimate Search Traffic until you've finished building your keyword list.)

    • Click delete next to any keywords you no longer want in your keyword list.
    • Click Save Changes at the bottom of the page when you're happy with your keyword list.
    • Your new keywords will be lost if you click Cancel.

12. If you didn't go to the Estimate Search Traffic page, save your keywords by clicking Save to Ad Group in the shaded box.

"Descriptive words or phrases" option

Choose this option to generate keyword ideas from terms that describe your product or service. This option will be selected for you by default.

1. In the field provided, enter terms describing your product or service. Make sure that you enter only one word or phrase per line. For example, if you sell pies, you might enter the terms:
   home-made pies
   apple pies
   peach pies

2. Leave Use synonyms checked to get the widest range of keyword results. If you uncheck the box, the Keyword Tool will only give results that contain at least one of the terms you entered.

3. Click Filter my results to restrict the keyword ideas that the tool generates.

   • Don't show results that contain the following words or phrases:
     Enter any terms in this field that you would not want in your keywords. For instance, if you sell football jerseys but not basketball jerseys, you may want to enter the word 'basketball' in this field. Enter only one word or phrase per line.
     
   • Don't show keywords in my ad group:
     Check this box if you want the Keyword Tool to parse out keyword results that already exist in your ad group.
     
   • Don't give me suggestions. Only show data for the keywords that I entered:
     Check this box if you'd only like to see information about the keywords you entered and are not looking for new keywords.
     
   • Include adult content in my keyword results:
     Check this box if you'd like to see keyword ideas with adult themes.

4. Click Get Keyword Ideas. The results will be organized in order of relevance to the terms you entered.

5. Follow steps 6 - 12 at the top of the page.

"Website content" option (limited language release)

Choose this option to generate keyword ideas based on the content of any webpage.

1. Enter the full URL of a webpage in the field provided (example: http://www.google.com/index.html). In most cases, we would recommend entering your ad group's destination URL.

2. Check Include other pages on my site linked from this URL if you'd like the Keyword Tool to evaluate other webpages with the same domain that are one link away from the URL. For instance, www.mysite.com/apples has the same domain as www.mysite.com/oranges.

3. Click Or, enter your own text in the box below (optional) if you'd like to enter your own text rather than use a URL. A field will expand in which you can input text relevant to your product or service. For instance, you could enter seasonal marketing or advertising print copy that may not be available on your website for the entire year.

4. Click Filter my results to restrict the keyword ideas that the tool generates.

   • Don't show results that contain the following words or phrases:
     Enter any terms in this field that you would not want in your keywords. For instance, if you sell football jerseys but not basketball jerseys, you may want to enter the word 'basketball' in this field. Enter only one word or phrase per line.
     
   • Don't show keywords in my ad group:
     Check this box if you'd like the Keyword Tool to parse out keyword results that already exist in your ad group.
     
   • Include adult content in my keyword results:
     Check this box if you'd like to see keyword ideas with adult themes.

5. Click Get Keyword Ideas. The results will be organized into groups of related terms. The group most relevant to the webpage you entered will appear first.

6. Follow steps 6 - 12 at the top of the page.

Standalone Keyword Tool

The following external tool offers keyword suggestions without considering your account settings and performance. Use this version of the tool if you don't have an AdWords account or don't wish to sign in to your account.

Here's how to access the tool:

1. Visit https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal.

2. To generate a keyword list, follow the rest of the instructions above as if you were using the in-ad group tool. Here are a few differences to note:

   • There won't be an Existing keyword option.
   • Keywords already in your account won't be marked in the results. Be careful not to add keywords to an ad group where they already exist. If you do, you'll overwrite their assigned destination URLs and cost-per-click (CPC) bids.
   • In the Filter my results section, you won't be able to select Don't show keywords in my ad group.
   • With this version of the tool, you can't add keywords directly to your ad group. If you don't already have an AdWords account but would like to create one, click Sign up with these keywords. Follow the sign-up wizard to create an account. If you already have an AdWords account and would like to add these keywords to one of your ad groups, export your keyword list by clicking text, .csv (for excel), or .csv. Then, copy your exported keywords (Ctrl+C) and paste them (Ctrl+V) into your preferred ad group. See full instructions.