It all started with that tweet from Kathleen Garvin @KGarvSEO that really ticked me off! Not by anything that she said, but by what Google has done!
.@adwords Is there any way to access Google Keyword Planner w/o setting up an AdWords campaign? #AdWords #AdWordsHelp
— Kathleen Garvin (@KGarvSEO) September 9, 2015
As you can read in the tweet, Google has made it mandatory to set up an AdWords campaign in order to use the Google Keyword Planner! …or have they? Read more to find out!
Also on TechWyse
The Uncensored Guide to Building a Keyword List for Beginners
What’s Up with Google’s New Keyword Planner Tool?
I tried it with my Gmail account (having never to run ads on this specific account before) and sure enough, I was brought to this screen:
This is where I encountered the “guided setup.” See that big blue button that says “continue”?
DO NOT CLICK ON THIS BUTTON!
Instead, click on “Skip the guided setup.”
Doing this will take you to Google Keyword Planner without having to set up an actual AdWords Campaign or entering any credit card info!
If you happened to click on continue, you may be out of luck. :( In fact, you won't be able to access the Keyword Planner tool or other parts of your account until your billing information has been added. Although you need to fill in your credit card information, keep in mind that you credit card will not be charged unless you're purchasing ad placements.
However, even if you've clicked the continue button, there is good news that come with a little bit of inconvenience.
You’ll have to create a new Google Account.
To do this go to: https://accounts.google.com/signup
So, there you have it. Hopefully, you’re able to use Google Keyword Planner without a credit card or official AdWords account! SEO FTW!
Special thanks to tipsandtricksforum.com, where I found this neat workaround.
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Its working Thank you so much for helping out
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Nice Thanks
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I’m using KW Planner to maximize keyword pool and then Serpstat for semantic expansion. IMHO Keyword Planner could’ve set few more filters but we still can’t do without it:)
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Thank you SO much. I was ripping my hair out of my head trying to get to the Keyword Planner tool. I almost capitulated and ran a bloody ad just to get to it! Kudos to you for saving me a metric tonne of time that I would have wasted (I already wasted a metric tonne before finding this article)!
Cheers,
Bill
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Thanks for the post, Steve! I’m happy my experience could become a teachable lesson. 🙂 I direct all our new editorial team members to this article before they begin with KP.
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thank you for this descriptive information. Having gone through it, the Adwords keywords tool is not providing any option for phrase search and exact search.
Any other tool to find phrase keywords ?
Thanks
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Found an amazing trick to bypass billing information on Google AdWords, even if you clicked on that continue button, it will surely work.
It’s called “low-speed glitch”. Check it out here
http://tricksbazooka.blogspot.com/2016/04/Google-keyword-planner-without-campaign.html?m=1
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Tried it now — looks like they’ve updated it (it takes you back to setting up first campaign)
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Yes, I just tried doing this as well and it appears that Google has updated it so that you have to set up your campaign before it lets you use the keyword planner.
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Thanks so much!!
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Thank you Thank you Thank you!!!!
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You have NO IDEA how much this has helped me get over a big obstacle. Thank you so much and bless this day!
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So glad I could help you Elena!