On a campaign with Google Search, Plan keywords asks Google's Keyword Planner for ideas from your page and your seed words, with real monthly searches, competition and bid ranges. The AI then groups them into tightly themed ad groups and chooses match types. A keyword Google did not supply is never added.
- Switch any keyword on or off.
- Add your own keyword to any group, with exact, phrase or broad match.
- Negatives: a starter list of words that waste money (free, jobs, salary, and so on), the AI's suggestions from your page, and your own.
- Your customers' own words from the Support Desk and Surveys help find better keywords and negatives.
ADs suggests a starting daily budget and maximum cost per click from Google's own bid ranges for your keywords. Without bid data it shows no made-up number.
Searches, competition and bids empty? Google shares those numbers only through Keyword Planner, and until Google approves your direct connection (it starts on Test access) the keywords are suggested by AI without them. Your Google Ads account has Keyword Planner, so bring Google's numbers in yourself, free:
- Press Copy all keywords (in the box above the keyword tables).
- Open Keyword Planner, choose Get search volume and forecasts, paste, and press Get started.
- At the top of the plan, set the location and language to the same as your campaign (ADs shows which), so the numbers are for the right people.
- Press the Download arrow at the top right of the plan and choose Plan historical metrics, as .csv. Not Plan forecasts: that file has estimated clicks and costs, not search numbers, and ADs says so if you upload it.
- Upload the file in ADs and press Add Google's numbers.
A new or small Google Ads account sees ranges such as 1K to 10K instead of exact numbers; those come in as ranges. With Google's bids in, the budget suggestion appears too.
Your bid: empty means the keyword bids its ad group's bid, or the campaign's max cost per click; the greyed number in the box shows which. With automatic bidding Google sets it.