Google Adwords Keyword Tool is Replaced by Keyword Planner Tool

I’ve used the  external Google Adwords Keyword Tool (GAKT) for many years to research keyword metrics before buying keyword domain names. Not only did the GAKT let me know the approximate number of monthly searches for specific keywords and terms, but it also suggested similar search terms. I know many domain investors used GAKT for research, and Google has killed it off.

When I visited GAKT this morning, I was sent to a page with the following message at the top “Keyword Planner has replaced Keyword Tool.” The page explained how the Keyword Planner tool is taking over for the Google Adwords Keyword Tool.

I learned about this change a few months ago when Google announced that it would be happening. The company didn’t set a date for GAKT’s demise, but apparently this happened very recently.

Prior to GAKT, I used the Overture Keyword Tool, and that tool was taken down by Yahoo several years ago. With that in mind, I am sure I will figure out how the Keyword Planner tool will be helpful to my research, and hopefully it will be an improvement over GAKT. Time will tell though.

Good bye GAKT, it was nice knowing you!

Elliot Silver
Elliot Silver
About The Author: Elliot Silver is an Internet entrepreneur and publisher of DomainInvesting.com. Elliot is also the founder and President of Top Notch Domains, LLC, a company that has closed eight figures in deals. Please read the DomainInvesting.com Terms of Use page for additional information about the publisher, website comment policy, disclosures, and conflicts of interest. Reach out to Elliot: Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn

24 COMMENTS

  1. Sucks that things change and nothing is forever. Here today. Gone tomorrow.
    That’s life on the Internet.

    Going to miss the GAK tool. 🙁

  2. In terms of shear speed, GAKT beats the Keyword Planner. The planner has more in-depth stats but easy of use and speed to get through large lists of keywords goes to GAKT.

    Best would have been to have both tools. Wouldn’t be surprised if we see GAKT it back sometime in the future.

  3. I noticed that too.
    Once you dig into the new Keyword Planner it seems to be just like the GAKT, which is/was an invaluable resource.

    The Keyword Planner seems to have more options, which I don’t need… I prefer the simplicity of the old GAKT, but this seems to work just like it.

    Aron

  4. It does give the same results with added features, but the main deal you’re all looking for does take a crazy number extra steps though.

    Really not nice..

    How to get there..

    Need to go to:

    1. Tools and Analysis

    2. Keyword Planner

    3. What would you like to do?

    4. Search for keyword and adgroup ideas

    5. Enter one or more of the following:
    (choose) Your product or service

    7. (YES – FINALLY) – Enter your keyword –

    8. (Modify targeting options below)

    9. (Click) Get ideas

    10.(Click – What you’ve been waiting for – the actual results) Keyword ideas.

    So about 10 steps in the new way as opposed to maybe 2 or 3 in the old way.

    One thing though, do not use Internet Explorer 10. The new Keyword Tools will definitely not work correctly, as it does not work correctly for many other websites.

    Need to use Chrome, that works for me. Don’t know about the other browsers.

    Not sure if what I wrote is clear, but the steps are in the order needed to get the results you’re looking to find.

    Best of luck…!!!

  5. I have been using the new Keyword planner for a while now and it totally SUCKS.

    The screen layout is just AWFUL and none of the workflows actually FLOW.

    I really hope they bring back the Google Keyword Tool

    For now in protest I am booking loads of ads on Facebook and Bing, I can’t live without Google but I have 112 client accounts and I can change their budgets as I see fit.

    Facebook has turned out to be quite lucrative so am going to increase spend there.

    Bing seems to be good for seniors who do not change their PC settings to Google as the default search engine.

    I am sure I will not dent their 30bn profit but the more they piss people off like this the more people will use every opportunity to punish them.

  6. They never go back when they take a decision. They always talk about the user but the interface is much less user-friendly.

  7. *

    Google is known for taking beautiful simplicity and turning it into a laden-featured mess, filled with bells and whistles, including double and even triple clicking to get where the user wants to go.

    The boys and girls over at Google tech are having a blast, but at the expense of the user.

    🙁

    *

  8. What a total mess! I found GAKT so very useful. I don’t like the new Keyword Planner. It’s so clunky and user-UNfriendly. Does anyone know of a good free alternative? And if I find one in the meantime, I’ll let you all know. 🙂

  9. The keyword planner has a consistency problem. I checked again a list of keywords I checked some days before in the old tool and the search volumes I received do not match the previous numbers. Sometimes they are mixing exact and broad numbers as well as global and local.

    The numbers the planner now offers are a bit weird. Sorry, this tool is still alpha/beta!

    • Here are some notes regarding your issue:

      – The Keyword Planner by default will always return “Exact Match” and you wouldn’t be able to get the Broad and Phrase match unless you tried to get clicks estimate for your keyword(s).

      – Keyword Planner is returning search data from all devices combined (Laptops, Desktops, Smartphones, Tablets, …) however the old Keyword Tool used to return Laptops & Desktops data only by default. ATM, you can’t specify devices.

      – Keyword Planner isn’t mixing Global and Local, you can either return “All locations” which equals to Global in the old Keyword Tool or specify a location by country, state or city.

  10. Keyword Planner is difficult to use. Requires more steps. I still can’t figure out how to use the menu to select and do a broad match. I need both Exact Match and Broad Match.

  11. Keyword Tool was 100 times better than Keywords Planner in terms of usability and results. Google is trying to serve better to PPC Advertisers and it seems that they don’t care anymore for SEOs particularly.

    I feel it’s high time for all Online Marketer’s to look for Google alternative as sometimes feel like we are overly dependent on Google for our business. Even though Google has given us so many things, it seems that they don’t care for their users anymore.

  12. Marketers and SEOers in particular are Google’s competition, they want all focus to be on Adwords.
    The issue is that the new tool is worse for advertisers as well. I had to create macros to avoid so many clicks.

  13. Google have some really really strange ways of promoting their products. They develop stuff only to shut things down and many products arent available in the background you wouldnt know existed. Some dont even make the list of their “front” pages. Why don’t they focus on keyword tool that focuses on the needs of AUTHORS not advertisers. RIP GKWT you will be missed and i am for one really pissed.

Comments are closed.

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