How Do I Find Out How Much a Keyword Costs?

How do you find out much a keyword costs? This article will help you learn how to find out the costs of various keywords. There are free keyword research tools to help you learn the keyword research cost. We will give you all the keys for determining the cost of a keyword. Knowing the cost of keywords can help you plan your Google Ads budget. Whether you need help with keyword suggestions for your blog posts, the Google Ads experts at SEO Design Chicago can help.

What are Keywords?

It doesn’t matter if a business’ product or service is the best in the world. Keywords build the bridge between business and consumers. In other words, optimizing these keywords are vital as they are a direct connection with consumers and businesses.

Typically, keywords are words that the common person would know to search online. Even if it’s a niche business or product, the keywords can be carefully constructed to suit that audience. Based on accessible results alone, proper keyword optimization can help build brand awareness, show credibility, and gain new eyes to fall in love with your products- or reconnect with loyal customers.

You may be wondering, “How do I find how much a keyword costs?” but in order to find out price points, you need to know which keywords you intend to use.

Keyword Research

Let’s start brainstorming some possible keywords ideas. What describes your business? What services do you provide? How about the kinds of products you offer?

In those general categories, write down some more related terms. For example, the initial keyword might be clothes. Related terms may pertain to the quality of fabrics, material used, type of fit, etc.

Whatever those keywords may be, their relevance needs to be maintained by your services or products. There is so much freedom of choice when selecting keywords. In this context, quality over quantity is more important to sustain the likelihood of a positive user experience.

You also might try coming up with some long tail keywords. Though they get less traffic, they have a higher conversion value.

And speaking of traffic, you can use an Google AdWords Price Estimator to help you find out how much traffic you can expect.

Google Keyword Planner

Do you need help finding keywords? Within the Google Ads platform, there is an integrated tool called the Google Keyword Planner. Based on its own search engine data, the resource is a great way to check or expand your list of keywords.

How It Works

As previously stated, the Google Keyword Planner comes with a Google Ads account.

1. Find the tool there and create a keyword plan.
2. Then, discover more keywords by inputting one of your phrases or terms into its search bar. There, results along with additional information, that will be later discussed in this article, will popup.
3. There’s an option to add these keywords to your plan to later be used in your final ad campaign.

Types of Keywords Categories

There’s different types of keyword categories that a business can choose from. On Google, they offer broad match, phrase match, and exact match.

Broad Match

A broad match is the default, generalized strategy. Search engines will prompt your ads to any related keywords as your designated ones. The broad match reaches a wider traffic because of its inclusive qualities. On the downside, the generality might hinder a user’s browsing experiences if they’re looking for something specific.

Modified Broad Match 

The modified broad match allows for the same qualities as the broad match and a bit more specificity. Businesses can mark additional words, through “+” signs, indicating that certain keywords are relevant to certain products.

There’s also another tool called negative keywords where keywords are purposefully excluded. This would help with narrowing your general audience down.

Phrase Match

A phrase match gets more specific than both modified broad matches. Ads will show for searches that pertain to its integrity to your imputed keywords. Google notes there can be variations of the phrase but that the ads wont for search terms that have an alleged different user intent.

Exact Match 

An exact match is verbatim keyword searches. Spelling and grammar errors are excused. However, the searches would need to contain close variants. Businesses can benefit from its limiting traits if prospects are looking for a very niche item or service.

Benefits of the Google Keyword Planner

Beyond just planning keywords, the Google Keyword Planner provides the necessary in-depth research to optimize their search engine. In addition to the data helping with time and risk management, there are also other great benefits.

Insights 

When you input a keyword into the planner tool, other keywords will pop up as well. In their associated boxes, Google provides the following performance insights for the relevant terms:

• Average monthly searches
• Competition – Google ranks it by low, medium, or high
• Bids — low and high page range

Volume and Forecast

Alongside the insights, they also provide an actual statistical analysis:

• Clicks: How many times an ad is clicked on. Click-through rate, also abbreviated as CTR, measures this. CTR is an indicator as to whether or not an ad is appealing enough for someone to decide to engage with it.
• Impressions: Abbreviated as IMPR, reports how many times the ad is shown. However, this doesn’t mean someone has interacted with it. Impressions are just a recording of what’s on the screen and if someone passes it.
• Monthly Costs: Based on a proposed budget
• Average Cost-Per-Click (CPC)
• Average Position: How the simulated forecast ranks against other businesses

In this context, you can see what your competitors are doing, depending on the level of bids and their scarcity.

Budget

Google Ads campaigns allows for you to customize your own budgets. With this flexibility, you can adjust the maximum amount of money that you’re willing to pay for a CPC.

Budgeting really becomes the art of balancing finances and strategies. For example, going above the average cost-per-click can lead to more conversions because you’re paying for more spotlight than other companies.

Timely Data

Relevant keywords and even forecasts are updated on a relatively frequent basis. The numbers are updated on a seven to ten day basis.

Audience Targeting 

When looking at keyword relevance and the forecast, the location can be narrowed down from whole countries to an individual state level. This tool helps identify which keywords perform best geographically.

Keyword Cost Estimator Tool

So how do you find the cost of a keyword? By using a keyword cost estimator tool. (Or as it used to be called, a Google AdWords estimator.) As previously mentioned, Google’s Keyword Planners provide estimated costs with simulated results. Keyword costs are determined by how much a search engine charges you. But there is no definite price point because the market is always changing. As a result, the cost of a keyword will change as the market changes. it is important to do your keyword research in real time.

Bid Simulators 

With bid simulators, businesses can see the ripple effect changing costs have on their ad performances. Google divides bid simulators into two different categories: manual and automated. A bid is defined by how much money a business is willing to invest into a click, per ad, and based on its monthly budget.

While the approaches are different, the simulations are based on quality score, network display, traffic, and competition.

Manual Simulators

To manually simulate a bid, adjust the max CPC and Google Ads will automatically modify how the ad campaign will be impacted. There are other manual simulators provided across these Google Ads tools:

• Video campaign bid simulator
• Hotel campaigns
• Device bid
• Call bid

Smart Bidding Simulators 

Through artificial intelligence (AI), the smart bidding simulator covers more factors of ad performances. The additional tools tailor more to specific ad goals. Users get to see how their ads do based on the altercation of the cost-per-action (CPA) target, return-on-ad-spend (ROAS), or the average daily budget.

CPA means the amount of money invested into a worthy conversation. ROAS is a measurement on how much money a business generates back based on ads.

The Smart Bidding simulator provides insights based on an ads campaign performance – costs, clicks, conversions and conversion values – from the last week.

How are Keyword Costs Determined?

In addition to competition level, there are additional factors that determine the costs of keywords.

Network Choice

By default, ads will be spread across two choices: search network versus display network. You can choose which network choice to fit your needs.

As implied in the name, the search network is related to the search engine results page (SERPs), so a prospect would’ve already been Googling something of relevant interest. This includes Google’s online directories such as Business, Maps, Shopping, and other partner search sites.

As for the display network, ads will show up on YouTube, Blogger, Gmail and partnered websites. These are associated with bigger visual ads. For example, on Gmail they have expanded ads and on YouTube, interactive images and videos.

Quality Score

Google assigns a quality score based on factors such as: CTR, keyword relevancy, ad text relevancy, landing pages, and previous ad performances. These attributes signal to Google whether or not an ad is performing really well among its users.

The higher the quality score, the lower Google will charge you for cost per conversion (CPC). As a result, the return on investment will be higher because you will be charged less for prospects interacting with your business beyond the ads.

Other Keyword Tools

Seed Keyword: The Seed Keywords engine is a new free tool to help you find valuable keywords.

Google Analytics: Google Analytics is an analysis tool. The search engine offers more tools and resources outside of Google Ads and their keyword planner. After running campaigns of keywords, Google Analytics focuses strictly on data. From there, companies can analyze what is and isn’t working.

Google Trends: You can use Google Trends to see what’s the newest trending then/most searched thing. It also allows for a demographics element so you can see what’s popular in a certain region. There’s also the option of comparing it to another state.

You can also use tools to estimate keyword traffic and determine your conversion rate.

SEO Design Chicago Keyword Services

If you’re still have trouble finding out the cost of a keyword, contact SEO Chicago Design. We can help you with figuring out the world of keywords and their costs. Our digital marketing agency can help you with everything from choosing the right keyword for your Google Ads to SERP analysis and even helping you schedule your social media. Contact us today!

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What exactly determines how much a keyword costs?

Keyword costs are primarily determined by competition level (how many businesses are bidding on the same keyword), Quality Score (Google’s rating based on click-through rate, keyword relevancy, ad text relevancy, and landing page quality), and network choice (search network vs. display network). The market is constantly changing, so keyword costs fluctuate in real-time. Higher competition and lower quality scores typically result in higher costs, while better-performing ads with higher quality scores receive lower cost-per-click rates from Google.

2. How can I find out the cost of a specific keyword for free?

Use Google Keyword Planner, which is free with a Google Ads account and provides estimated costs along with competition levels (low, medium, high) and bid ranges. The tool shows average monthly searches, cost-per-click estimates, and forecasted performance data. Other free tools include Google Trends for trending keywords and Seed Keywords for discovering valuable keyword opportunities. These tools provide real-time data that’s updated every 7-10 days to reflect current market conditions.

3. What’s the difference between broad match, phrase match, and exact match keywords in terms of cost?

Broad match keywords typically have the lowest cost-per-click but reach the widest (and potentially less targeted) audience. Phrase match keywords cost more but provide better targeting by showing ads for searches that maintain the phrase’s integrity. Exact match keywords usually have the highest cost-per-click but offer the most precise targeting for very specific searches. The trade-off is between cost and conversion quality – more specific matches often have higher conversion rates despite higher costs.

4. How do bid simulators help me understand keyword costs?

Bid simulators show you how changing your maximum cost-per-click affects your ad performance before you actually spend money. Manual simulators let you adjust max CPC to see projected impacts on clicks, impressions, and costs. Smart Bidding simulators use AI to show how changes in cost-per-action (CPA) targets or return-on-ad-spend (ROAS) affect performance. These tools help you find the optimal balance between budget and results by testing different bid amounts virtually.

5. Why do keyword costs vary between search network and display network?

Search network ads appear on Google search results when users are actively searching for relevant terms, typically resulting in higher costs but better conversion rates since users have clear intent. Display network ads appear on YouTube, Gmail, and partner websites as visual advertisements, usually costing less but reaching users who may not be actively searching for your products. Search network generally provides higher-quality traffic, while display network offers broader reach at lower costs.

6. How does Quality Score affect my keyword costs?

Quality Score is Google’s rating system based on click-through rate, keyword relevancy, ad text relevancy, landing page quality, and previous ad performance. Higher Quality Scores result in lower cost-per-click charges because Google rewards ads that provide good user experiences. A high-quality ad might pay significantly less per click than a low-quality competitor bidding on the same keyword, making Quality Score optimization crucial for cost-effective advertising.

7. What’s the difference between long-tail keywords and short keywords in terms of cost?

Long-tail keywords (longer, more specific phrases) typically cost less per click because they have lower search volumes and less competition. However, they often have higher conversion rates because they target users with more specific intent. Short keywords (1-2 words) usually cost more due to higher competition but reach broader audiences. Long-tail keywords are often more cost-effective for businesses with limited budgets seeking qualified traffic.

8. How often should I check keyword costs, and why do they change?

Check keyword costs regularly, ideally weekly, since Google updates keyword data every 7-10 days. Costs change constantly due to market competition (more businesses bidding drives prices up), seasonal trends (holiday shopping, back-to-school periods), industry events, and changes in user search behavior. Real-time monitoring helps you adjust bids strategically, capitalize on cost fluctuations, and maintain optimal budget allocation across your campaigns for maximum return on investment.