Google has is testing adding a few new columns of metrics to the Google Keyword Planner Tool. The new columns we’ve seen on the Google Keyword Planner Tool include year-over-year change, three-month change and trend type.
New in Keyword planner tool. You can access the keyword planner tool over here if you have a Google Ads account. When you run a new report, Google may pop up a message saying “Keyword trends: Now you can compare recent and past keyword trends.”
Google’s Keyword Planner tool helps you research keywords for your Google Search campaigns. You can use this free tool to discover new keywords related to your business and see estimates of the searches they receive and the cost to target them.
New columns. Google has added new keyword trends data including:
- YoY Change – The year over year change compares the monthly search volume of the latest month with the same month the previous year.
- Three month change – The three month change shows a three month change in search trends by comparing the latest month’s data, with the data from two months prior. For example, if the latest month is July, the July data would be compared to May to show change in search volume over three months.
- Three month trending type – This shows you if the trend is going up or down or remaining flat for the keyword. I no longer see this but Google was testing this.
What it looks like. Here are screenshots of these new columns; one from Patrick Garde on Twitter and the other from Arbab Usmani’s on Twitter:
Google statement. “This is a small experiment. We’re always testing new ways to improve our experience for our advertisers and users, but don’t have anything specific to announce right now,” a Google spokesperson told Search Engine Land.
It looks like Google has continued to experiment with new keyword planner columns.
Why we care. Having more data, be it trending figures for the past three months or year-over-year, can be useful for marketers to see trends and plan their campaigns with more insight. Check out the keyword planner tool and utilize as much of the data Google is giving you to benefit your customers and your own campaigns.
