E-commerce
September 30, 2026
Wondering how the enhanced Google Ads Keyword Planner can boost your campaigns?
Good news: Google has rolled out a major update to this tool, with six key features to refine your keyword research, save time, and better allocate your budget. It is a valuable asset for any e-commerce merchant looking to improve their visibility and profitability.
However, all these new features can seem complex to get a handle on. Don't panic: we will break them down one by one, with practical tips on how to integrate them into your strategy.
So, how can you leverage this enhanced planner? On the agenda:
What are the new features of the Keyword Planner?
How do you use keyword trends to anticipate seasonality?
How do grouped ideas simplify your research?
How do you save an idea in an existing campaign?
How do the suggested budget and competition column help optimize your bids?
Let's get started.
Summary
Why was the Google Ads Keyword Planner improved?
Google recently rolled out a major update to its Keyword Planner, an essential tool for advertisers. The goal: to make keyword research more intuitive, faster, and more efficient. This redesign meets the needs of users who want to go further in the analysis and optimization of their campaigns.
Among the six announced improvements, we find features that were present in the old interface but had disappeared with the new one. This is the case with "More seeds" and "Grouped ideas". Other new features, such as keyword trends and suggested budget, bring real added value.
For an e-commerce merchant, these tools allow for better targeting of queries, anticipating search peaks, and optimizing advertising spend. This represents a significant gain in time and efficiency. By exploring these features, you will discover how they integrate into an overall growth strategy, complementing other levers such as optimizing your site or using AI tools to improve the customer experience.
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What is the "More seeds" feature and why is it useful?
The “More seeds” feature allows you to enter up to ten seed keywords, compared to only three in the previous version. This is a welcome return for advertisers wishing to broaden their search field right from the start.
Concretely, if you sell Christmas decorations, you can enter “Christmas tree”, “fairy lights”, “Christmas baubles”, “Christmas wreath”, etc. The planner then generates more varied and relevant keyword ideas, based on a wider range of themes.
This approach is particularly useful for small online stores looking to discover new keyword opportunities without having to run multiple search sessions. It also helps you better structure your campaigns by theme, which improves your ad relevance and quality score. By expanding your seeds, you increase your chances of finding profitable niches and capturing a more qualified audience.
How do keyword trends help anticipate seasonality?
The new "Keyword trends" feature is a major asset for e-commerce merchants, especially those who sell seasonal products. It displays an interactive graph showing the monthly search volume for a given keyword.
For example, for "Christmas tree decorations", the graph reveals a peak in November with nearly 400,000 searches, then a drop to around 200,000 in December. This data is valuable for planning your campaigns: you know when to increase your bids, when to launch your promotions, and when to prepare your stock.
Furthermore, this data is downloadable, allowing you to integrate it into your own analytical tools. You can thus cross-reference these trends with your past sales to refine your forecasts and marketing strategy. By monitoring these trends, you can also identify emerging opportunities and adjust your content accordingly.
How do grouped ideas simplify keyword research?
The "Grouped ideas" feature automatically groups keyword suggestions by theme or search intent. No more manual sorting and categorizing: the tool does the work for you.
For example, for a clothing website, ideas could be grouped into "summer dresses", "evening dresses", "wedding dresses", etc. Each group can then be added to your plan or an existing campaign in a single click.
This feature is a major time-saver, especially if you manage numerous campaigns. It allows you to structure your ad groups in a logical and coherent way, which improves the relevance of your ads and, ultimately, your click-through rate. By organizing your ideas by theme, you can also better align your ads with user search intent.
How do I save an idea in an existing campaign?
The ability to save a keyword idea directly into an existing campaign is a very practical improvement. Previously, you had to download the plan and then re-import it via Google Ads Editor or the web interface. Now, everything is done in just a few clicks.
When you find a relevant keyword, you can choose to add it to an existing ad group or create a new one. This feature is ideal for advertisers who want to quickly expand their keyword list without interrupting their workflow.
This allows you to test new ideas more easily and adjust your campaigns in real time. For an e-merchant, it is an effective way to leverage emerging trends and stay competitive. By integrating this feature into your routine, you can react quickly to market changes and optimize your performance.
How does the suggested budget help optimize your ad spend?
Suggested budget is a feature that helps you estimate the budget required for your campaigns. After adding keywords to your plan, click "Plan overview" to see the forecasts.
The tool estimates the number of clicks or conversions you can get based on your budget and bids. It also displays a graph showing the point of diminishing returns: beyond a certain cost per click, conversions no longer increase.
For example, if the graph shows that going beyond $1.25 per click does not generate more conversions, you know there is no point in bidding higher. This visualization helps you allocate your budget more efficiently and avoid unnecessary spending. By using this data, you can also plan your advertising investments in the long term and maximize your return on investment.
What is the "Competition value" column and how should it be interpreted?
The "Competition value" column is a new feature that provides a score from 1 to 100 for each keyword, indicating its level of competition. By default, the interface displays "high", "medium", or "low", but this new column offers much finer granularity.
For example, for "Christmas tree decorations", the competition is 100, while for "Christmas tree ideas", it is 72. This difference is significant: queries with "ideas" are often further up the funnel, and therefore less competitive.
By using this column, you can identify less competitive yet still relevant keywords, which can reduce your cost per click and improve your return on investment. It is a valuable tool for refining your keyword strategy and focusing on the most profitable opportunities.
How to integrate these new features into your e-commerce strategy?
To make the most of these improvements, start by using "More seeds" to expand your initial search. Next, use trends to identify seasonal peaks and adjust your campaigns accordingly.
Grouped ideas allow you to structure your campaigns by theme, which facilitates management and improves relevance. Finally, the suggested budget and the competition column help you optimize your bids and avoid overspending.
By integrating these tools into your daily workflow, you will save time and improve the efficiency of your campaigns. It is a worthwhile investment for your online store. Do not forget to combine these features with regular analysis of your data to continually refine your strategy.
What are the pitfalls to avoid with the enhanced keyword planner?
While these new features are very useful, there are a few pitfalls to avoid. First of all, do not rely solely on the planner's suggestions: use your own judgment and conversion data to validate keywords.
Next, beware of overly generic keywords that may seem attractive but have a low conversion rate. Use the competition column to assess difficulty, but also search volume and relevance to your products.
Finally, do not neglect negative keywords. The planner can help you find ideas, but it is up to you to filter out irrelevant queries to avoid wasting your budget. By staying vigilant and testing regularly, you can avoid these common mistakes and maximize the effectiveness of your campaigns.
How can you measure the impact of these improvements on your performance?
To measure the impact of these new features, track your key performance indicators (KPIs) before and after using them. Monitor click-through rate, cost per click, conversion rate, and return on ad spend (ROAS).
Use search term reports to see which keywords are driving conversions and which ones should be excluded. Compare your campaign performance before and after integrating the new keyword ideas.
Don't hesitate to run A/B tests to validate the effectiveness of your new strategies. The goal is to continuously improve your campaigns and increase your profitability. By regularly analyzing your data, you can identify trends and adjust your actions accordingly.
How does Qstomy complement the keyword planner to improve your sales?
Qstomy, the Shopify AI agent, can complement your keyword strategy by improving the customer experience and conversion. While the planner helps you attract traffic, Qstomy takes care of turning that traffic into sales.
Thanks to its recommendation, upsell, and cross-sell features, Qstomy increases the average basket value. It can also track packages and manage customer service, which reduces repetitive requests and improves customer satisfaction.
By integrating Qstomy into your store, you offer a personalized and seamless shopping experience, encouraging customers to return. It is an ideal complement to your advertising efforts, as it helps you maximize the value of each visitor and build customer loyalty.
What checklist should you use to optimize your campaigns with the enhanced planner?
Here is a checklist to get the most out of the enhanced Keyword Planner:
Use "More seeds" to expand your initial search.
Analyze trends to anticipate seasonality.
Leverage grouped ideas to structure your campaigns.
Save ideas directly to your existing campaigns.
Use the suggested budget to optimize your bids.
Add the "Competition value" column to assess difficulty.
In short, these features save you time and improve the effectiveness of your campaigns. Don't forget to integrate them into your routine. By combining them with regular analysis and testing, you can maximize your ROI and stay competitive in the market.
FAQ
Is the Keyword Planner free? Yes, it is included with Google Ads.
Can I use these features for Shopping campaigns? Yes, they apply to all campaign types.
How can Qstomy help improve conversion rates? By offering personalized recommendations and effective customer support.
To go further: Train an e-commerce chatbot with Shopify: using the right data without generating wrong answers - Qstomy, Integrating customer service answers into a useful e-commerce SEO strategy for clients - Qstomy, What e-commerce strategy for a small brand under $100,000/month? - Qstomy, AI Chatbot for live shopping: answering questions during the live stream - Qstomy, Increase sales with smart product recommendations - Qstomy, E-commerce conversation analysis: understanding real customer questions - Qstomy, E-commerce CRM and customer support: using the right data to respond better - Qstomy.
Enzo
September 30, 2026
