Google Keyword Planner is the primary Google keyword research tool, accessible through a Google Ads account (you don't need to run ads). Log into ads.google.com, click the Tools icon in the top right, then select Keyword Planner under Planning. You'll see two options: "Discover new keywords" and "Get search volume and forecasts." For new keyword ideas, use "Discover new keywords." Enter 2-5 seed keywords related to your topic or paste a competitor URL. Google returns hundreds of related terms with monthly search volume ranges (like 1K-10K), competition level (Low/Medium/High for ad competition, not organic SEO), and suggested bid ranges in CAD if you're targeting Canada. The competition metric is for Google Ads, so treat it as directional only for SEO—high ad competition often correlates with commercial intent, not necessarily ranking difficulty. Filter results by location (set to Canada or specific cities like Ottawa), language, and date range. Sort by average monthly searches to find volume, but don't ignore lower-volume terms with clear intent. A keyword with 200 monthly searches and zero current rankings can outperform chasing a 5,000-volume term where you'd rank on page three. For existing keyword lists, use "Get search volume and forecasts." Paste up to 1,000 keywords to see historical stats and projected performance if you ran ads. This helps validate which terms actually have demand versus just sounding relevant. At Ottawa SEO, we treat Keyword Planner as the baseline volume source but cross-reference with tools like Ahrefs or Semrush for keyword difficulty scores and SERP features, since Google doesn't provide organic competition metrics. Keyword Planner also groups close variants aggressively, so "Ottawa SEO agency" and "SEO agency Ottawa" show identical data even though user intent can differ. Export results to CSV, prioritize by search volume and business relevance, then build content around clusters of related terms rather than individual keywords. The tool is free and data comes directly from Google, making it the most accurate volume source despite its limitations for organic SEO strategy.