Getting relevant keywords from URL with Google KW Tool.

[phersh]

Hi,

When I first start researching a site, I like to see what Google "thinks" it is relevant to.

I use the Google KW Tool and enter the website URL only. I sort the results by relevance.

I can then show the prospective client what Google thinks his site is optimized for and use that info to show him what opportunities exist to rank for terms more relevant to his business. I show him keyword, volume and I also get current SERP rank for his site.

For larger sites, I do this for the top pages based Domain Authority.

I want to automate this process using excel and APIs but Google refused my API token request.

I told them I wanted to use the "Google AdWords API Extension for Excel" from http://seogadget.co.uk/google-adwords-plugin-excel.

The Google API token team replied:

Please note, after reviewing your application in detail, we are sorry to let you know that we won't be able to approve your token.

We understand that you are planning to use the AdWords API mainly for Targeting Idea Service (TIS) and Traffic Estimation Service (TES) such as 'keyword research'. Please note that as per the Required Minimum Functionality (RMF) outlined in the API Terms & Conditions, using the AdWords API exclusively for TIS and TES type of services is not allowed.

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Q1: What does the KW Tool relevancy data mean, anyway?

Q2: is there another way to get it or is there another way to do this?

Q3: Is there a better approach I should take with the Google API team?

Q4: Are there other APIs and Excel plugins that can do this, including the SEOMoz APIs?

Thanks,
Phil

[Cyrus-Shepard]

Hi Phillip,

Let me try to address your questions one at a time.

Q1: What does the KW Tool relevancy data mean, anyway?

A. Google doesn't define relevance in regards to the keyword tool, but in a strict sense these are most "relevant" paid keywords queries Google suggests buying for a given domain, keyword-domain combo, or keyword query. A Google engineer briefly touched on the subject in an Adsense forum:

http://www.google.com/support/forum/p/AdWords/thread?tid=7b621aceb8c81ceb&hl=en

The problem with Google's Adwords tool is that it's designed to return paid search suggestions for ad buys, which is not necessarily how Google sees your site.

One way to understand what terms Google sees your site as relevant to is by looking in the "Queries" report of the SEO section in Google Analytics, or the similar report in Webmaster Tools. Unfortunately these metrics aren't' available through the Analytics API.

Q2: is there another way to get it or is there another way to do this?

You might try SemRush, they have an API, although it's a paid service.

Q3: Is there a better approach I should take with the Google API team?

Last fall, Google started cracking down on use of the Adwords API for uses other than paid search. This effected many applications including the SEOmoz Keyword Difficulty tool. Unfortunately, the only way to show compliance with the Adwords API is to actually use it for paid search. Richard Baxter of SEO Gadget talked about this in a webinar for SEOmoz (PRO-only). But the short answer is no.

Q4: Are there other APIs and Excel plugins that can do this, including the SEOMoz APIs?

Not with the functionality you're looking for. SEOmoz APIs don't include keyword data. Again, you might try SemRush.