Google Keyword Suggestions Using Google Docs

There are many, many tools out there to list good google keywords. Most of them are commercial, and a few are really unpleasant to work with. For a really, really long time, a fantastic tool sat in Google Labs that used Google’s own search keyword data to provide lists. This tool was called “Google Sets”.

The basic concept was that you could provide the system with a list of related keywords and key phrases (long tail keywords), hit a button and magically, it would provide you with an additional group of keywords that fit in that set. For example, you could list:

• Dogs
• Dog Training
• Dog Training School
• Teach my Dog
• Teach this Mutt

Then you would hit a “generate” button and it would provide you with an additional list like:

• puppy training
• dog tricks
• good dog
• simple dog training
• ceasar millan
• …

This list was based on the search engine’s traffic history. So, you could find a listing like “ceasar millan” because many people who look for dog training end up clicking through to his dog training system.

Sadly, Google closed the doors on their Google Labs Experiments and this tool vanished entirely… or did it?
The whole purpose of the Google Labs was to try out concepts “in the wild” and see if they could be integrated into core Google technologies. So, Google Sets did not die! It went into hiding. In fact, it was integrated in the most convenient way possible. Google placed the set generation feature right inside of the Google Docs Spreadsheets.

Creating Google Sets in Google Docs:

1. Create a Spreadsheet (in Google Docs)
2. Create a list of keywords in a column
3. Highlight the entire list
4. Place your mouse cursor over the blue square on the lower right corner of the highlighted list
5. Press and hold CTRL (or Option, if you’re on an Apple Computer)
6. Drag and drop the square down as many rows as you would like
7. Wait while the set is generated
8. After a moment, the column will be filled with the same results as you would get in Google Sets
9. To see a demonstration of how this works, watch the video.