We’ve all got used to Google’s current incarnation of the keyword tool, but is that about to change? I just logged in to a client’s AdWords account to do some keyword research and was taken straight to the new keyword tool, without an option to revert to “old” one in sight.

I did manage to access the external version of their old-style keyword tool again through a Chrome Incognito tab, but I suspect that that trick won’t last much longer either.

The new Google keyword tool vs the old one

Granted, in the new tool there are some nice features such as click and impression volumes, as well as just plain old search volumes (often the least useful of the three, as many searches don’t generate ads). Better still, they’ve added, AdWords keyword value estimates (based on clicks and not just search volumes) too.

The downside is that some nifty features have been taken away, including the ability to group phrases by stem term, a huge help when trying to create multiple ad groups with AdWords Editor in a hurry.

Google’s keyword research tool has gone through numerous changes since it was first introduced and it’s been a mainstay for the UK search community at least since the introduction of specific rather than relative keyword search volumes. Up until now however, they’ve only ever added features, now it appears that in their haste some of the most useful ones might be taken away.

What are your thoughts?