Generate Historical Metrics

Historical metrics provide metrics on how keywords have previously performed on Google Search including:

  • Average monthly searches (past 12 months)
  • Approximate monthly search volume (per month)
  • Competition level
  • Competition index
  • 20th percentile of bids
  • 80th percentile of bids

You can use historical metrics to reduce a large set of keywords to a more manageable size based on the performance. If you already know the keywords you want to use, you can skip historical metrics and go straight to forecast metrics.

Generate metrics

To generate historical metrics call KeywordPlanIdeaService.GenerateKeywordHistoricalMetrics with the parameters you would like to include.

Java

private void runExample(GoogleAdsClient googleAdsClient, Long customerId) {
  GenerateKeywordHistoricalMetricsRequest request =
      GenerateKeywordHistoricalMetricsRequest.newBuilder()
          .setCustomerId(String.valueOf(customerId))
          .addAllKeywords(Arrays.asList("mars cruise", "cheap cruise", "jupiter cruise"))
          // See https://developers.google.com/google-ads/api/reference/data/geotargets for the
          // list of geo target IDs.
          // Geo target constant 2840 is for USA.
          .addGeoTargetConstants(ResourceNames.geoTargetConstant(2840))
          .setKeywordPlanNetwork(KeywordPlanNetwork.GOOGLE_SEARCH)
          // See
          // https://developers.google.com/google-ads/api/reference/data/codes-formats#languages
          // for the list of language constant IDs.
          // Language constant 1000 is for English.
          .setLanguage(ResourceNames.languageConstant(1000))
          .build();

  try (KeywordPlanIdeaServiceClient keywordPlanIdeaServiceClient =
      googleAdsClient.getLatestVersion().createKeywordPlanIdeaServiceClient()) {
    GenerateKeywordHistoricalMetricsResponse response =
        keywordPlanIdeaServiceClient.generateKeywordHistoricalMetrics(request);
    for (GenerateKeywordHistoricalMetricsResult result : response.getResultsList()) {
      KeywordPlanHistoricalMetrics metrics = result.getKeywordMetrics();
      System.out.printf("The search query: %s%n", result.getText());
      System.out.printf(
          "and the following variants: %s%n", Joiner.on(",").join(result.getCloseVariantsList()));
      System.out.println("generated the following historical metrics:");

      // Approximate number of monthly searches on this query averaged for the past 12
      // months.
      System.out.printf(
          "Approximate monthly searches: %s%n",
          metrics.hasAvgMonthlySearches() ? metrics.getAvgMonthlySearches() : null);

      // The competition level for this search query.
      System.out.printf("Competition level: %s%n", metrics.getCompetition());

      // The competition index for the query in the range [0,100]. This shows how
      // competitive ad placement is for a keyword. The level of competition from 0-100 is
      // determined by the number of ad slots filled divided by the total number of slots
      // available. If not enough data is available, null will be returned.
      System.out.printf(
          "Competition index: %s%n",
          metrics.hasCompetitionIndex() ? metrics.getCompetitionIndex() : null);

      // Top of page bid low range (20th percentile) in micros for the keyword.
      System.out.printf(
          "Top of page bid low range: %s%n",
          metrics.hasLowTopOfPageBidMicros() ? metrics.getLowTopOfPageBidMicros() : null);

      // Top of page bid high range (80th percentile) in micros for the keyword.
      System.out.printf(
          "Top of page bid high range: %s%n",
          metrics.hasHighTopOfPageBidMicros() ? metrics.getHighTopOfPageBidMicros() : null);

      // Approximate number of searches on this query for the past twelve months.
      metrics.getMonthlySearchVolumesList().stream()
          // Orders the monthly search volumes by descending year, then descending month.
          .sorted(
              (a, b) ->
                  ComparisonChain.start()
                      .compare(b.getYear(), a.getYear())
                      .compare(b.getMonth(), a.getMonth())
                      .result())
          // Prints each monthly search volume.
          .forEachOrdered(
              monthlySearchVolume ->
                  System.out.printf(
                      "Approximately %d searches in %s, %s%n",
                      monthlySearchVolume.getMonthlySearches(),
                      monthlySearchVolume.getMonth(),
                      monthlySearchVolume.getYear()));
    }
  }
}
GenerateHistoricalMetrics.java

C#

public void Run(GoogleAdsClient client, long customerId)
{
    KeywordPlanIdeaServiceClient keywordPlanIdeaService =
            client.GetService(Services.V18.KeywordPlanIdeaService);

    GenerateKeywordHistoricalMetricsRequest request =
        new GenerateKeywordHistoricalMetricsRequest()
    {
        CustomerId = customerId.ToString(),
        Keywords = { "mars cruise", "cheap cruise", "jupiter cruise" },
        // See https://developers.google.com/google-ads/api/reference/data/geotargets
        // for the list of geo target IDs.
        // Geo target constant 2840 is for USA.
        GeoTargetConstants = { ResourceNames.GeoTargetConstant(2840) },
        KeywordPlanNetwork = KeywordPlanNetwork.GoogleSearch,
        // See  https://developers.google.com/google-ads/api/reference/data/codes-formats#languages
        // for the list of language constant IDs.
        // Language constant 1000 is for English.
        Language = ResourceNames.LanguageConstant(1000)
    };

    try
    {
        GenerateKeywordHistoricalMetricsResponse response =
            keywordPlanIdeaService.GenerateKeywordHistoricalMetrics(request);

        foreach (GenerateKeywordHistoricalMetricsResult result in response.Results)
        {
            KeywordPlanHistoricalMetrics metrics = result.KeywordMetrics;

            Console.WriteLine($"The search query {result.Text}");
            Console.WriteLine("and the following variants: " +
                $"{String.Join(",", result.CloseVariants)}");
            Console.WriteLine("Generated the following historical metrics:");

            // Approximate number of monthly searches on this query averaged for the past 12
            // months.
            Console.WriteLine($"Approximate monthly searches: {metrics.AvgMonthlySearches}");

            // The competition level for this search query.
            Console.WriteLine($"Competition level: {metrics.Competition}");

            // The competition index for the query in the range [0,100]. This shows how
            // competitive ad placement is for a keyword. The level of competition from 0-100 is
            // determined by the number of ad slots filled divided by the total number of slots
            // available. If not enough data is available, null will be returned.
            Console.WriteLine($"Competition index: {metrics.CompetitionIndex}");

            // Top of page bid low range (20th percentile) in micros for the keyword.
            Console.WriteLine($"Top of page bid low range: {metrics.LowTopOfPageBidMicros}");

            // Top of page bid high range (80th percentile) in micros for the keyword.
            Console.WriteLine($"Top of page bid high range: {metrics.HighTopOfPageBidMicros}");

            // Approximate number of searches on this query for the past twelve months.
            foreach (MonthlySearchVolume month in metrics.MonthlySearchVolumes)
            {
                Console.WriteLine($"Approximately {month.MonthlySearches} searches in " +
                    $"{month.Month}, {month.Year}");
            }
        }

    }
    catch (GoogleAdsException e)
    {
        Console.WriteLine("Failure:");
        Console.WriteLine($"Message: {e.Message}");
        Console.WriteLine($"Failure: {e.Failure}");
        Console.WriteLine($"Request ID: {e.RequestId}");
        throw;
    }
}
GenerateHistoricalMetrics.cs

PHP

public static function runExample(
    GoogleAdsClient $googleAdsClient,
    int $customerId
): void {
    $keywordPlanIdeaServiceClient = $googleAdsClient->getKeywordPlanIdeaServiceClient();
    // Generates keyword historical metrics based on the specified parameters.
    $response = $keywordPlanIdeaServiceClient->generateKeywordHistoricalMetrics(
        new GenerateKeywordHistoricalMetricsRequest([
            'customer_id' => $customerId,
            'keywords' => ['mars cruise', 'cheap cruise', 'jupiter cruise'],
            // See https://developers.google.com/google-ads/api/reference/data/geotargets for
            // the list of geo target IDs.
            // Geo target constant 2840 is for USA.
            'geo_target_constants' => [ResourceNames::forGeoTargetConstant(2840)],
            'keyword_plan_network' => KeywordPlanNetwork::GOOGLE_SEARCH,
            // https://developers.google.com/google-ads/api/reference/data/codes-formats#languages
            // for the list of language constant IDs.
            // Language constant 1000 is for English.
            'language' => ResourceNames::forLanguageConstant(1000)
        ])
    );

    // Iterates over the results and print its detail.
    foreach ($response->getResults() as $result) {
        /** @var GenerateKeywordHistoricalMetricsResult $result */
        $metrics = $result->getKeywordMetrics();
        printf("The search query: '%s' ", $result->getText());
        printf(
            "and the following variants: '%s' ",
            implode(',', iterator_to_array($result->getCloseVariants()->getIterator()))
        );
        print "generated the following historical metrics:" . PHP_EOL;

        // Approximate number of monthly searches on this query averaged for the past 12 months.
        printf(
            "Approximate monthly searches: %s%s",
            $metrics->hasAvgMonthlySearches()
                ? sprintf("%d", $metrics->getAvgMonthlySearches())
                : "'none'",
            PHP_EOL
        );

        // The competition level for this search query.
        printf(
            "Competition level: '%s'%s",
            KeywordPlanCompetitionLevel::name($metrics->getCompetition()),
            PHP_EOL
        );

        // The competition index for the query in the range [0,100]. This shows how
        // competitive ad placement is for a keyword. The level of competition from 0-100 is
        // determined by the number of ad slots filled divided by the total number of slots
        // available. If not enough data is available, null will be returned.
        printf(
            "Competition index: %s%s",
            $metrics->hasCompetitionIndex()
                ? sprintf("%d", $metrics->getCompetitionIndex())
                : "'none'",
            PHP_EOL
        );

        // Top of page bid low range (20th percentile) in micros for the keyword.
        printf(
            "Top of page bid low range: %s%s",
            $metrics->hasLowTopOfPageBidMicros()
                ? sprintf("%d", $metrics->getLowTopOfPageBidMicros())
                : "'none'",
            PHP_EOL
        );

        // Top of page bid high range (80th percentile) in micros for the keyword.
        printf(
            "Top of page bid high range: %s%s",
            $metrics->hasHighTopOfPageBidMicros()
                ? sprintf("%d", $metrics->getHighTopOfPageBidMicros())
                : "'none'",
            PHP_EOL
        );

        // Approximate number of searches on this query for the past twelve months.
        $monthlySearchVolumes =
            iterator_to_array($metrics->getMonthlySearchVolumes()->getIterator());
        usort(
            $monthlySearchVolumes,
            // Orders the monthly search volumes by descending year, then descending month.
            function (MonthlySearchVolume $volume1, MonthlySearchVolume $volume2) {
                $yearsCompared = $volume2->getYear() <=> $volume1->getYear();
                if ($yearsCompared != 0) {
                    return $yearsCompared;
                } else {
                    return $volume2->getMonth() <=> $volume1->getMonth();
                }
            }
        );
        // Prints each monthly search volume.
        array_walk($monthlySearchVolumes, function (MonthlySearchVolume $monthlySearchVolume) {
            printf(
                "Approximately %d searches in %s, %s.%s",
                $monthlySearchVolume->getMonthlySearches(),
                MonthOfYear::name($monthlySearchVolume->getMonth()),
                $monthlySearchVolume->getYear(),
                PHP_EOL
            );
        });
        print PHP_EOL;
    }
}
GenerateHistoricalMetrics.php

Python

def main(client, customer_id):
    """The main method that creates all necessary entities for the example.

    Args:
        client: an initialized GoogleAdsClient instance.
        customer_id: a client customer ID.
    """
    generate_historical_metrics(client, customer_id)


def generate_historical_metrics(client, customer_id):
    """Generates historical metrics and prints the results.

    Args:
        client: an initialized GoogleAdsClient instance.
        customer_id: a client customer ID.
    """
    googleads_service = client.get_service("GoogleAdsService")
    keyword_plan_idea_service = client.get_service("KeywordPlanIdeaService")
    request = client.get_type("GenerateKeywordHistoricalMetricsRequest")
    request.customer_id = customer_id
    request.keywords = ["mars cruise", "cheap cruise", "jupiter cruise"]
    # Geo target constant 2840 is for USA.
    request.geo_target_constants.append(
        googleads_service.geo_target_constant_path("2840")
    )
    request.keyword_plan_network = (
        client.enums.KeywordPlanNetworkEnum.GOOGLE_SEARCH
    )
    # Language criteria 1000 is for English. For the list of language criteria
    # IDs, see:
    # https://developers.google.com/google-ads/api/reference/data/codes-formats#languages
    request.language = googleads_service.language_constant_path("1000")

    response = keyword_plan_idea_service.generate_keyword_historical_metrics(
        request=request
    )

    for result in response.results:
        metrics = result.keyword_metrics
        # These metrics include those for both the search query and any variants
        # included in the response.
        print(
            f"The search query '{result.text}' (and the following variants: "
            f"'{result.close_variants if result.close_variants else 'None'}'), "
            "generated the following historical metrics:\n"
        )

        # Approximate number of monthly searches on this query averaged for the
        # past 12 months.
        print(f"\tApproximate monthly searches: {metrics.avg_monthly_searches}")

        # The competition level for this search query.
        print(f"\tCompetition level: {metrics.competition}")

        # The competition index for the query in the range [0, 100]. This shows
        # how competitive ad placement is for a keyword. The level of
        # competition from 0-100 is determined by the number of ad slots filled
        # divided by the total number of ad slots available. If not enough data
        # is available, undef will be returned.
        print(f"\tCompetition index: {metrics.competition_index}")

        # Top of page bid low range (20th percentile) in micros for the keyword.
        print(
            f"\tTop of page bid low range: {metrics.low_top_of_page_bid_micros}"
        )

        # Top of page bid high range (80th percentile) in micros for the
        # keyword.
        print(
            "\tTop of page bid high range: "
            f"{metrics.high_top_of_page_bid_micros}"
        )

        # Approximate number of searches on this query for the past twelve
        # months.
        for month in metrics.monthly_search_volumes:
            print(
                f"\tApproximately {month.monthly_searches} searches in "
                f"{month.month.name}, {month.year}"
            )
generate_historical_metrics.py

Ruby

This example is not yet available in Ruby; you can take a look at the other languages.

Perl

sub generate_historical_metrics {
  my ($api_client, $customer_id) = @_;

  my $keyword_historical_metrics_response =
    $api_client->KeywordPlanIdeaService()->generate_keyword_historical_metrics({
      customerId => $customer_id,
      keywords   => ["mars cruise", "cheap cruise", "jupiter cruise"],
      # Geo target constant 2840 is for USA.
      geoTargetConstants => [
        Google::Ads::GoogleAds::V18::Utils::ResourceNames::geo_target_constant(
          2840)
      ],
      keywordPlanNetwork => 'GOOGLE_SEARCH',
      # Language criteria 1000 is for English. See
      # https://developers.google.com/google-ads/api/reference/data/codes-formats#languages
      # for the list of language criteria IDs.
      language =>
        Google::Ads::GoogleAds::V18::Utils::ResourceNames::language_constant(
        1000)});

  foreach my $result (@{$keyword_historical_metrics_response->{results}}) {
    my $metric = $result->{keywordMetrics};
    # These metrics include those for both the search query and any
    # variants included in the response.
    # If the metric is undefined, print (undef) as a placeholder.
    printf
"The search query, %s, (and the following variants: %s), generated the following historical metrics:\n",
      $result->{text},
      $result->{closeVariants}
      ? join(', ', $result->{closeVariants})
      : "(undef)";

    # Approximate number of monthly searches on this query averaged for
    # the past 12 months.
    printf "\tApproximate monthly searches: %s.\n",
      value_or_undef($metric->{avgMonthlySearches});

    # The competition level for this search query.
    printf "\tCompetition level: %s.\n", value_or_undef($metric->{competition});

    # The competition index for the query in the range [0, 100]. This shows how
    # competitive ad placement is for a keyword. The level of competition from
    # 0-100 is determined by the number of ad slots filled divided by the total
    # number of ad slots available. If not enough data is available, undef will
    # be returned.
    printf "\tCompetition index: %s.\n",
      value_or_undef($metric->{competitionIndex});

    # Top of page bid low range (20th percentile) in micros for the keyword.
    printf "\tTop of page bid low range: %s.\n",
      value_or_undef($metric->{lowTopOfPageBidMicros});

    # Top of page bid high range (80th percentile) in micros for the keyword.
    printf "\tTop of page bid high range: %s.\n",
      value_or_undef($metric->{highTopOfPageBidMicros});

    # Approximate number of searches on this query for the past twelve months.
    foreach my $month (@{$metric->{monthlySearchVolumes}}) {
      printf "\tApproximately %d searches in %s, %s.\n",
        $month->{monthlySearches}, $month->{month}, $month->{year};
    }
  }

  return 1;
}
generate_historical_metrics.pl

Metrics like search volume are updated monthly by looking at the last month's search volume. This is the same data as Google Trends.

Map to the UI

KeywordPlanIdeaService.GenerateKeywordHistoricalMetrics has similar functionality in the UI's Keyword Planner.

Keyword Planner UI Google Ads API
Enter Keywords GenerateKeywordHistoricalMetricsRequest.keywords
Locations GenerateKeywordHistoricalMetricsRequest.geo_target_constants
Language GenerateKeywordHistoricalMetricsRequest.language
Search Networks GenerateKeywordHistoricalMetricsRequest.keyword_plan_network
Date Range GenerateKeywordHistoricalMetricsRequest.historical_metrics_options
CPC Bid HistoricalMetricsOptions.include_average_cpc
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