What is Google Traffic Estimator?
A while back, Google had a tool called the Traffic Estimator as part of their Ads system. It allowed marketers to estimate how their paid advertising campaigns might perform before actually running them.
You could enter details like the keywords you wanted to advertise for, your budget, and targeting details like locations.
The estimator would then provide estimates for things like clicks, impressions, average position, and costs associated with an advertising campaign.
Having these estimates was really useful.
When you're spending money on ads, you want to have an idea of what you might get in return before paying, right?
The Traffic Estimator gave marketers a preview of their possible campaign performance. With that data, they could make smarter decisions about their ad strategies and budgets.
For example, if the estimates showed certain keywords would quickly drain your budget for very few clicks, you knew to rethink those targets or change your bids. It helped plan advertising better.
Other Estimation Tools Today
Unfortunately, Google stopped offering their Traffic Estimator tool in 2019.
But don't worry, there are still other tools that can provide similar data. Tools like Ahrefs, Semrush, and Longtail Pro allow you to see estimated traffic.
While Google's tool was simple, these other tools can provide even more robust data to optimize your ad campaigns.