Earlier this week I reported that the Google keyword planner tool has restricted access to the tool to only those with active paying campaigns above a specific threshold. I was waiting for Google to say why and their answer is what I expected.

Google responded in the ongoing Google AdWords Help thread that they added these restrictions with the intent of “preventing “bots” and other services from abusing the intended use of Keyword Planner.”

Here is the whole paragraph:

Of course, many of the folks who read this will say, well, there are plenty of ways to prevent this abuse without the restrictions they set forth on the amount an advertiser spends.

But the truth is, I do believe this is why they did it. It is an easy metric to use to reduce bot usage and other types of abuse.

What do you think?

Forum discussion at Google AdWords Help.