Moz Q&A is closed.
After more than 13 years, and tens of thousands of questions, Moz Q&A closed on 12th December 2024. Whilst we’re not completely removing the content - many posts will still be possible to view - we have locked both new posts and new replies. More details here.
Ignore keywords that have no data in the Google Keyword Tool?
-
Hello,
There are some keywords that have no monthly search data in the Google Keyword Tool. In many cases, this is because there have been very few searches for the keyword.
Would you recommend focusing on other keywords that do have search data in the Google Keyword Tool? Perhaps focusing too far out on the long tail of search results can be less productive than focusing on keywords that have proven that at least some people care about them.
What do you think?
Thanks!
-
You are very welcome.
-
Excellent advice, Jason! Thank you very much.
Look out world!
-
If you have relavent, compelling content for a high volume google query then by all means optimize for it. But remember that 20% of the queries Google receives each day are ones they haven't seen in at least 90 days (http://support.google.com/adwords/answer/2497828?hl=en) so don't be afraid to anticipate a future audience, even if the traffic isn't already in Google Keyword Tool.
Obviously, there are industries (news and trend based) that are perpetually in the cycle of creating, anticipating, or quickly reacting to new keyword spikes.
Either approach is valid, but I suggest you let your content and your passion for your audience be your guide. If you produce great content, and you are confident their is an audience that wants to consume it, then don't let the lack of keyword traffic stop you. The world just doesn't know they need your keyword yet!
Good luck,
-Jason
-
Dana,
Thank you so much! That makes a lot of sense. It's so helpful to hear your perspective. i really appreciate your thoughtful reply.
-
I think this entirely depends on the nature of your business. All I can share with you is my own experience with this. I do SEO for several sites, one is a very small, very tight niche business. I have identified about 264 keywords that are key to the business. Out of those, probably only 10 show any search volume in the Google keyword tool at all. However, every single one of them has produced revenue (that's how they ended up on my final list). How much revenue could one possibly get out of a site that only focused on 264 keywords and only 10 of them showed any search volume in Google? What if I told you it was possible to do over $3 million a year?
Remember, Google's Keyword tool is just that, a tool. It can't replace intimate knowledge of your customers and your products. If you know those things inside out, trust that knowledge and go after the keywords you know your customers are going to use to find you. Let your competition obsess over broad keywords that do show search volume. They'll miss the mark and you'll hit it out of the park.
All that being said, it does depend on your business model. Obviously if you box yourself into a niche that's too tight, you just might be putting yourself into a place where there just isn't enough demand for what you're offering to make it. Then, you might need to broaden the scope, or select a niche that isn't quite as limited.
Just my take - I hope that's helpful!
Dana
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
YouTube Keyword Research
MOZ has some really powerful tools available to us, but I was wondering if there are any tools for conducting keyword research for YouTube? Thanks!
Keyword Research | | Alaeddin1 -
How granular should I get with Keyword research?
I'm doing KW research for a new business. My understanding from KW research guides: Use tools to create a list of thousands of keywords Analyze difficulty and search volume Reduce your list and do on page optimization for your select KWs My dilemma with this approach is that it seems "keyword based" rather than "intent" or "category" based. e.g. Let's say I have a grocery store. Ignoring SEO, I know that these are my main categories: Produce Meat Dairy Canned Goods Baked Goods In other words, the above categories are the general "intents" and "categories" that I'd really want to rank for. Keyword tool shows that they have high volume and high difficulty. Let's say that after doing keyword research, I discover "Low Fat Chicken Breasts" and "Turkey Sausage" and "Cheap Meat Wholesale" have decent search volume and low competition. I don't quite understand how I'm supposed to utilize these fringe keywords in my on page SEO plan because it doesn't make sense as a human to categorize my site that way. Not sure if this is clear. Basically I'm trying to figure out if I should really be getting this granular on keywords to help guide my store categories or if I should just be picking broader terms.
Keyword Research | | clarasboutiqueusa0 -
Keyword research tools
So I went to a panel a while back that said Wordtracker is basically useless. I'm not using it as an end-all, be-all, but more for insights and context. Do you agree with that statement? The hosting company provides a keyword research tool, so I wasn't sure how seriously to take it. Have you guys been using Bing for the search data previously provided by Google's Keyword Research Tool? Do you find that to be a viable resource? Thanks.
Keyword Research | | SSFCU0 -
Keyword Moderator List
Hi Moz Community, I'm wondering if anyone has a comprehensive list of keyword moderators that they could share? For example: online
Keyword Research | | IrishTimes
buy [keyword] online
cheap
cheapest
best
top
free
[country name]
[area name]
store
shop
purchase etc... I always find that it's useful to run [keyword + moderator] for search volumes as it sometimes uncovers some exact match surprises that you may not have thought of. Thanks everyone! Gavin1 -
Where can I find data on growth in individual keyword search terms, over tiime?
I am operating in an emerging market, and want to understand the underlying growth in the relevant Google keyword search terms. I can use this as a proxy for market growth. I have checked out Google Trends, but this confusingly shows peak search volumes (out of 100) not search volumes. Are there any better tools out there? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Keyword Research | | JDog980 -
Keyword Research (dash or no dash)
I have a client that has been optimizing for "print and apply" for the past 5 months. Yesterday they decided it was more grammatically correct to use "print-and-apply." There question to me was "is this going to effect our SEO?" So... I checked the difficulty using the keyword analysis tool, both keywords had the same broad/exact adwords traffic as well as difficulty percentage. When reviewing the top 25 listings for each keyword it looks like the same sites rank in the SERPs between 1-8 and then after that it is completely different. So, is there a better keyword to target? Are these two keywords different enough to truly have separate search results?
Keyword Research | | kchandler
The top 8 results didn't even target "print-and-apply" in there content or title tags... Thanks for the input/discussion - Kyle0 -
How can i track keywords history
i need to keep a record for all keywords history , is there any way that we can track keywords history so we can compare each week with the previous weeks ?
Keyword Research | | omarfk0 -
How does Google treat the symbols ® and ™ if they are part of keyword?
For example: As a keyword, is "Cisco®" the same as "Cisco"? I tried a couple of things to find out: 1. I put both keywords in Google adwords tool. Google displayed search volume data only for Cisco. That means it ignores the ® symbol. 2. I typed in Cisco® and Cisco in Google search. of SERPs are the same. And the first page results are almost same excpet for Google Places listings. Based on above two observations, I think that Google treats Cisco® and Cisco in the same manner. So if we optimize a page for Cisco®, we will get benefit for the keyword Cisco as well. Does anybody has any other experience? (Note: the keyword used here(Cisco) is just an example. Thanks, Supriya.
Keyword Research | | Amjath0