undefined
Skip to content
Moz logo Menu open Menu close
  • Products
    • Moz Pro
    • Moz Pro Home
    • Moz Local
    • Moz Local Home
    • STAT
    • Moz API
    • Moz API Home
    • Compare SEO Products
    • Moz Data
  • Free SEO Tools
    • Domain Analysis
    • Keyword Explorer
    • Link Explorer
    • Competitive Research
    • MozBar
    • More Free SEO Tools
  • Learn SEO
    • Beginner's Guide to SEO
    • SEO Learning Center
    • Moz Academy
    • SEO Q&A
    • Webinars, Whitepapers, & Guides
  • Blog
  • Why Moz
    • Agency Solutions
    • Enterprise Solutions
    • Small Business Solutions
    • Case Studies
    • The Moz Story
    • New Releases
  • Log in
  • Log out
  • Products
    • Moz Pro

      Your all-in-one suite of SEO essentials.

    • Moz Local

      Raise your local SEO visibility with complete local SEO management.

    • STAT

      SERP tracking and analytics for enterprise SEO experts.

    • Moz API

      Power your SEO with our index of over 44 trillion links.

    • Compare SEO Products

      See which Moz SEO solution best meets your business needs.

    • Moz Data

      Power your SEO strategy & AI models with custom data solutions.

    NEW Keyword Suggestions by Topic
    Moz Pro

    NEW Keyword Suggestions by Topic

    Learn more
  • Free SEO Tools
    • Domain Analysis

      Get top competitive SEO metrics like DA, top pages and more.

    • Keyword Explorer

      Find traffic-driving keywords with our 1.25 billion+ keyword index.

    • Link Explorer

      Explore over 40 trillion links for powerful backlink data.

    • Competitive Research

      Uncover valuable insights on your organic search competitors.

    • MozBar

      See top SEO metrics for free as you browse the web.

    • More Free SEO Tools

      Explore all the free SEO tools Moz has to offer.

    NEW Keyword Suggestions by Topic
    Moz Pro

    NEW Keyword Suggestions by Topic

    Learn more
  • Learn SEO
    • Beginner's Guide to SEO

      The #1 most popular introduction to SEO, trusted by millions.

    • SEO Learning Center

      Broaden your knowledge with SEO resources for all skill levels.

    • On-Demand Webinars

      Learn modern SEO best practices from industry experts.

    • How-To Guides

      Step-by-step guides to search success from the authority on SEO.

    • Moz Academy

      Upskill and get certified with on-demand courses & certifications.

    • MozCon

      Save on Early Bird tickets and join us in London or New York City

    Unlock flexible pricing & new endpoints
    Moz API

    Unlock flexible pricing & new endpoints

    Find your plan
  • Blog
  • Why Moz
    • Small Business Solutions

      Uncover insights to make smarter marketing decisions in less time.

    • Agency Solutions

      Earn & keep valuable clients with unparalleled data & insights.

    • Enterprise Solutions

      Gain a competitive edge in the ever-changing world of search.

    • The Moz Story

      Moz was the first & remains the most trusted SEO company.

    • Case Studies

      Explore how Moz drives ROI with a proven track record of success.

    • New Releases

      Get the scoop on the latest and greatest from Moz.

    Surface actionable competitive intel
    New Feature

    Surface actionable competitive intel

    Learn More
  • Log in
    • Moz Pro
    • Moz Local
    • Moz Local Dashboard
    • Moz API
    • Moz API Dashboard
    • Moz Academy
  • Avatar
    • Moz Home
    • Notifications
    • Account & Billing
    • Manage Users
    • Community Profile
    • My Q&A
    • My Videos
    • Log Out

The Moz Q&A Forum

  • Forum
  • Questions
  • Users
  • Ask the Community

Welcome to the Q&A Forum

Browse the forum for helpful insights and fresh discussions about all things SEO.

  1. Home
  2. SEO Tactics
  3. Keyword Research
  4. How can a keyword has very low search volume (<10) and high competition?

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.

How can a keyword has very low search volume (<10) and high competition?

Keyword Research
6
9
4.0k
Loading More Posts
  • Oldest to Newest
  • Newest to Oldest
  • Most Votes
Reply
  • Reply as question
Log in to reply
This topic has been deleted. Only users with question management privileges can see it.
  • Personnel_Concept
    Personnel_Concept last edited by Nov 19, 2012, 4:26 AM

    Sometimes I notice in Google keyword tool that a keyword has very low search volume (<10) and high competition? Why would anyone go for a keyword with very less search volume ??

    (note: If Checked in Google keywords tool with Exact match)

    Though I understand this tool doesn't always have exact data but still any explanation to that question?

    1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
    • CMC-SD
      CMC-SD @Personnel_Concept last edited by Nov 19, 2012, 9:43 PM Nov 19, 2012, 9:43 PM

      Because you only pay if they click. There's no reason not to target anything you think could convert.

      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • Personnel_Concept
        Personnel_Concept @SEO5Team last edited by Nov 19, 2012, 9:12 PM Nov 19, 2012, 9:12 PM

        Yeah that's very true that for some industries search volume might be low but margin is high!

        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
        • Personnel_Concept
          Personnel_Concept @CMC-SD last edited by Nov 19, 2012, 9:09 PM Nov 19, 2012, 9:09 PM

          That's a good point you mentioned there! Though I wonder why would someone pay money and go for low volume keywords esp, not necessarily low volume keywords has high conversion rate!

          CMC-SD 1 Reply Last reply Nov 19, 2012, 9:43 PM Reply Quote 0
          • CMC-SD
            CMC-SD last edited by Nov 20, 2012, 4:52 AM Nov 19, 2012, 2:41 PM

            I'm surprised no one has mentioned the obvious: The Google AdWords keyword tool assesses competition based on AdWords, not based on SEO. A high competition keyword is a keyword that many advertisers are bidding on. It's common practice in AdWords to bid on low-volume high-conversion keywords. Those can actually get you the best ROI sometimes.

            Personnel_Concept 1 Reply Last reply Nov 19, 2012, 9:09 PM Reply Quote 2
            • gcdtechnologies
              gcdtechnologies last edited by Nov 19, 2012, 7:14 AM Nov 19, 2012, 7:14 AM

              Hi Vikas, I think there are a number of factors. I would agree with Explainafide about the main one - lots of webmasters don't even consider SEO or keywords. Also as Christopher says, the potential ROI could make a low volume, highly competitive keyword worth optimising for. And as you say, the keyword tool isn't totally accurate and webmasters may be seeing different results from what Google estimates.

              Unless the keyword is highly valuable with a good conversion rate,I wouldn't put too much effort into optimising for low volume, highly competitive keywords. However the worth of that keyword is different to different sites.

              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
              • Robin_Jennings
                Robin_Jennings Subscriber last edited by Nov 19, 2012, 9:15 PM Nov 19, 2012, 5:58 AM

                There are many website owners that know little to no SEO and keywords aren't even a consideration.

                I work with a lot of artists and this is true in many cases. The competition for sculptor City XYZ is huge but the volume is relatively minor. It just means there's A LOT of sculptors in that city.

                1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 2
                • ChristopherGlaeser
                  ChristopherGlaeser last edited by Nov 19, 2012, 4:48 AM Nov 19, 2012, 4:48 AM

                  It is my understanding the search volume and keyword competition are independent.  For example, many people purchase socks, but the potential for profit is relatively low which limits the pricing competition.  In contrast, awards for medical malpractice could be quite high, but the search volume for a rare medical procedure could be very low.

                  Best,
                  Christopher

                  1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                  • SEO5Team
                    SEO5Team last edited by Nov 19, 2012, 9:15 PM Nov 19, 2012, 4:47 AM

                    Your keyword selection should depend on the conversion probability related to the keyword combined with the search volume. You dont want to put too much SEO effort on a keyword with very little search volume however as you mentioned correctly, Google's keyword tool info is not always accurate.

                    Low volume search terms might be very valuable for some industries as even one sale resulting from those keywords can mean a lot of revenue for the client.

                    Personnel_Concept 1 Reply Last reply Nov 19, 2012, 9:12 PM Reply Quote 1
                    • 1 / 1
                    1 out of 9
                    • First post
                      1/9
                      Last post

                    Got a burning SEO question?

                    Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.


                    Start my free trial


                    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.

                    • See all categories

                    Related Questions

                    • Faizali.786

                      Inconsistent Keyword Search Volume & Difficulty Across Tools (e.g., Moz, Google Keyword Planner, Ahrefs, Semrush)

                      keyword difficulty keyword explorer

                      Hi there, Moz Community! I'm reaching out for some guidance on keyword research discrepancies. I'm currently targeting the keyword "sui gas bill" for my blog, sngplbill, which focuses on information related to Sui gas bills. I've used several keyword research tools, including Moz, Google Keyword Planner, Ahrefs, and Semrush, and each platform provides different search volume and keyword difficulty scores: Moz: No search volume data, Keyword Difficulty (KD) 24
                      Google Keyword Planner: Search volume 100k-1M, Difficulty (Low)
                      Semrush: Search volume 90k, KD 31
                      Ahrefs: KD 1 (Very Easy)
                      These varying results are causing some confusion. Ideally, I'd like to understand which platform offers the most reliable data for search volume and keyword difficulty. Here are some additional details that might be helpful: My target location: Pakistan My Questions: What factors might contribute to these discrepancies in keyword data across different tools?
                      Considering my niche (Sui gas bill information in Pakistan), which platform would you recommend for the most accurate search volume and keyword difficulty estimates?
                      Are there any additional factors to consider beyond search volume and keyword difficulty when selecting keywords for content strategy?
                      Any insights you can provide would be greatly appreciated!
                      Capture sui gas bill semrush.PNG Capture moz sui gas bill.PNG Capture gkp sui gas bill.PNG Capture ahref sui gas bill.PNG
                      Thanks,

                      Keyword Research | May 19, 2024, 9:03 PM | Faizali.786
                      0
                    • E_F

                      Has the keyword planner search volume metric gone crazy?

                      I use the search volume found in keyword planner to score and weight my keywords in a similar way as Rand showed us in this WBF. This week I've found that in many cases suddenly the singular and plural version of the keyword have the same search volume. This seems crazy to me as singular and plural is not the same, the intent is different but more importantly they behave very differently from each other when looking at their track record in Adwords (impressions, clicks, conversions, CTR, CVR etc...all different). For example, here's a screenshot of 4 keywords (singular and plural versions of 2 phrases) with search volume captured a couple of months ago. Now here's another screenshot of the same keywords taken from Keyword planner today. Any ideas why this would be happening? Does it makes sense to you? It just seems buggy to me. Thanks!

                      Keyword Research | Jul 21, 2016, 5:14 AM | E_F
                      0
                    • surabhi6

                      Which keywords are sending traffic to my site?

                      I want to know Which keywords are sending traffic to my site?  What type of strategies behind this ?

                      Keyword Research | Jul 2, 2014, 12:29 PM | surabhi6
                      0
                    • CsmBill

                      Keyword Conundrum...

                      I have 3 keywords that I am targeting. Assume for the time being that they are all equally competitive. Includes local exact match monthly searches: Managed IT Services - 3600 IT Managed Services - 720 Managed IT Support - 170 They are all exactly synonymous, not to mention other keywords such as IT Managed Support, Managed IT Service, IT Managed Service, Managed IT Service Provider, etc..  My current strategy is to target the top 3 all on one page. The problem then is the title tag: Managed IT Services | IT Managed Services | Managed IT Support Pretty spammy. I could build pages for all 3, but how would I incorporate them into the website since they are all synonyms. Can I get some recommendations on how to handle this? What would you use for a title tag? How would handle separate pages with synonymous content?

                      Keyword Research | Jul 11, 2013, 12:31 PM | CsmBill
                      0
                    • Frost

                      Global Search Count

                      If I ranked top on google for a keyword for Exact  Local Search Count say 2000.How much of the Exact Global Search Count of 4000 contribute to  Exact Local Search Count

                      Keyword Research | Aug 9, 2012, 6:41 PM | Frost
                      0
                    • Darden

                      Where can I find lists of high probability of winning keywords

                      Keyword research can take a lot of time.   Suppose you are not sure of what keywords you want to rank for but just want to see a list of phrases that have 500-5000 searches a day, low cost and low competition because you are looking for phrases that interest you for which it will be easier to rank close to #1 in google.   Besides AdWords Keyword Tool, are there sites that specialize in this?

                      Keyword Research | Jun 15, 2012, 12:13 PM | Darden
                      0
                    • Timvroom

                      How should I use keywords in a sentence?

                      The keywords that I target are phrases that wouldn't ever be used in a sentence... Ex: Stained Concrete Virginia My question is... Is it better to use the phrase, even though its odd? Ex: Stained Concrete Virginia is a great product Or is it better to make it a natural sentence? Ex: Stained Concrete in Virginia is a great product? Im trying to find a way to use my keyword phrases at least 4 times in the content of the pages...but it seems difficult if I have to use such an odd phrase. Thanks! Tim

                      Keyword Research | Mar 6, 2012, 9:23 PM | Timvroom
                      0
                    • Trbl

                      How can I get [exact] search volumes from Yandex? Who can help me?

                      The page http://wordstat.yandex.ru/ only shows broad match volumes...

                      Keyword Research | Nov 9, 2011, 4:29 PM | Trbl
                      0

                    Get started with Moz Pro!

                    Unlock the power of advanced SEO tools and data-driven insights.

                    Start my free trial
                    Products
                    • Moz Pro
                    • Moz Local
                    • Moz API
                    • Moz Data
                    • STAT
                    • Product Updates
                    Moz Solutions
                    • SMB Solutions
                    • Agency Solutions
                    • Enterprise Solutions
                    Free SEO Tools
                    • Domain Authority Checker
                    • Link Explorer
                    • Keyword Explorer
                    • Competitive Research
                    • Brand Authority Checker
                    • Local Citation Checker
                    • MozBar Extension
                    • MozCast
                    Resources
                    • Blog
                    • SEO Learning Center
                    • Help Hub
                    • Beginner's Guide to SEO
                    • How-to Guides
                    • Moz Academy
                    • API Docs
                    About Moz
                    • About
                    • Team
                    • Careers
                    • Contact
                    Why Moz
                    • Case Studies
                    • Testimonials
                    Get Involved
                    • Become an Affiliate
                    • MozCon
                    • Webinars
                    • Practical Marketer Series
                    • MozPod
                    Connect with us

                    Contact the Help team

                    Join our newsletter
                    Moz logo
                    © 2021 - 2025 SEOMoz, Inc., a Ziff Davis company. All rights reserved. Moz is a registered trademark of SEOMoz, Inc.
                    • Accessibility
                    • Terms of Use
                    • Privacy

                    Looks like your connection to Moz was lost, please wait while we try to reconnect.