How trustworthy is Google's Keyword Tool for organic search research?
-
Can anyone (not Google affliated) explain to me where Google's data really comes from in their Keyword Tool?
Is it at all based on organic search? Or only on Google Ads related data?
I know there was some controversy back in June '10 and the Google remedied the return of suggested keywords but I can't seem to get a clear answer (other than from the Google blog itself) whether the search volumes returned are truly indicative of organic search.
Am I relying on the wrong tool? Do those more savvy than I only rely on the keyword tool for PPC research.
Please help! I'm obsessing over my numbers here.
-
Yeah I wouldn't trust Wordtracker as far as I could throw a lead donkey. Not on its own anyway. I've seen it turn up some pretty weird stuff before, long tail phrases that you wouldn't imagine anyone searching, but it seems to think has loads of searches. Embarrassing if you're showing a client something at the time.
-
I too agree with Steve. Googles numbers do seem a bit "off" especially when you try to use local terms with it. Although I like Wordtracker and Keyword Discovery too, i think their data is also "off" (my opinion). I think its just a matter of utilizing multiple tools and looking for a common theme. I've also found keyword spy to be helpful as well. Even their free tool is pretty nice in comparison.
-
Thanks for the quick answer. This totally makes sense. I'll look into the tools you mentioned.
-
I would have to agree with Steve. It's good for a rough estimate. I would look at more in a ratio scenario. So they might say 100 for the 1st result and 10 for the 2nd. If they are using similar math to hide their numbers then you are looking at a 10 to 1 ratio.
-
Don't use it on it's own. I use it a lot but never use it for any more than a rough guide. It's based on searches performed in Google... not specific to ads or organic. It throws up numbers that you know are wrong for a start. When you use it, don't use broad match, watch for keyword phrases that are in reverse, and just don't take it as gospel. With the search volumes, use it more as a measure of how popular one keyword is over another. I do use it loads more than other keyword software and despite how volatile and deceitful it is I still think it lies a lot less than any of the others. But once you've got somewhere with your keyword research try then in one or two other tools too i.e. Wordtracker and/or Keyword Discovery
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 -
Any tools to scan URL to identify keyword opportunities
Hi guys, Looking for tools which can scan content and identify keyword opportunities. I know you can use Google Keyword Planner or tools like Semrush. But was wondering what else there is on the market? Specifically looking for tools which can pull relevant keywords by scanning the content, exactly the same as Google Keyword Planner. Cheers.
Keyword Research | | jayoliverwright0 -
Keywords ranking however the URL shown is not related to the ranked keyword?
Hi, Some of our ranked keywords and URLs are not related. e.g. the served URL is not optimised for the specific keyword, any ideas? Thank you Daniela
Keyword Research | | EurekaSolutions0 -
How many keywords is too many?
Hi there Moz'ers, I run a mens fashion brand called THE AFFAIR, where we craft premium T-shirts and Art Prints inspired by your favourite books. So my problem is that I have no idea what to try to rank for keyword wise because every product is inspired by a different book and author. Whilst I could go very wide and try for terms such as "graphic t-shirts" or "printed t-shirts" they are a) super competitive and b) bear no relation to the primary selling point being the literature inspired basis of what we do. But on the flip side, there's just not that many people searching for "Jules Verne t-shirts" or even "Adventure t-shirts" to go a little wider at the genre level. Basically I'm confused at a conceptual level about how to best select my keywords and desperately need some help before running down the wrong path! For what it's worth the site is built on WP (using WooCommerce) and I have installed Yoast and begin playing around with it... But anyway it's the larger strategy that has me stumped at the moment and I really don't know where to begin. Thanks for your time and all comments very much appreciated. FREE T-SHIRT to whoever has the best solution 🙂 cheers
Keyword Research | | theaffair
Zoltan0 -
Google Keyword Tool: What is considered a unique keyword?
I'm trying to research keywords using Google's Keyword Tool. After looking at results, I have the following questions: 1. Does singular/plurals of a word count as two different keywords to Google (ie: photobooth and photobooths)? Would I need to have a unique page targeting each word or will one page on my site be sufficient for targeting both? 2. I've noticed that different variations of keywords have the same global monthly search results. This leads me to believe that Google see's all of them as one keyword. ie: "photo booth props" and "props for a photo booth" and "props with photo booth", all have 22,200 search global monthly search resluts. On the other hand "moustache prop" and "prop moustache" have different global monthly search results (480 and 590). Can anyone explain this?
Keyword Research | | Alchemist230 -
Hit by Panda, what's the quickest way to remove content
One of our client's sites got hit by panda/penguin. after careful investigation we found that the site had 6,900 pages indexed out of which about 300 are actual pages (pages with quality content and add value to the user). Needless to say we had to remove all those pages. Most of the thin pages were on the blog section of the site so we removed the WP which was on www.mysite.com/blog/. My question is how can i speed up the process for Google to realize that i have taken all those this pages down. i have fetched the homepage and all linked pages via "Fetch as Google Bot" on WMT. is there anything else i can do to speed this up???
Keyword Research | | 858-SEO0 -
Keyword selection and search counts
I am a new pro member and have noticed that a lot of my keywords are very similar. i.e. "piano movers Atlanta" vs. "Atlanta piano movers" vs. "piano movers in Atlanta" Is there an accurate way to see search counts for each of these terms do determine which one I should target? Does anyone have any recommended tools or strategies?
Keyword Research | | bcarp880 -
The importance of meta keywords
Hello, I am looking into Meta keywords in the attempt to understand their importance. I have been reading about this in several blogs and get the feeling that the general view is that they are no longer very valuable. Some say it is because Google and Bing no longer use them, that in terms of SEO they carry little importance and that they are a great indicator to your competitors about which keywords you believe are important... My question is this: Without Meta keywords, how do you deal with misspelt search keywords on your website? For example, if you were looking for a product called 'El Mundo en Espa_ñ_ol' but spelt it using the normal 'n' instead of the Spanish 'ñ', and the keyword 'Espanol' was not included in the Meta keywords, would you still find the product? English speaking people commonly search without the ñ because this is more convenient to them. So how can I make sure that the page is optimised for these type of common misspellings? Thanks!!!
Keyword Research | | languedoc0