Keyword search volume refers to the number of times a particular keyword or keyword phrase is searched for on search engines like Google during a given time period. Understanding search volume for keywords can provide valuable insights for SEO strategy and content creation.
Why is keyword search volume important?
There are a few key reasons why keyword search volume is an important metric to pay attention to in SEO and content marketing:
- It indicates consumer demand and interest. Higher search volume shows there is more interest in a topic and more potential traffic for that keyword.
- It can help prioritize keyword targeting. Focusing on higher volume keywords that align with your business can help drive more relevant organic traffic.
- It impacts competition. Keywords with higher search volume tend to be more competitive to rank for organically.
- It informs content strategy. Creating content around keywords with sufficient search volume can help generate traffic and leads.
In summary, keyword search volume points search marketers towards high-potential topics and keywords that they should be optimizing content for to capture interested searchers.
How is search volume measured?
There are a few different ways that keyword search volume data is measured and estimated:
- Google Keyword Planner – This free tool from Google Ads provides monthly search volume estimates for keywords. This data comes directly from Google and is considered fairly accurate, although the numbers are ranges.
- Third-party keyword research tools – Tools like SEMrush, Ahrefs, and KeywordTool.io use various methods like clickstream data analysis and search query sampling to estimate volumes. Estimates can vary between tools.
- Keyword ranking analysis – Analyzing the top-ranked sites for a keyword can provide clues about search volume based on the level of competition and optimization apparent.
- Search trends – Looking at search trends over time for a term can indicate rises, falls, and seasonality in search volume.
Keyword Planner and third-party tools tend to provide the most convenient and reliable keyword volume data for SEO. But search trends and ranking analysis also contribute signals to complete the picture.
What are some typical keyword search volumes?
Keyword search volumes can vary immensely, from millions of searches per month down to just a few. Here are some examples of monthly search volume ranges:
- 10,000+ searches – Very popular head keywords like “insurance” or “shoes”. Very high competition.
- 1,000-9,999 searches – Competitive keywords and phrases like “car insurance” or “running shoes”. Moderate-to-high competition.
- 100-999 searches – Specific long-tail keywords like “workers compensation insurance” or “orthopedic running shoes”. Low-to-moderate competition.
- 10-99 searches – Very specific long-tail keywords and questions like “how to file workers comp claim” or “best stability running shoes for plantar fasciitis”. Low competition.
- 0-9 searches – Extremely specific keywords and questions. Minimal competition.
Keywords with 100+ monthly searches are usually worth considering for SEO content targeting. But even keywords with lower volumes (
How is search volume data used for SEO?
Search volume has a number of practical uses for SEO strategy, including:
- Prioritizing keywords – Focus on higher volume keywords first when mapping out a content plan.
- Evaluating keyword difficulty – Higher volumes typically mean more competition for rankings.
- Setting targets – Benchmarking and monitoring search volume over time for targeted keywords.
- Estimating traffic potential – Using search volumes to estimate potential organic traffic for each keyword.
- Identifying opportunities – Finding relevant keywords with high volume but low competition.
- Informing budget – Higher volume keywords may warrant larger content production budgets.
While search volume shouldn’t be the only consideration in keyword selection, it remains one of the most useful data points for shaping SEO strategies.
What are some keyword research tools providing search volume data?
Some of the most popular keyword research tools that include search volume data are:
- Google Keyword Planner – Free keyword and volume estimates directly from Google.
- SEMrush – Robust paid keyword research tool with thorough volume data.
- Ahrefs – Another top paid tool providing highly accurate keyword search data.
- Moz Keyword Explorer – Helps research and analyze keyword volumes.
- Ubersuggest – Free keyword volume checker from Neil Patel.
- KWFinder – Affordable paid tool offering keyword search volumes.
Keyword research extensions are also available for Google Chrome and Firefox to provide search volume estimates right in Google search results. Professional SEO tools like SEMrush and Ahrefs require subscriptions but offer some of the most robust search volume capabilities for comprehensive keyword research.
What are some trends in keyword search volume?
Some trends that can impact search volumes for keywords over time include:
- Seasonality – Searches related to seasons, holidays, events, etc. see spikes during relevant time periods.
- Current events – Hot topics and news events lead to temporary spikes for related keywords.
- Product launches – New products and services boost volumes around related keywords.
- Technological shifts – Changes like new devices or platforms impact search behavior.
- Popular media – Movies, TV shows, etc. triggering increases in certain search queries.
- Marketing campaigns – Successful marketing and PR boosts search volume.
- Consumer behavior – Evolving lifestyles, preferences, and habits alter search trends.
Ongoing keyword research is important to spot rising and falling trends in search behavior and volume. This allows you to optimize content for topics that align with current consumer demand.
What are long-tail keywords and how do their volumes compare?
Long-tail keywords are the more specific, conversational, and detailed search queries consisting of 3 or more words. For example:
- Head term: credit cards
- Long-tail variation: top rewards credit cards
Long-tail keywords tend to have significantly lower search volume than short head keywords and keyphrases. For instance, while “credit cards” may get 50,000 monthly searches, “top rewards credit cards” only sees around 1,500. The long-tail has a “long tail” distribution with high numbers of nichey keywords with low volumes.
The benefit of long-tail SEO is less competition, since you can target hundreds of lower volume keywords vs just a handful of competitive head terms. This strategy helps content rank well in aggregate for all the nichey queries. However, each term drives less traffic, so you need more keywords. It’s ideal to use a blend of head, mid-tail, and long-tail keywords for the ideal volume-competition balance.
Should I focus on high or low competition keywords?
This depends on your objectives and existing site authority. As a general best practice:
- Established sites should target a blend of high, medium, and low competition keywords. You can compete for rankings on some hard keywords, but also go after easier wins.
- Newer sites with less authority should start with lower competition keywords to get early wins and build trust signals. Avoid very hard keywords.
- Use keyword difficulty tools to identify “just right” keywords – enough search volume and competition to be worthwhile, but not so hard that rankings are unrealistic.
Balance is ideal. Keyword volumes and competition data help strategically identify the best keywords to target at different stages of SEO growth.
Should I use keywords with exactly matching or similar search volumes?
Exact search volume matches between keywords are not necessary. The priorities are:
- Relevance – The keyword aligns closely with your content topic.
- Search intent – The keyword has commercial or informational intent, not just navigational.
- Some minimum volume – At least 100+ searches per month for non-head keywords to warrant optimization.
Grouping related keywords with similar search volumes can help provide enough aggregate volume for a content topic. But perfectly matching volumes across all keywords is not required or even realistic.
How often should I check search volume data for updates?
I recommend checking keyword search volumes at these intervals:
- Head keywords – Monthly or quarterly
- Product/seasonal keywords – Monthly
- Currently trending topics – Weekly or biweekly
- All other keywords – Quarterly
Search volumes do fluctuate over time but most keywords won’t drastically change month to month. Monitoring head keywords and timely topics more closely allows you to stay on top of new opportunities. But most keywords only need a quarterly check to spot big shifts in volumes.
Can I rely solely on keyword search volume for SEO prioritization?
No, keyword search volume should not be the only factor used to prioritize keywords. Other key factors include:
- Keyword difficulty – How hard it will be to rank for the keyword.
- Relevance – How closely the keyword matches your products, services and expertise.
- Intent – Does the keyword indicate a commercial or informational search intent.
- Value – Conversions and revenue value of traffic from each keyword.
Search volume is just one piece of the puzzle. Keyword prioritization and targeting for SEO should balance search volume data with these other factors to make optimal choices.
What are some common mistakes when using keyword volume data?
Some common mistakes include:
- Optimizing solely for the highest volume keywords regardless of difficulty or relevance.
- Assuming higher volume automatically means more valuable traffic.
- Not looking at historical trends and seasonality of search volumes.
- Using simplistic volume thresholds like “must have 1,000+ searches.”
- Not validating volumes between different keyword research tools.
- Ignoring low-competition long-tail opportunities in favor of high-volume head keywords.
Avoid these errors by taking a nuanced approach to analyzing volumes and weighing them appropriately against other factors when making keyword targeting decisions.
How can I estimate traffic potential based on keyword search volume?
A basic formula for estimating search traffic potential is:
Monthly keyword searches x Estimated click-through-rate (CTR) x Targeted ranking position = Estimated monthly traffic potential
For example:
1,200 searches per month x 0.05 CTR x #1 ranking target = Estimated 60 visits/month
This provides a rough estimate of possible organic traffic for a given keyword and target ranking. To increase accuracy, use historical CTR data and factor in ranking difficulty.
How can I track changes in keyword search volume over time?
Some options for tracking keyword search volume changes include:
- Use keyword research tools that provide historical volume data.
- Export volume data to Excel or Google Sheets regularly to compare.
- Use rank tracking software and look for volume changes in your targeted keywords.
- Manually record weekly or monthly search volumes for important head keywords.
- Monitor search trends using Google Trends for insight into rising/falling topics.
Consistently gathering and documenting this volume data over time provides visibility into the patterns and fluctuations of search behavior.
What is a good minimum monthly search volume threshold to target for keywords?
There aren’t hard rules on ideal search volume minimums, but these benchmarks can guide keyword selection:
- Head keywords – 500-1,000+ searches
- Middle-tail keywords – 100-500 searches
- Long-tail keywords – 50-100 searches
Keywords with under 10-50 monthly searches are likely too low unless they closely match very niche content topics. But search volume shouldn’t trump relevance. Valuable but very low volume queries may still be worth targeting on occasion.
Should I reconsider targeting a keyword if the search volume declines significantly?
Generally, yes. If a keyword’s search volume drops 50% or more over a few months it’s worth reevaluating your targeting and optimization for that term. Exceptions could be:
- It’s still highly relevant for your business.
- The volume is a temporary anomaly and expected to recover.
- The keyword converts very well despite declining searches.
Otherwise replacing it with a more in-demand keyword is advisable. Continually monitoring volumes helps detect when it’s time to shift focus to more promising terms.
Conclusion
In summary, keyword search volume is a useful data signal that provides direction for SEO strategies and content creation when used properly. But it shouldn’t be the sole factor in keyword targeting. Measured accurately from multiple sources and balanced with other keyword considerations, search volume can help businesses align their SEO efforts with consumer search behavior and interests.
By leveraging search volumes appropriately as part of in-depth keyword research, sites can optimize content in high-potential topics. This attracts qualified organic traffic from searchers actively looking for the products, services and information they offer.