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
      • MozCon
      • Webinars, Whitepapers, & Guides
    • Blog
    • Why Moz
      • Digital Marketers
      • Agency Solutions
      • Enterprise Solutions
      • Small Business Solutions
      • 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.

      Track AI Overviews in Keyword Research
      Moz Pro

      Track AI Overviews in Keyword Research

      Try it free!
    • 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
      • Digital Marketers

        Simplify SEO tasks to save time and grow your traffic.

      • 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.

      • 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
    4038
    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

      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

        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

          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

            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 Reply Quote 0
            • CMC-SD
              CMC-SD last edited by

              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 Reply Quote 2
              • gcdtechnologies
                gcdtechnologies last edited by

                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

                  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

                    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

                      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 Reply Quote 1
                      • 1 / 1
                      • First post
                        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

                      • SallieJ

                        Is it a bad idea to hyphenate keywords?

                        Hello, my understanding was that Google reads hyphens in keywords as spaces, but if that's accurate how come keywords with hyphens that I research with Keyword Explorer — for instance, hospital-acquired infections — rank lower when I include the hyphen? If the hyphen hurts SEO, do I have to remove them all from the blog or page in question? Removing hyphens means a blog or page will have punctuation errors, which is irritating to an editor, but I don't want to sacrifice the effectiveness of keywords, either. Thanks, in advance, for your response!

                        Keyword Research | | SallieJ
                        0
                      • Kingalan1

                        Setting Up a Keyword Matrix

                        Greetings MOZ community!! My real estate web site contains about 500 pages with perhaps 70 pages targeting low volume, somewhat valuable but not very competitive keywords. Three to four URLs target very competitive terms. The following  terms are among the most valuable: New York City office space,
                        New York office space,
                        Manhattan office space,
                        NYC office space Such variants as: Office space in New York City,
                        Office space in New York,
                        Office space in Manhattan,
                        Office space in NYC
                        ETCETERA convert really well How would I match different terms to different URLs? For example I have just re-written the following two critical URLs: www.nyc-officespace-leader.com (home page)
                        http://www.nyc-officespace-leader.com/commercial-space/office-space (product page) Would it make sense to use "Manhattan office space" and variants on the home page while excluding "New York City office space" variants? At the same time I would use "New York City office space" variants on the "office-space" product page while excluding all mention of "Manhattan office space". Is this logical and does it conform to SEO best practices? For the "NYC office space" terms I would add them to http://www.nyc-officespace-leader.com/listings. This URL has almost no text but a strong potential to rent because of a high number of incoming internal links. Is this approach sensible? In general what measures should I take to prevent URLs from competing for the same keywords? Also, is there a software package or tools that I can use to come up with keyword variants? As a non SEO professional, can I create my own keyword matrix or is this really in the realm of a professional SEO consultant? Thanks, Alan

                        Keyword Research | | Kingalan1
                        0
                      • SnapComms

                        Accuracy of search volume for keyword planner v old keyword tool?

                        Hi there, I'm (logged into Google Adwords)  and researching search volume for keywords but I'm seeing weird results. I know that the term "outage notification" had between 1000 and 5000 monthly global searches when I last looked (I know this because I add a search volume tag to the keywords I track ranking of via Moz).  Yet, now when I check global search volume via keyword planner I'm seeing only 70 global searches per month (AND low competition which I know is not true).  Is this perhaps because only the exact match is reported or is something else going on? Very frustrated as I have now lost faith in the keyword research process via Google keyword planner....not sure where to go from here!! Thanks very much

                        Keyword Research | | SnapComms
                        1
                      • AdamThompson

                        Bulk keyword competition tool?

                        The SEOmoz Keyword Difficulty tool is great, but the 5 keyword limit is too small. I need a tool that will allow checking the organic competition level of 100's of keywords (to help in selecting blog topics). Anyone know of such a tool?

                        Keyword Research | | AdamThompson
                        1
                      • 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 | | Darden
                        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 | | Trbl
                        0
                      • omarfk

                        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 | | omarfk
                        0
                      • rawberg

                        Keyword Traffic Estimator Tools

                        Hello, I'm relatively new to SEO and looking to find a good tool for estimating the search traffic volume of different keywords in order to focus efforts on higher yielding terms. Right now I'm using Google's traffic estimator but it doesn't seem to have much data for long-tail keywords. Is anything else out there better or more accurate? Thank you!

                        Keyword Research | | rawberg
                        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
                      • Digital Marketers
                      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.