Google Adwords - trying to understand the figures...
-
Whilst researching keywords I often find the global monthly search on google adwords tool differs, yet the local (UK) is the same (or vice versa)
Example:
ready mix concrete - global 90,500 & local 18,100
ready mixed concrete - global 60,500 & local 18,100
or
forklift truck hire - global 18,100 & local 4,400
forklift truck rental - global 22,200 & local 4,400I'm making an assumption that for my local country, the phrases ready mix" and "ready mixed" are being treated the same, as are "hire" and "rental" but globally they are not. Am I correct?
Of course, they could be two completely separate terms according to Google but coincidentally, have the same search volume. However, I find this happens quite regularly.
Anybody shed any light?
-
You are looking at broad match Gordon, I tend to look at the exact term (exact match), you could have terms coming off which are not relevant, which you would almost neg out straight away but anyway that's another thread.
Just so you know Google takes the last 12 months of data and averages it, and it's not the exact number of searches either it's rounded.
If you put both terms in again, tick both of them and choose 'Download' it will break the search volume down into months for you, you will then see different search volumes for the local search each month.
Hope that helped a little.
-
Thanks Chris. Yes, some of these can indeed differ when exact type is chosen, but it's not the case all the time..
-
dare I ask what keyword tool you do use?
-
In addition to what everyone else has said, be sure to check your match types. On a broad match level "ready mix" and "ready mixed" aren't different. On an exact match I would assume it could be different.
-
I expect that the search volume for these terms varies by season - very strongly in some parts of the USA or world.
Where I live ready mix will not be searched during the winter and the use of forklifts also has seasonal change.
So, flux in the reported volumes should be expected.
-
Remember, Google uses LSI in their algorithms - so usually when you see strange discrepancies like this it means that the terms are being treated as semantically related. E.g. - if you search for "ready mix concrete" you'll see both terms (mix / mixed) in bold. Same for forklift truck / hire - you'll see both in bold.
I cant say that I know if this is the reason its just food for thought. I no longer use the Google Keyword Tool to estimate traffic as it can be really off - but what it still does well is measure relative traffic (keyword x has 2.5x the traffic as keyword y, and so on).
-
Yes, I would say that is a very accurate assessment Gordon. For example, "ready mix" and "ready mixed" are probably used interchangeably in the UK, however, in the USA the term "ready mixed" would be used much less often and instead we would maybe use "premix" or "premixed."
I do believe those kinds of differences would effect global search. Hope that helps!
Also, keep in mind that those Google numbers are estimates. They aren't hard and fast. They are based on data samplings and not complete data sets.
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
-
Does Google do keyword matching when deciding whether to rank a page?
Hi, another newbie question on keyword research and selection (can't find any information on-line with this low level of detail)... If I've decided that my primary keyword for a given product page is the product name, something like 'AquaPower wet and dry cordless vacuum cleaner', can I assume that it isn't worth additionally optimising the page for 'cordless vacuum' as this has a phrase match in the primary keyword? Is it still worth additionally optimising for 'wet and dray vacuum' which has a broad match within the primary keyword or is Google bright enough to drop the intervening word 'cordless' when deciding whether to rank my page? Thanks for any guidance on this.
Keyword Research | | Alli70 -
How do I use Google Keyword in onsite seo?
Hello to all, I wanted to ask if I am doing this correctly. So I own a Bernese mountain dog website I used the google keyword research tools to view keyword ideas. I listed my results below. So my questions are: 1 - Bernese Mountain Dog Puppies (the keyword) blow away the other keywords. So when you are looking at your sites most popular keywords, do you make the most popular keyword your homepage? Because it gets the most link juice? Like would you build the homepage around the best keyword instead of branding - like the company name etc? Or does it matter? Basically just as long as you use it for one page? 2 - When you have keywords that have parts of other keywords, is it safe to use the longer keyword because it has parts of the other phrases? Such as Bernese mountain dog puppies for sale is a part of Bernese mountain dog puppies for sale in Colorado. So if you use bernese mountain dog puppies for sale in Colorado, it will also hit the bernese mountain dog puppies for sale? ( without the In Colorado) What type of strategy would you use for this type of situation? 3- Lastly, and thank you for your time - I watched a video from a grey hat seo guy. He said to take a keyword or phrase like say Colorado home builders, create a page like example.com/Colorado-home-builders/ Then make you h1 tag - The Best Colorado Home Builders Add The Best Colorado home builders to your meta description and one more time in your h2 tag Then create a Bold, and italic The Best Colorado Home Builders in your unique content paragraphs. So my question is - is this grey hat and bad? Or the standard? I do not want to get hit for over optimizing. So just wanted to ask you opinion first. In the end, I truly thank you for taking the time to read my questions. I appreciate everyone's help and greatly appreciate your knowledge. So my results look like this | bernese mountain dog puppies | 590 | Low | $0.45 | 1% | |
Keyword Research | | Berner
| bernese mountain dog puppies for sale | 90 | High | $0.42 | 9% | |
| bernese mountain dogs | 90 | Low | $0.37 | 0% | |
| bernese mountain dog puppies for sale in colorado | 30 | Medium | $0.76 | 0% | |
| bernese mountain dog breeders in colorado | 20 | Medium | $0.32 | 0% | |
| bernese mountain dogs colorado | 40 | Low | $0.08 | 0% | |
| bernese mountain dog puppy breeders | 10 |0 -
How accurate is Googles Keyword Planner?
I did some keyword research for our company. Some of the terms we got 100,000 search volume for in 2011 now have only 90 monthly searches. I am doing exact match for both US and Global and neither are any where near those high of numbers. Now I can't say how the old report on this was done but we are all a little skeptical of these numbers. Is there any other tool out there for search volume on Google? The Moz tool while it lists Google as an option only does Bing. Thank you!
Keyword Research | | Sika220 -
Google+ Listings - Strange
I was doing keyword research, and for some of my keywords I was seeing Google+ listings last week. they were gone earlier this week, but now they are back. We weren't in them anyway (new project) but can anyone explain this? Same computer, Same IP,
Keyword Research | | CsmBill0 -
What is the relationship/difference between categories and keywords in terms of google local seo?
I know that they are very similar as search signals, but I would like to understand the exact relationship. My company is in the process of adding local seo services to our seo offerings, and we are trying to hammer out a process for determining optimal categories for businesses based on keywords we are already using for optimizing their sites. Any insights or suggestions on how best to do this would be much appreciated.
Keyword Research | | CustomCreatives0 -
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. 🙂
Keyword Research | | lhutt0 -
Keyword Research: Does Google view the word "and" as an "or" statement
I'm doing keyword research and one of the terms I have found that work for my website are "exercise and vitamins". One of my colleagues told me that Google views searches that contain the word "and" as an "or" statement (i.e., the searcher is looking for either "excercise" or "vitamins"). My understanding of the word "and" is that it is a stop word, which is ignored by Google. Which is correct?
Keyword Research | | EricVallee340 -
Does Google Places pick up interior pages?
For example, we have optimized all of a clients interior pages to the point where it is competing with some of their competitors main pages. Unfortunately, they do not show up on most of the Google Places keywords. Their competition, who are lower than them organically, automatically show up in Google Places while they do not show up at all. Organically they are 2nd or 3rd in most of their keywords, but no one near the top in Google Places. Thank you!
Keyword Research | | Champions0