How accurate are google keyword estimates for local search volume?
-
We've all used the Google Adwords Keywords Tool, and if you're like me you use it to analyze data for a particular region. Does anyone know how accurate this data is? For example, I'd like to know how often people in Savannah, Georgia search for the word "forklift". I figure that Google can give me two kinds of data when I ask for how many people in Savannah search for "forklift".
- They might actually give me rough data for how many people in the region actually searched for the term "forklift" over the last 12 months, then divide by 12 to give me a monthly average.
- Or they might use data on a much broader region and then adjust for Savannah's population size. In other words, they might say, in the US people searched for "forklift" and average of 1,000,000 times a month. The US has a population of 300,000,000. Savannah has a population of about 250,000. 250,000 / 300,000,000 is 0.00083. 1,000,000 times 0.00083 is 208. So, "forklift" is searched in Savannah an average of 208 times.
1. is obviously much more accurate. I suspect that 2. is the model that Google is actually using. Does anyone know with reasonable certainty which it is?
Thanks,
Adam -
Hey Adam,
That's so funny because I use your basic model to predict my local volumes too. Most of the stuff I do is local and because it's also pretty new or technical Like 'Plexr Plasma Surgery' or ' Vaser Liposuction' etc, it can be a real struggle because sometimes it's not even there in the indexed words from the big tools.
But you can augment your data with more sources. For example looking inside search console at the amount of traffic a certain keyword is getting and then looking at the average position CTR's for that particular word. This is a very rough guide. But then you can add another data dimension which is looking at the the national rankings for more obscure keywords with your favourite competitive analysis tool and then figure out almost what the 'total search' is for that word and divvy it up using rough data from Google trends for your location.
Google trends is your friend because If I can see that 'Botox' has a certain amount of national volume (probably pretty accurate) then I can compare it to 'facial filler' and model the two because people who have heard of Botox will also have heard of filler and are in the rough same demographic.
So it's all guesswork but educated guesswork. And I recently predicted traffic for an 'Icon' white spot treatment page this way. (this gets the patchy flouride spots off your teeth after braces.) I made my page and used the main Icon website visitors from SEM Rush - minus dentists to give me customers actually searching and then used google trends to figure out how much of that pie Liverpool was going to get as opposed to London or the rest of the world and the results are pretty accurate. Like spookily accurate.
I'm certainly not a mathematician but I can use a calculator and my gut feelings. I think It's from forecasting in business (we're really good at that now) that's given me some ability to forecast in other areas too. You just need to verify the datasets from as many independent sources as possible and discount or give extra credence to certain ones over others using your intelligence.
But the best way is to build a page (and because it's a random of low vol keyword you can rank 1-3 overnight and see how many visitors you get. Shoot first ask questions later. What's the worst that can happen? You made a nice page for your visitors to read. Some of my best performing content I got this way.
-
Hey Adam,
Honestly, I am not able to answer your question with total certainty. What I've personally experienced is that Google's volumes for local keywords have always, always felt "off" to me. When a tool tells you that no one in X city is searching for something you are positive they are searching for (like water heater repair, or housekeeping, or yard maintenance), you're just left saying, "huh?". I thought this recent Whiteboard Friday did a good job of explaining why some of Google's estimates aren't reliable, in terms of Adwords:
https://moz.com/blog/unreliable-google-adwords-keyword-volume
I'm hoping another community member will be able to give you a more satisfactory answer on this, but thought you might like to watch that video in the meantime.
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
-
I have followed all the steps in google speed ranking on how to increase my website http://briefwatch.com/ speed but no good result
My website http://briefwatch.com/ has a very low-speed score on google page speed and I followed all the steps given to me still my website speed doesn't increase
Local Website Optimization | | Briefwatch0 -
Google-selected canonical: the homepage?
Hi guys,
Local Website Optimization | | Andreea-M
I checked the product pages on our website with Google Search Console (URL Inspection), and the majority appear as
"URL is not on Google"
Coverage: "Duplicate, submitted URL not selected as canonical", and
Google-selected canonical: the homepage of the website (for all product pages) Our product pages are not identical to the homepage (content-wise), besides the top menu, header and footer, so how could I use the canonical tag in this case? I wouldn't want that the product pages to be seen as duplicates of the homepage. Thanks!0 -
Ranking for keywords locally with multiple locations
If we have a company with multiple physical locations across multiple states, but selling the same products, what would be an optimal strategy? All local locations have been claimed, but the site is not coming up for searches with local intent. If the corporate site focuses on the "products", what is the best way to get that associated with the individual locations as well? When implementing json+ld, would we put the specific location on the specific location pages and nothing on the rest? Any other tips would be great! Thanks in advance,
Local Website Optimization | | IDMI.Net0 -
My website is ranking well in all other IP except US ip and that too only one particular keyword could you guys help me ?
My website is Ranking well in all other keywords in all other countries Except US IP and only one particular keyword. Example :- One keyword ABC is ranking well in UK UAE and also on first position but in US IP not even in top 100 results or not even top 300 results
Local Website Optimization | | Hyperlinkinfosystem0 -
301 or 302 Redirects with locale URLs?
Hi Mozers, I have a bit of a tricky question I need some help answering. My agency are building a brand new website for a client of ours which means changing the domain name (yay...). So! I have my 301's all ready to go for the UK locale, however, the issue I have is that the site will also eventually have French, German and Spanish locales - but these won't be ready to go until later this year. We will be launching in just English for September. The current site already has the French and German locales on it as well. Just to make sure I'm being clear, the site will be www.example.com for launch, but by lets say November, we will also have a www.example.com/fr/ and www.example.com/de/ site launched too. So what do I do with the locale URLs? As I said above, the exisitng site already has the French and German locales on it, so I don't particularly want to redirect the /fr/ and /de/ URLs to the English homepage, as I will want to redirect them to the new URLs in November, and redirecting more than once is bad for SEO right? Any ideas? Would 302s maybe be the best suggestion? Thanks! Virginia
Local Website Optimization | | Virginia-Girtz1 -
Title Tag, URL Structure & H1 for Localization
I am working with a local service company. They have one location but offer a number of different services to both residential and commercial verticals. What I have been reading seems to suggest that I put the location in URLs, Title Tags & H1s. Isn't it kind of spammy and possibly annoying user experience to see location on every page?? Portland ME Residential House Painting Portland ME Commercial Painting Portland Maine commercial sealcoating Portland Maine residential sealcoating etc, etc This strikes me as an old school approach. Isn't google more adept at recognizing location so that I don't need to paste it In H1s all over the site? Thanks in advance. PAtrick
Local Website Optimization | | hopkinspat0 -
How can i optimize my pages for local areas if we are not in that area?
Hi Mozers! So I watched a video about Matt Cutts he talks about creating multiple web pages just for one keywords is an absolutely no go. So I was wondering we serve a clients in NZ Australia and USA, If we target phrase like Psychic Readings California, Psychic Readings San Diego etc (USA) Psychic Readings Melbourne, Psychic Readings Sydney (AU) Psychic Readings Auckland, Psychic Readings Wellington (NZ) What is the best practice or right way to go about structuring my pages to do this without going against googles guidelines. Many thanks
Local Website Optimization | | edward-may1 -
Do you need exact match geographically targeted keywords for ranking within a specified city limit?
For example, I have a personal injury law firm in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. I only care about potential clients searching within the city limits of Sheboygan (and not within the state of Wisconsin or on a national level). Do the following elements need to contain an exact match geographically targeted keyword if I only care about ranking locally in Sheboygan, Wisconcsin? (The type of keyword phrase I'm referring to would be Sheboygan Personal Injury Lawyers, Sheboygan Car Accident Lawyers, etc.) Title Tag Meta Description Main Headline Body Content Should I not include an exact match geographically targeted keyword in my content and trust that Google can make the association with where I'm located by other factors on the website? Website factors: Google local business page is setup linking to my website Other local listings have been claimed and setup properly My contact page contains our full address and phone number My footer contains our full address and phone number on every page
Local Website Optimization | | peteboyd0