Search Volume is the average amount of monthly searches made for a given keyword. It shows the number of people searching for a particular query.
Taking search volume into account is vital when creating your content strategy because it reflects the popularity of the query. It's important to find keywords with a high search volume and a low rate of search competition.
Why Is Search Volume Important?
Keyword search volume is important for a number of reasons.
It enables you to identify how valuable a keyword will be to your strategy, allowing you to understand whether or not it is highly searched for and its fluctuation.
A high search volume means the term is popular and if you rank for it, you'll get more traffic.
This metric shouldn’t be solely relied on though. Things such as conversion rates, UX (User Experience), and the likelihood of your website ranking for a keyword are also important.
When Should You Ignore Keyword Search Volume?
While keyword search volume is an important metric, there are some scenarios where it can be overlooked.
1. If A Keyword Has Strong Buyers Intent
When a keyword has a low search volume, but a strong buying intent, it makes sense for you to incorporate this particular keyword. This can help achieve a higher conversion rate on your website, because searchers using these terms are usually seeking to buy. These keywords should be accompanied by qualifiers such as “cheap prices for”.
2. If A Keyword Perfectly Fits Within Your Niche
If you are very well versed in your niche and your website has been writing about a particular topic, or selling a particular item for years, you should not be afraid of utilising a keyword that fits perfectly with your brand.
How To Navigate Search Volume
There are a few things to consider when trying to navigate search volume.
1. Look At Your Competitors
Once you have collated relevant keywords that are effective for your marketing campaign, you should take a look at your competitors. Analyse which high search volume keywords they are and are not ranking for. You can use your findings to inform you of the directions you may be able to take to beat them in rankings.
2. Look At The Trends
Due to keyword search volume constantly fluctuating, you should always keep an eye on changing trends and analyse how they affect keywords.
For example, seasonal changes. Searches for ‘bikini’ would be a highly popular keyword in the spring/summer months as people are preparing for their holidays, but less so as weather declines into autumn again.
You can visibly see the rises and falls as the seasons change in the below screenshot from a quick search in Ahrefs.
3. If You’re New To The Game, Don’t Get In Over Your Head
If you have a new website, or one that has low domain authority for whatever reason, it’s probably best to target low-volume, low-competition keywords at first.
This is because high-competition keywords are not viable in the infancy of a website. Instead, low-competition, low-volume keywords help improve your visibility gradually.
As your site gains authority go for higher-volume keywords.
4. Keep In Mind Your Location
Just like changing trends, it is important to take into consideration location specific search volume, especially for local businesses. Not only do location-keywords ensure you are attracting the right audience, but Google’s Possum algorithm actually promotes content that focuses on location.
Keyword Search Volume Tools
There are a few tools that can help you uncover keyword search volume data. These include:
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