Keyword search volume is one of the most important metrics for any SEO professional. It tells you how many people search for a specific keyword or phrase on a given search engine in a given period.
Knowing the keyword search volume can help you:
- Identify the most popular and relevant topics for your target audience
- Optimize your website content and landing pages for the keywords that drive the most traffic
- Find new keyword opportunities and expand your keyword list
- Analyze the competition and the difficulty of ranking for a keyword
- Measure the performance and effectiveness of your SEO campaigns
But how do you find the keyword search volume? What tools can you use to get accurate and reliable data? How do you interpret and use the keyword search volume data to improve your SEO strategy?
In this blog post, we will answer all these questions and more. We will show you how to master keyword search volume and use it to boost your SEO results.
What is Keyword Search Volume and Why is it Important?
Keyword search volume is the number of times a keyword or phrase is searched on a search engine in a given time. For example, if the keyword “best coffee maker” has a monthly search volume of 10,000 on Google, it means that 10,000 people searched for that keyword on Google in the last month.
Keyword search volume is important because it reflects the demand and interest of the users for a certain topic. The higher the keyword search volume, the more popular and relevant the topic is for the users. This means that targeting high-volume keywords can potentially bring more traffic and conversions to your website.
However, keyword search volume is not the only factor that you should consider when choosing keywords for your SEO strategy. You should also take into account the following factors:
Keyword Intent
The goal or purpose of the user behind the search query. For example, the keyword “best coffee maker” has a commercial intent, meaning that the user is looking for a product to buy.
The keyword “how to make coffee” has an informational intent, meaning that the user is looking for information or guidance on how to do something.
Keyword Difficulty
The level of competition and the effort required to rank for a keyword. For example, the keyword “best coffee maker” has a high difficulty, meaning that many websites are already ranking for that keyword and have high authority and relevance.
The keyword “how to make coffee with a French press” has a low difficulty, meaning that fewer websites are ranking for that keyword and have lower authority and relevance.
Keyword Relevancy
The degree of match between the keyword and your website content and goals. For example, the keyword “best coffee maker” is highly relevant for a website that sells coffee makers, but not for a website that sells coffee beans.
The keyword “how to make coffee with a French press” is relevant for both websites, but more for the one that sells coffee beans.
Therefore, the best keywords for your SEO strategy are the ones that have a high search volume, a low difficulty, a high intent, and a high relevance.
These are the keywords that can bring you the most traffic, conversions, and ROI.
How to Find Keyword Search Volume Data?
There are many tools that you can use to find keyword search volume data. Some of the most popular and reliable ones are:
Google Keyword Planner
This is a free tool from Google that allows you to find keyword ideas and their monthly search volume, competition, and bid range.
You can also use it to create and manage your Google Ads campaigns. To use this tool, you need to have a Google Ads account. Access Google Keyword Planner.
Bing Keyword Planner
This is a similar tool from Bing that allows you to find keyword ideas and their monthly search volume, competition, and bid range.
You can also use it to create and manage your Bing Ads campaigns. To use this tool, you need to have a Bing Ads account. Access Bing Keyword Planner.
Moz Keyword Explorer
This is a paid tool from Moz that allows you to find keyword ideas and their monthly search volume, difficulty, opportunity, and potential.
You can also use it to analyze the SERP features, the ranking difficulty, and the domain authority of the websites that rank for a keyword.
To use this tool, you need to have a Moz account and a subscription plan.
SEMrush Keyword Magic Tool
This is a paid tool from SEMrush that allows you to find keyword ideas and their monthly search volume, difficulty, trend, and SERP features.
You can also use it to filter and group keywords by various criteria, such as word count, match type, and keyword difficulty.
To use this tool, you need to have a SEMrush account and a subscription plan.
Ahrefs Keywords Explorer
This is a paid tool from Ahrefs that allows you to find keyword ideas and their monthly search volume, difficulty, clicks, and return rate.
You can also use it to analyze the SERP features, the ranking difficulty, and the domain rating of the websites that rank for a keyword.
To use this tool, you need to have an Ahrefs account and a subscription plan.
These are some of the most popular and reliable tools that you can use to find keyword search volume data.
However, you should keep in mind that each tool may have different sources and methods of collecting and estimating the keyword search volume data.
Therefore, you may see some variations and discrepancies in the data from different tools.
To get the most accurate and reliable data, you should use multiple tools and compare the results.
How to Interpret and Use Keyword Search Volume Data?
Once you have found the keyword search volume data, you need to interpret and use it to improve your SEO strategy. Here are some tips on how to do that:
Metrices to Check
Compare the keyword search volume data with other metrics, such as keyword difficulty, keyword intent, and keyword relevancy. This will help you to find the best keywords for your SEO strategy, as we explained in the previous section.
Time Period Analysis for Keywords
Analyze the keyword search volume trends over time. This will help you to identify the seasonality, the popularity, and the demand of the keywords.
For example, you may notice that the keyword “best coffee maker” has a higher search volume in November and December, which are the peak months for holiday shopping.
This means that you should optimize your website content and landing pages for this keyword during these months to capture more traffic and conversions.
Geological Targetting Analysis
Analyze the keyword search volume distribution by location. This will help you to target the right audience and market for your keywords.
For example, you may notice that the keyword “best coffee maker” has a higher search volume in the US, Canada, and the UK, the major coffee maker markets.
This means that you should focus your SEO efforts on these countries and regions to reach more potential customers.
Device Targetting
Analyze the keyword search volume distribution by device. This will help you to optimize your website content and landing pages for different devices and screen sizes.
For example, you may notice that the keyword “best coffee maker” has a higher search volume on mobile devices than on desktop devices.
This means that you should make sure that your website content and landing pages are mobile-friendly and responsive to provide a good user experience and increase conversions.
How to Optimize Your Website Content and Landing Pages for Keyword Search Volume?
After you have found the best keywords for your SEO strategy, you need to optimize your website content and landing pages for them. This will help you to rank higher on the search engines and drive more traffic and conversions to your website. Here are some tips on how to optimize your website content and landing pages for keyword search volume:
Keywords Optimization in Content
Use the keywords in your title tags, meta descriptions, headings, and body text.
This will help the search engines and the users to understand what your website content and landing pages are about and how relevant they are for the keywords.
Make sure to use the keywords naturally and avoid keyword stuffing, which can harm your SEO performance and user experience.
Technical Keywords Optimization
Use the keywords in your URL, image alt text, and anchor text. This will help the search engines and the users to identify and navigate your website content and landing pages.
Make sure to use descriptive and user-friendly URLs, image alt text, and anchor text that include the keywords and match the content.
Anchor Text Optimization
Use the keywords in your internal and external links. This will help the search engines and the users to find and access more relevant and related content on your website or other websites.
Make sure to use relevant and authoritative websites as your external links and avoid linking to low-quality or spammy websites that can hurt your SEO performance and reputation.
Schema Optimization
Use the keywords in your schema markup, social media tags, and rich snippets.
This will help the search engines and the users to display and understand more information and features about your website content and landing pages.
For example, you can use schema markup to add structured data, such as ratings, reviews, prices, and availability, to your website content and landing pages.
You can use social media tags to add images, titles, and descriptions to your website content and landing pages when they are shared on social media platforms.
You can use rich snippets to add extra information, such as breadcrumbs, site links, and featured snippets, to your website content and landing pages on the search results pages.
How to Find New Keyword Opportunities and Expand Your Keyword List?
After you have optimized your website content and landing pages for the best keywords, you may want to find new keyword opportunities and expand your keyword list. This will help you to capture more traffic and conversions from different and related keywords.
Use the keyword research tools that we mentioned in the previous sections to find more keyword ideas and their monthly search volume, difficulty, trend, and SERP features.
You can also use them to filter and group keywords by various criteria, such as word count, match type, and keyword difficulty.
Google Search Console
Use the Google Search Console to find the keywords that your website is already ranking for and their performance metrics, such as impressions, clicks, CTR, and position.
You can also use it to find the keywords that your competitors are ranking for and their performance metrics.
This will help you to identify the gaps and opportunities in your keyword strategy and optimize your website content and landing pages accordingly.
Google Trends
Use Google Trends to find the keywords that are trending and popular in your niche, industry, or location.
You can also use it to compare the keywords and see how their search volume changes over time and across regions.
This will help you to find the keywords that have a high potential and demand and optimize your website content and landing pages accordingly.
Google Suggestions
Use the Google Suggest to find the keywords that are related and relevant to your main keywords.
You can also use Google Related Searches to find the keywords that are similar and complementary to your main keywords.
These are the keywords that appear at the bottom of the search results pages when you search for a keyword on Google. This will help you to find the keywords that can expand your keyword list and optimize your website content and landing pages accordingly.
How to Measure the Performance and Effectiveness of Your Keyword Search Volume Strategy?
After you have implemented your keyword search volume strategy, you need to measure the performance and effectiveness of it. This will help you to evaluate the results and impact of your SEO efforts and make adjustments and improvements if needed.
Here are some tips on how to measure the performance and effectiveness of your keyword search volume strategy:
Google Analytics
Use Google Analytics to track and analyze the traffic and conversions that your website content and landing pages receive from the keywords that you target.
You can also use it to segment the traffic and conversions by various dimensions, such as source, medium, device, location, and behavior.
This will help you to understand the quality and quantity of the traffic and conversions that your keywords generate and optimize your website content and landing pages accordingly.
Google Search Console
Use the Google Search Console to track and analyze the impressions, clicks, CTR, and position that your website content and landing pages receive from the keywords that you target.
You can also use it to monitor the technical and usability issues that may affect your SEO performance and user experience.
This will help you to understand the visibility and ranking of your keywords on the search engines and optimize your website content and landing pages accordingly.
3rd-Party Tools
Use the Moz, SEMrush, or Ahrefs tools to track and analyze the domain authority, page authority, backlinks, and social shares that your website content and landing pages receive from the keywords that you target.
You can also use them to monitor the competition and the difficulty of ranking for the keywords that you target.
This will help you to understand the authority and popularity of your keywords and optimize your website content and landing pages accordingly.
Conclusion
Keyword search volume is one of the most important metrics for any SEO professional. It tells you how many people are searching for a specific keyword or phrase on a given search engine in a given period.
Knowing the keyword search volume can help you to identify the most popular and relevant topics for your target audience, optimize your website content and landing pages for the keywords that drive the most traffic, find new keyword opportunities and expand your keyword list, analyze the competition and the difficulty of ranking for a keyword, and measure the performance and effectiveness of your SEO campaigns.
In this blog post, we have shown you how to master keyword search volume and use it to boost your SEO results. We have covered the following topics:
- What is keyword search volume and why is it important?
- How to find keyword search volume data?
- How to interpret and use keyword search volume data?
- How to optimize your website content and landing pages for keyword search volume?
- How to find new keyword opportunities and expand your keyword list?
- How to measure the performance and effectiveness of your keyword search volume strategy?
We hope that you have found this blog post useful and informative. If you have any questions or feedback, please feel free to leave a comment below. We would love to hear from you. Thank you for reading and happy keyword searching!
