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Determine Keyword Search Volume From Sales Volume
By Todd Alan | May 11, 2008
How do you determine search volume for keywords that seem to show no search volume using the typical tools like Wordtracker?
This blog post began as a reply to a comment but quickly grew to a full blown post after realizing the benefit it would likely have for others who may not be inclined to read blog comments.
The question was; Wordtracker shows no search volume for “keyword elite” so how do you know if there is anyone searching for that keyword? (actually the question was regarding “seo elite” but since I believe they were referring to my course I suspect they meant “keyword elite”. No matter the response is the same)
When looking for profitable keywords, keyword with low page numbers is only half the battle. We also need keywords with decent search volume. But sometimes the keyword tools like Wordtracker don’t seem too accurate and that’s because they’re not.
(note: the following contains a few inaccurate comments about Wordtracker so please read the comments for clarification. thx)
Wordtracker, like most keyword tools, use the overture.com database and then extrapolates, guesses and estimates the actual search volume. It’s not very accurate to say the least.
That doesn’t mean they’re not useful, and in fact I use the paid version of wordtracker. Their inaccuracy lays in the time lag of their information.
Here’s the deal with all these tools. The overture database is many months old to start with. Also, it really only tracks search volume that runs through yahoo, which is maybe 10% of the search engine market volume. It uses this to extrapolate and guess at the rest of the numbers.
It’s not surprising that wordtracker would show no results for “keyword elite”. products often take a long time to show up in wordtracker, partly because the database lags so far behind search volume. Unless the product has been out for a couple years it probably won’t have a strong showing in these tools. (my course alone probably generates a hundred or more searches for “keyword elite” per month from course members so it clearly has search volume that’s not showing up)
This is the reason that for newer products I look to existing sales volume. If a product is selling well then you can generally be confident it is being searched, though it’s hard to estimate the actual volume.
If you think about it, when someone is considering buying a product what’s one of the first things they do? They google the product looking for reviews or other info to help them make a decision. Unless the product is a household name that needs no research you can be sure that if it’s selling then it’s getting searched.
So if you can’t find non-product keywords for the niche in question and you decide to use the product name as part of your keyword then existing sales volume can be a decent indicator as to whether it’s worth pursuing.
If you see a product on clickbank and it have a very high gravity you can bet people are searching for it. Not all affiliate networks provide “popularity” indicators like this, but if you can find them they can be a great way (and often only way for newer products) to guestimate if a product name is being searched.
Topics: SEO, affiliate marketing, web traffic |
Hi there,
Just want to address your point that Wordtacker uses Overture for its keyword sources - that’s actually not true. Wordtracker uses data from meta search engines such as Dogpile and others - but not Overture.
None of the mainstream keyword research sources use Overture any more. Its data is frozen for the 3 months ending Jan 2007 - but you’ll find some keyword research tools will still use it as an option.
All the best
Chris
Hey Chris, you are absolutely right about Wordtracker Not using overture. Thanks for clarifying!
(I think I had my head up my ass last night when I wrote that.)
I had actually just been using keyworddiscovery.com the day before, which does use overture “as an option” and so when I wrote the post I got some wires crossed. I should have been paying a bit more attention.
Also, btw, overture does use more than just the yahoo, it also pulls (or pulled) data from MSN, AltaVista and some other smaller engines.
Anyway, having said that, my original response remains largely the same. That these tools are not as accurate as we like to think. Even Wordtracker uses “proprietary” algorithms to pull data from the meta engines and then still makes guestimates on the data. People often think these tools are simply counting searches but there is far more that goes into it than that. It would be nice if it were simply counting but then we’d have inaccurate numbers because of spam and other people gaming the system.
I do believe Wordtracker is far more accurate than overture but still has problems with keywords that may not have been around for a long time already. For instance, I see 5-10 searches a day (usually course members looking for other lessons) in my analytics for “long tail treasure” yet Wordtracker shows none. Long Tail Treasure has only been around since Christmas.
“Keyword Elite” which has been around a year now still doesn’t show up, yet I see searches for it every day in my alanytics. A lot of them from my course members checking on the course material, but they’re searches none the less.
So the point is that even Wordtracker has questionable numbers when it comes to product names without a long history.
This is why sales volume and the fact that people research products before they buy can help when these tools are not helping.
Having said that, I still think Wordtracker is on of the best tools out there for keyword research.
There is also a free keyword suggestion tool at Wordtracker that is worth checking out.
You can even get in on a 7 day free trial, which if you’re just starting a new niche can be enough to find what you’re looking for if you use the time wisely. (the videos that come with it are worth a watch too).
You’re right as to accuracy. All keyword tools have to estimate actual traffic, precisely because of the reasons you say. Spamming search engines is a big one and if you were to look at a list of raw search data you would see an enormous amount of obvious spam which has to be removed before search results could be presented.
I was interested in your comment that “Keyword Elite” did not appear in Wordtracker results and did a few comparison searches. Then I tried “Keyword Discovery” and they are not list either.
The only sensible conclusion that can be drawn is that Wordtracker are scrubbing there results and not returning any results of their competitors search numbers.
Naughty that.
Makes you wonder what else they interefere with.