SEO search volume: what it is and why is it important

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December 15, 2022

SEO search volume is a key metric that indicates how frequently your target audience searches a specific phrase or word. In terms of your SEO strategy, search volume plays a significant role in decision-making when choosing keywords for website content optimization to effectively reach the target market.

We use keyword search volume during keyword research to determine a keyword’s traffic-driving potential and difficulty. Making your content understandable for search engines is a targeted effort in SEO that aims to increase website traffic to a particular page.

We can accomplish increasing site traffic and revenue by optimizing your online presence using a list of keywords. Usually, the best keywords are ones with higher average monthly search volumes. A high search volume may mean more potential traffic to your website when you rank for a term, which is the best possible outcome for keyword research results that are successfully implemented into your SEO strategy.

What is search volume?

In search engine optimization (SEO), keyword search volume is an important metric; it is the specific number of searches a keyword receives per month.  Search volume is averaged over a set period to give advertisers a rough indication of the level of competition and overall volume of a search term.

With the help of this data, SEOs and marketers can determine what keywords will generate interest and increase traffic over time. Keyword search volume is then a very important metric to consider while conducting keyword research.

Knowing the search volumes of your target keywords will help prioritize keyword ideas and evaluate potential organic traffic. Even if your website ranks for your chosen keyword, you will only attract traffic if people search for it.

How do keywords work

Keywords are words and phrases individuals enter into search engines to find the information or products they need, they are necessary as they inform search engines about the content of a page on your website.

In order for your website to appear in the search results, the user’s search terms need to first match the keywords on your website. This is because when someone searches for a word or phrase, the search engine organizes the content based on those keywords and displays it in order of relevancy. High-volume keywords can attract appropriate customers, improve brand recognition and boost sales.

How to search for keywords

A website has a low chance of ranking or attracting visitors if no one searches for the keywords added to the content of a webpage. This is why understanding how to conduct proper keyword research is so important for the success of your SEO efforts.

When conducting keyword research, either with or without a keyword research tool, the following are essential steps you need to take:

Define your goals

Here at Nomadic Advertising, having a clear understanding of our objective helps us develop an SEO strategy and plan for our clients by giving them direction. The search phrases you use should be aligned with your objectives, ideally separated into several content marketing channels. Your objectives will also influence the purpose of your content and SEO copywriting. Write down your goals, and document them.

Study your niche

We thoroughly research a topic or niche before deciding the ideal keywords to optimize our client’s page. Doing so will provide you with unique ideas and assist in identifying aspects of your marketing and SEO plan that you may have yet to consider.

Make a list of relevant topics

Make a list of all the topics based on the primary category of your brand and the objectives you expect to achieve.
We ensure the list of topics is relevant to our client’s buyer profiles and valuable to the business. We also consider the topics our client’s target audience will look for and then separate them into keywords associated with them.

Identify focus (seed) keywords

Your keyword research approach should include focus keywords, which help you identify your competition and define your specialization. Consider the search terms people enter into search engines to find what you have to offer, or use a keyword research tool. A popular keyword research tool is Google keyword planner, which will help find relevant keywords. For example, if you sell tea and equipment for brewing it, your seed keywords might be “tea” or “decaf tea.”

Select long-tail keywords

Long-tail keywords are more detailed than single words and frequently relate to the more specific subtopics of your business. For example, let’s imagine your website produces content about country clubs. Choosing a long-tail keyword like “what are the best 5 country clubs in the US” can draw in a more targeted audience. Long-tail keywords frequently have a better conversion rate because they focus on a particular subject or item.

Understand search intent

The purpose or motivation behind a person’s search for a specific term is known as search intent. Understanding users’ search intent allows us to fine-tune our keyword research to reach our client’s target audience. There are three main types of search intent: transactional, informative, and navigational. As a company, we know how important it is to be careful about how we interpret target keywords because the searcher’s intent is essential for ranking.

Use good keyword research tools

After you’ve determined your objectives, topics, and list of seed keywords, the next step will be to use a good keyword research tool to hone your search phrases. Most keyword research tools, such as keyword explorer, Google keyword planner, and others, function similarly: you input a seed keyword into the search bar, and they generate keyword suggestions from their database.

 

 

What is a good search volume?

The best SEO keywords are not always the ones with higher average monthly search volumes. At Nomadic Advertising we tend to aim for a range of 100–1,000 monthly searches, but this will depend on the topic and, most importantly, on the level of difficulty to rank for that keyword. It isn’t always the best idea to include keywords with a very high search volume if the level of difficulty is also high because your chances of ranking for it will be lower. Instead, you should aim for a healthy balance of low and medium-volume keywords. Using a more narrowly focused topic can help you compete for moderately competitive keywords in SERPs.

It is true that more searches can mean more potential traffic to your website when you rank for a term, but managing to actually rank for the term will prove to be a difficult task if you decide to go down that road. Selecting a good search volume also depends on the sector and the calculated level of competition for each word. Going for keywords with 100,000–1 million search volumes would not be in your best interest. You can only use keywords with extremely high search volumes if you already drive thousands or millions of visitors to your website each month, but let’s face it, not everyone can boast those numbers.

The importance of search volume for Search Engine Optimization

By now you understand the importance of conducting thorough research for your potential keywords, let’s now dive into the impact that will have on your SEO strategy if done correctly:

Estimate traffic potential

When selecting keywords to prioritize for optimization, you may utilize the search volume to anticipate how your content will perform in search engines. By calculating the average monthly search volume, you can use this information to determine how much traffic a good ranking position might bring.

Customer acquisition

You can find the most important content for your audience by focusing on the proper volume of keywords as part of your SEO plan. Your text will be more relevant to your target audience if you use low-volume keywords like long-tail keywords. The more relevant your material, the more likely your website visitors will convert.

Commercial intent

Data on search volume helps determine the target audience’s search intent. Knowing this information will help you fulfill what users actually want. Let’s imagine you own a biking equipment company and a user is searching for a “bike tire”, there will be a significant difference between the user who is looking to buy a new tire vs. the one that wants to learn how to change a bike tire. The distinction will be between selling them a product or redirecting them to educational content, which is why knowing their intent matters: with that knowledge, you will know exactly if you should redirect that user to the products section of your website or to your blog. In a nutshell, we can target individuals ready to buy your product or service by capitalizing on specific purchasing phrases.

High return on investment (ROI)

Even the lower volume keywords can yield a high return on investment. You’ll be able to get enough conversions with the proper keyword research for your SEO strategy.

Why should you monitor search volume?

It is difficult to predict how the search volume will change over the next few months and where it will ultimately stabilize. The search volume for relevant keywords you previously chose to enhance organic search results might change in response to trends or seasons. When search trends and user intent change, the previous keyword optimization strategy might need to be modified.

Analyzing the search volume will enable you to adjust your keyword optimization strategies and boost your search engine optimization. The average number reported by SEO tools may not precisely match the monthly search volume of that phrase when you rank for it. You can evaluate and track your keyword search volumes using the free tool Google Trends.

We understand firsthand how search engine optimization is an ongoing process given that search engines constantly modify their algorithms. This is why we monitor seasonal keywords and trends and adjust keyword optimization tactics accordingly, which gives us an advantage over our competitors.

 

How can you use the search volume data?

The following are ways we utilize search volume data:

Optimize content

Keywords are a crucial aspect of our overall SEO strategy because they assist us in understanding what users are looking for and what content we need to supply, in order to make sure our client’s website and services are always meeting their needs.
The keywords you select influence your content strategy and the subjects you want to cover on your website. Our suggestions for this data-driven method will help you optimize your website content. If you already rank well for a keyword with a high search volume, you can also improve your content and off-page SEO for an outstanding result.

Search engine optimization

You can use the search volume to predict trends and determine which keywords and search terms are most important for optimization. You can also evaluate popular keywords and estimate the search traffic you receive from ranking for them by calculating the average monthly search volume.

Marketing

Search volume assists us in choosing the most effective keywords to employ as a call to action to encourage individuals to buy our client’s products. It is important to understand what customers are searching for to suit their demands.

 

 

Key takeaways

  • Keyword search volume is the specific number of searches a keyword receives per month.
  • Search volume is averaged over a set period to give advertisers a rough indication of the level of competition and overall volume of a search term.
  • Keywords are words and phrases individuals enter into search engines to find the information or products they need.
  • In order for your website to appear in the search results, the user’s search terms need to first match the keywords on your website.
  • High-volume keywords can attract appropriate customers, improve brand recognition and boost sales.
  • Proper keyword research will conclude the most relevant keywords for each specific company. Adding those to their website will mean a higher chance of ranking or attracting new visitors.
  • Proper keyword research involves: having defined goals, studying the company’s niche, having a list of relevant topics, identifying focus (seed) keywords and long-tail keywords, understanding search intent, and using good keyword research tools.
  • A good search volume can be a healthy balance of low and medium-volume keywords. Using a more narrowly focused topic can help you compete for moderately competitive keywords in SERPs.
  • Proper keyword research will help you estimate traffic potential, acquire customer acquisition through targeted content, understand your customer’s commercial intent, and have a high ROI.
  • Analyzing the search volume will enable you to adjust your keyword optimization strategies and boost your search engine optimization.
  • Once you have your search volume data you can optimize your content, make informed predictions on trends, and improve your marketing efforts.

 

 

Search volume for an SEO strategy

Search volume is crucial for an SEO strategy, given that it is a metric that indicates how many people are looking for a specific word or phrase. Now that you know how search volume represents a term’s popularity, it is evident you need to consider it when developing your content strategy. SEO agencies such as us use keyword search volume data to improve a website’s relevancy and rankings with the right web page connections. By doing so we aim to attract more organic traffic to our client’s websites and convert it into loyal customers. If all of these tips have sounded like exactly what you were looking for to boost your company’s SEO efforts and help your business be at the top of Google’s organic search results then we hope our guide can help you take the first few steps into that journey.

We can also be the ones to help you acquire the most relevant keywords for your business. We can organize them through your website (and additional online channels you might have) in the best way possible, making sure your content is completely optimized so that search engines recognize you as a leading member of your industry, allowing you to rank on Google’s organic results. This is all part of our SEO strategy, but there is a lot more that goes into it. We also have a few other services that are bound to solidify your business within your industry and considerably increase both your leads and your sales. You can click here to contact us or visit our website to take a look at our services and claim your FREE 30-minute strategy session, where we can show you everything we can do for your company.

 

 

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