Monthly Searches Vs Traffic
I've noticed there are quite a few new people lately who are just learning how to do keyword research and asking opinions about the results they're finding. That is great and these are the right kind of questions to be asking. I just want to clarify the difference between monthly searches and estimated traffic because they are 2 very different things.
Traffic
Trying to estimate monthly traffic can be really tricky. For example, your article can make that coveted first page of Google but, if you are on the bottom half of those top 10 results, you may only get a 1% CTR (click through rate). If you make the upper half of the page, you could see a CTR as high as 50%.
So, knowing that your CTR can be anywhere between 1% and 50% depending on your position, and knowing that you have no control over what position you'll get, it's probably not a good metric to use.
Searches
I look for a minimum of 50 monthly searches. I will even target a phrase slightly lower than 50 if the competition is low enough. Now, even if I get a great ranking for a keyword phrase with only 50 searches I may still only get 25 visitors (assuming a 50% CTR)
However, once I get an article on the first page, it always shows up for multiple versions of my targeted keyword phrase.
In other words, if I found a keyword phrase with 80 searches but I passed on it because it had <10 traffic, I could have missed out on 100+ visitors every month simply because people find my articles with keyword phrases I would have never thought to target.
If you have any questions, feel free to post them below :)
Recent Comments
26
Thanks so much for sharing this as I am very new here and also very new to the computer world in general. I am progressing thru the training and take my time so it comes together better and I know little to nothing about keywords, other than realizing their importance. I want to get all the "keys" to working effectively and efficiently down pat so I have a better result with my content and sites. Thank you for adding to the knowledge. I appreciate it. My best to you Steve.
Dan
Great post Steve, This is why I like to look for the lower competition that has some good searches for it. Once people figure this out, they should be able to rank easily and earn revenue. Your post is a must study guide. I hope people understand this.
Hey Steve.
I really like this topic. And it's a real eye opener for all newbies.
That makes a lot of sense, missing out on traffic over a keyword, or phrase that you wasn't even trying to rank on.
It's really good insight..
Thank you.
True Story..
Great point about the lower number of searches, Steve. I've gone with several keywords that are slightly lower than 50 searches a month due to having competition of 2 or 3 (or some number below 10) but I didn't think about the extra traffic that usually comes my way. It happens with almost every keyword, though. Thanks!
I completely agree with you there. Once i targeted a keyword that had 200 something searches with a qsr of 1. I used the keyword and overnight started getting traffic out the wazoo, it was a real starting point. from there on out I have never had less than 200 visitors a day as opposed to the 10 or so I had previously been getting. Turns out my article achieved page 1 status for at least 10 different keywords on three different search engines. Nothing less than position three. The traffic was unbelievable. The month;y searches indicated by Jaaxt was 61. When in actuality i received over 1000 hits within 4 days time. You never know huh Steve?
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Hey Steve, thanks for sharing your experience with us man.
It is much appreciated.