SEO has always been seen as a cross between an art and science, but recently Google has been opening up more and more of its web data to the masses, helping SEO’s across the globe base their campaigns on solid, quantitative data. For years, web developers, internet marketers and SEO’s have been walking blind when trying to figure out the amount of searches for specific keywords on Google. While there were alternatives such as Overture’s keyword tool and Wordtracker, you didn’t have to be a savvy SEO professional to know that the results were not exact. So for the following article, I will explain the new features of Google’s External Keyword Tool and for those newbies wondering what all the fuss is about explain why this is a major event for most SEO’s.
What is a Keyword Tool?
One of the most important tools for an SEO is the keyword tool. A keyword tool is necessary for two reasons, first, a keyword tool can help you come up with suggestions of similar keywords and keyword phrases for your website. Secondly, a keyword tool can be an important tool to determine how popular a specific keyword or keyword phrase is. Whether you are an SEO, web developer or internet marketer knowing which keywords are most popular can give you a distinct advantage for ranking higher in the SERPS.
Tools Commonly Used by SEO Professionals
While there are many keyword tools available, two tools have been more popular and reliable than others. They include Wordtracker and Overture’s Keyword Tool. Wordtracker is a subscription based product that has historically been helpful in suggesting keywords and giving data, however its inaccuracies are legendary and many SEO’s have always complained that the data being reported was off base. The other tool Overture which is owned by Yahoo is now off line and many say (although there hasn’t been an official statement) that is being discontinued. It is not sure whether this tool in its present incarnation or updated version will ever see the light of day.
The Old AdWords Keyword Tool
While Wordtracker and Overture were relied upon by millions, Google always offered its own AdWords keyword tool, but it always had serious performance issues. One would expect the king of the web and pay per click to give its users the tools and services it needed to analyze keywords proficiently. While it offered a basic keyword tool, a big complaint by SEO’s, internet marketers and web developers was that instead of giving quantitative data, it gave green bars ranging from 1 -5. While helpful in a very general sense, for professionals it definitely didn’t satisfy the need for more information. After all this is Google we are talking about, they can share the wealth and offer their customers hard data.
The New Google External Keyword Tool
Well, it seems that Google has been listening to our industry and finally put together the External Keyword Tool. This tool no longer gives professionals data regarding search volume in green bar graphs; instead it offers approximate numbers of search volume. An obvious huge step in the right direction. Some of the features that you should be aware of include:
Approximate Search Volume for the Previous Month
Instead of the green bars, Google now has approximate numbers of search queries matching the keywords for the previous calendar month. It states that these numbers are country specific, language specific and based upon the selections you have made from the Match Type drop down menu.
Approximate Average Search Volume for the Last 12 Month Period
Besides giving you an approximate number for the last calendar month, Google also has a column that shows you the approximate monthly number of search queries matching keywords for the last 12 months. Again, these numbers are country specific, language specific and based upon the selections you have made from the Match Type drop down menu.
Besides the above two columns, the new tool continues to give you a bar graph of advertiser competition which can be helpful in determining how competitive ad placement is for a keyword or keyword phrase and of course the suggested keywords and keyword phrases.
It should be noted that Google has a help center for this tool and there are explanations regarding some of the features. They do a decent job of explaining many of the terms which can be helpful for all. You can visit this page at the following link: https://adwords.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=96571&hl=en_US
How Google’s External Keyword Tool Ultimately Helps SEO
Even approximate numbers are better than basic bar graphs, with this new feature, SEO’s, internet marketers and web developers can accomplish three important tasks. The first is picking the best keywords. As we all know, our results start and end with high quality keywords that deliver results. Secondly, this tool is extremely helpful with budget planning. By understanding the amount of traffic certain keywords and keyword phrases receive, we can now budget accordingly. This is not only great for our budgetary needs, but this is ultimately helpful for our customers as well. Third, this tool will be incredibly valuable for analysis. As more and more SEO’s look for cold, hard data to help us achieve our goals, Google offering up more of their data can only be beneficial.
Obviously, this tool has only been live since the first week of July 2008, so it is still too early to tell just what kind of effect it will have on our industry. However, if early buzz is correct, this can be one of the biggest gifts Google has given the SEO community in a long time.