I am losing my faith in Micro Niche Finder!

[benkleiner]

I've been noticing this strange behavior since long ago with Micro Niche Finder 4.6.2: searching for a given KW the results are absolutely nonsense!

One digit 'strength of competition' (green soc) with a ridiculous amount of competitors (see the attachment).

I am losing my faith on that program completely.

Have that ever happened to you?

Bye bye MNF...

Thanxxx

[Intrepreneur]

I have a funny feeling something changed in MNF recently and it's not the same as it once was. My suspicion is that we are searching a database now instead of Google keyword tool.

[Ehsan_am]

Try this:

Put the keyword with the high number of competing pages and low SOC in quotes in a google query. Basically go to google and search for the keyword in quotes. Now go to setting and turn your pages result to 100 results per page. 99% of the time you'll only get 4-5 pages of results. When ever you see a low SOC and high number of websites do this and you'll see a trend. Google lies about the number of results very often

Just tried "firming face cream" and it came up with only 6 pages of results and 542 competing pages.

[bigcat1967]

LOL - I just don't trust any of these tools - not even Google's KW adwords tool. I look in my logs to see what ppl are really keying in to get to my sites. If I see a phrase that ppl are going after - I reoptimize for that phrase (just one or two pages) & go after that targeted traffic.

[benkleiner]

This is not the first time this kind of things happen, and make me think what is the point of using MNF if it only brings confusion!

[entrepenerd]

It's important to remember that keyword research tools like MNF are only as good as the data sources they gather from. MNF gets data directly from Google. If the Google data is confusing, then the MNF data will be confusing too. The purpose of MNF is to bring multiple pieces of data together into one digestable chunk. To get the same data from Google you'd have to do multiple different tasks and keep notes on the results at each stage.

MNF is there to save you time. That's what you're paying for. If you're not confident in the results provided, that's a Google problem. MNF can't do anything about Google providing goofy data.

[GossipCrunch]

I do not understand why you guys take the easy route and waste your money on this piece of software when all it does is fetches the datas from Google itself.

If I tell you guys the it takes same amount of time do it in Google keyword tool then all you guys will feel I am going nuts.

I can show you how its easy to use Google Keyword tool for niche keyword search and find exact no. of competitive sites.

If you wanna know then shoot me message and I will tell you.

BTW its all free.

[tony-raymondo]

I much prefer Market Samurai.

But Micro Niche finder has automated batching and the SOC

If Market Samurai added SOC, i'd probably stop using MNF

but SOC is probably the best GENERAL way to gauge competition i know of in the shortest amount of time.

[benkleiner]

According to my humble opinion SOC feature is like black magic: nobody knows how it is calculated!

On the other hand MSamurai ot Traffic Travis or others, with the SOC matrix feature allows you to easily discover the strength of each site.

[Jacko]

benkleiner, I guess you're talking about the paid version of Traffic Travis, is that right?
I ask this because I use MFN since the first version and never discovered how SOC is calculated...

[bluelambda]

I use market samurai, some custom scripts, and double check the data in google.

These tools are helpful but there is no magic bullet in keyword research. Take a look at the data and analyze it yourself. SoC in micro niche finder (or any other tool) can only serve as a guide.

My 2 cents.

[tony-raymondo]

believe me i've asked them for the SOC equation.

they wont publish it.

too bad

but i still can't find a better one to gauge actual competition

[busoppreviews]

Gossipcrunch

I would love to know how to get this info for free but I can't PM yet as I dont have enough posts

Can you PM me ?

Thanks

[warrior123]

Well, the "exact phrase count" number means nothing about the competition. This is an old and wrong metric of looking at how difficult a keyword phrase is to rank.

When you type in the keyword term "eye cream wrinkles" (without quotes) the only competing sites you care about are those 10 websites listed.

So now the next step is to evaluate each site. With just a quick look using SeoQuake, I can see that the first listing is a PR-4 and the rest are only PR-3 and less. Any site pages with a PR-3 or less generally are not that hard to beat. Now, you'll need to check out each site and see the quality and number of backlinks and what anchor text they are using to point to the page or website. For the most part, whoever has the most anchor text links with the given keyword will win.

I believe MicroNiche uses a combination of factors to determine the SOC strength (allintitle, allinURL, allinAnchor, etc)

[ezimedia]

HI

You know there are other services out there that charge a monthly fee for what you can get out of using Micro Niche Finder, for a one time fee... and all the updates the guy brings out you have nothing to complain about.

I use it mainly to find domain names with the keywords in it that are not taken and that have a good search volume each month..

If helps me find good keywords to get articles written on... and domains I need to grab to make mini sites with..

Also don't forget it has been around for sometime and updates still come out.

Tom

[benkleiner]

Originally Posted by warrior123

Any site pages with a PR-3 or less generally are not that hard to beat.

Now, you'll need to check out each site and see the quality and number of backlinks and what anchor text they are using to point to the page or website. For the most part, whoever has the most anchor text links with the given keyword will win.

This sentence is key for me, because I use to read it many times a day (Any site pages with a PR-3 or less generally are not that hard to beat.), but nobody explains how to do that!

After analyzing your Seo quake data, what is your limit when you say: Oops this word is too much! and you pass onto a new KW?
Thanks

[benkleiner]

Any cooperation will be appreciated, please!
thank you

[fizzik]

GossipCrunch, I would love to learn what you have to offer, but I don't have enough posts to send private messages, so could you PM me or whisper your e-mail to me, I would be very glad.

- Fizzik

[JainJain]

Originally Posted by ezimedia

HI

You know there are other services out there that charge a monthly fee for what you can get out of using Micro Niche Finder, for a one time fee... and all the updates the guy brings out you have nothing to complain about.

I use it mainly to find domain names with the keywords in it that are not taken and that have a good search volume each month..

If helps me find good keywords to get articles written on... and domains I need to grab to make mini sites with..

Also don't forget it has been around for sometime and updates still come out.

Tom

I completely agree. MNF is a solid tool that has been around for some time. It gets frequent updates. Today, with the addition of MOB, I think it's better than ever.

[Michael Nguyen]

You're not using MNF correctly. MNF should be used as a means to cut down time, to filter out the "weak" keywords. Forget what the "exact count". Doesn't mean squat when it comes to competition. What you need to do is learn to analyse your top 10, you'll do that through experience and soon you will have your own criteria for what is a "weak" keyword or not.

You shouldn't take MNF word a bible (even though it might be advertised as that).

You marked "firming face cream" as BAD because MNF said it has nearly 3million "competing pages"...

Have you seen the top results? Its an article directory that can easily be beaten.

I hope this helps

[Robert Oliver]

That damn green light don't always mean go.

The red light don't always mean stop.

When I started using MNF, I believed it was the gospel.

Trusted it to the letter and out of 10 sites I built trusting

the MNF signals 6 of these sites are so far from the front

page it ain't funny. These sites have keywords like:

Soc-2-5
Searches 18,100-24,000
Competition: >8000

1 site that is making a great showing had these results:
MNF threw up a big red flag on this one.

Red Flag-1000+
Searches-9,900
Competition:<52,000

Now go figure this all out.

I am using these tools now and having a lot more fun
and better success.

1. Google keyword tool-There is a goldmine here for free
2. MNF-verify some of my keywords I find from the google tool.
3. Spyfu-check out CPC and # 0f competition
4. Seolog difficulty tool- verify keyword is a good one
5. The top 10 front page for my keyword- check out competition.
It wasn't until I did this that things got really better

Doing standard backlinking methods to these sites.

Robert Oliver

[GossipCrunch]

I just want to say Thanks to all who sent a message to me asking for assistance with Google Keyword Tool. But due to less no. of posts I am still not allowed to send message to everyone. So if you can contact me or add my gmail to your chat list then I can assist 1and1.

I am not sure if publishing my email id is the smartest idea. So, I would wait for admin to let me know.

[archkre]

Originally Posted by benkleiner

This sentence is key for me, because I use to read it many times a day (Any site pages with a PR-3 or less generally are not that hard to beat.), but nobody explains how to do that!

After analyzing your Seo quake data, what is your limit when you say: Oops this word is too much! and you pass onto a new KW?
Thanks

Would anybody be so kind to answer that one, please?
Hard to beat how?

[archkre]

Originally Posted by Robert Oliver

That damn green light don't always mean go.

The red light don't always mean stop.

When I started using MNF, I believed it was the gospel.

Trusted it to the letter and out of 10 sites I built trusting

the MNF signals 6 of these sites are so far from the front

page it ain't funny. These sites have keywords like:

Soc-2-5
Searches 18,100-24,000
Competition: >8000

1 site that is making a great showing had these results:
MNF threw up a big red flag on this one.

Red Flag-1000+
Searches-9,900
Competition:<52,000

Now go figure this all out.

I am using these tools now and having a lot more fun
and better success.

1. Google keyword tool-There is a goldmine here for free
2. MNF-verify some of my keywords I find from the google tool.
3. Spyfu-check out CPC and # 0f competition
4. Seolog difficulty tool- verify keyword is a good one
5. The top 10 front page for my keyword- check out competition.
It wasn't until I did this that things got really better

Doing standard backlinking methods to these sites.

Robert Oliver

My main doubts are about:

#4-Seolog difficulty tool: what difficulty level do you consider as limit beyond the color codes.
Most of my KW fall in the range between 33-36

#5- Again, what difficulty level do you consider as limit and pass onto the next KW?
I use MSamurai and the criteria I've been using in the SOC matrix are:

* More than 1 competitor has Yes in All the Yah, Title, URL, Desc & Head columns

** 3 or more PR3 or less
(Other people consider at least 3 PR0)

*** 2 sites with less than 50 BLP.

Do you agree on that?

ThanXmas

[radoslaw]

I use only google wonder wheel and that is enough for me.

[archkre]

As a matter of fact that is a trend I am reading about since a couple of month ago.

I had been noticing KW's with many competition, but when entering the SOC matrix, the panorama seems piece of cake...

I am very confused ...

What happened with Dr Antony's saxophone explanation and the like at Thirty days and M Samurai?

Did everything change since then?

Help please
Thanks

[fortony]

I learned the hard way not to rely too much on MNF. Trouble is, I am not sure what exactly to trust most.

I just tried making a list with many of my sites and their rankings using different methods suggested by people here and compared them to their Google rankings. Still not seeing any definite patterns though as to what rankings in what methods indicate a pretty good chance of getting to the top page of google for a search phrase..

[carlos123]

I don't have a problem with Micro Niche Finder, Market Samaria, or any other fancy, smanzie software tool because...well...I just don't use them. I create my own PHP scripts to grab data from a browser called Lynx from the command line and then do my own number crunching through PHP if and when I need that.

In fact I like the fact that internet marketers use these tools and for the most part rely on them (though everyone would of course give lip service to that not being a wise thing to do). It leaves more fresh pickings for me as far as I am concerned.

If you want to beat the masses go look where the masses aren't looking.

I prefer using just the Google Keyword Tool and Yahoo for backlink analysis. Yes...it's a bit more work though not much but I trust the data I get a lot more than I would ever trust someone else's closed source software whose numbers I have little clue about with respect to how they are derived.

Good keyword research takes work. No way around that. No software tool is going to take the place of intuition, experience, lessons learned in the trenches, and developing a good sense or feel for what a good niche is by looking at hundreds of keyword phrases and crunching the actual numbers returned by Google directly through the Keyword Tool or their search engine.

No software tool can guarantee us Adsense success as far as I am concerned. No software tool is going to pave our way to riches as much as they might like to make us think they will or as much as we might wish it.

Carlos

[benkleiner]

My MNF exact search amount do not match the corresponding exact search in the G external KW tool, which MSamurai religiously does!

All that along with the revolutionary and subversive idea of "# of competitors does not matter, only the strength of the first 10 in Serp"

So my life is getting very complicated and confuse!

Help

[benkleiner]

Originally Posted by clade

MNF sucks so bad I don't even know why John recommends it.

Get smarter, understand Market Samurai and your life would be so much easier.

Don't you under$tand why John recommend$ it $o bad?

[benkleiner]

Originally Posted by carlos123

I don't have a problem with Micro Niche Finder, Market Samaria, or any other fancy, smanzie software tool because...well...I just don't use them. I create my own PHP scripts to grab data from a browser called Lynx from the command line and then do my own number crunching through PHP if and when I need that.

In fact I like the fact that internet marketers use these tools and for the most part rely on them (though everyone would of course give lip service to that not being a wise thing to do). It leaves more fresh pickings for me as far as I am concerned.

If you want to beat the masses go look where the masses aren't looking.

I prefer using just the Google Keyword Tool and Yahoo for backlink analysis. Yes...it's a bit more work though not much but I trust the data I get a lot more than I would ever trust someone else's closed source software whose numbers I have little clue about with respect to how they are derived.

Good keyword research takes work. No way around that. No software tool is going to take the place of intuition, experience, lessons learned in the trenches, and developing a good sense or feel for what a good niche is by looking at hundreds of keyword phrases and crunching the actual numbers returned by Google directly through the Keyword Tool or their search engine.

No software tool can guarantee us Adsense success as far as I am concerned. No software tool is going to pave our way to riches as much as they might like to make us think they will or as much as we might wish it.

Carlos

Yes, and I write with my goose feather and do my calculus with my old abacus

Ay Dios mio Carlitos!

[carlos123]

Originally Posted by benkleiner

Yes, and I write with my goose feather and do my calculus with my old abacus

Ahh...nothing like some controversy to spice up a thread he?

Yeah...you must REALLY know calculus then!

And if you write with your goose feather you will REALLY come to appreciate what writing is all about and how much better it can be done with a pen.

I am not advocating that everyone go back to interface with their computers by writing 1's and 0's again. Not by any means.

What I am saying is that these fancy, schmanzie software tools all pull the same data from Google that you and I can through their Keyword Tool. If Google was inclined to call their Keyword Tool...let's see...the Internet Marketers Keyword Secrets Revealed Tool and charge for it...I venture to say that thousands of internet marketers (i.e. the masses) would run all over themselves to see if they had an affiliate program and recommend buying it if they did.

It would up there with Market Samarui and Micro Niche Finder and other such tools as the must have of internet marketing.

But Google doesn't charge for it and so people tend to think that it's not as good by itself as some fancy software that companies charge for.

The people who write these fancy tools are programmers just like me or any number of other programmers. They pull the same data that you and I can directly from Google. They evaluate that data and present it to the rest of us in a way that THEY think is best. And the rest of us...if we are relying on their software, take what they say hook, line, and sinker as the ultimate data to rely on...until...well...until the King Software that has no clothes is seen to be less than what we had hoped it was.

If I was in the business of training newbie internet marketers I would NEVER have them start out with such software tools. I would have them become experts at the Google Keyword Tool and it's uses in order to get them to understand the basic keyword concepts that all such software relies on.

That way they would be in a better position to evaluate what these tools return in the way of data and make informed decisions using their own brains instead of so often being like sheep and following the masses to do what everyone else does.

It's really not that confusing. It's only confusing if we start relying on these software tools to do our work for us to the point where we either never really understand the concepts involved for ourselves (letting these tools think for us) or get lazy and trust what other persons named programmers have decided is the data that we should look at as the Gospel truth of internet marketing.

I am not entirely against using software tools. Heck I create them myself.

What i am against is the dumming down of internet marketers that happens when we start relying on the software that us programmers create instead of using our brains to understand and research and become experts at keyword picking and niche marketing.

Carlos

[Texjd]

Every Keyword tool is designed to speed up the process of determining the "value" of any keyword. Google's data is at best historical (it happended yesterday) and gives some indication of what may happen tomorrow but there are no guarantees.

Even if you use Google's tool directly, you may get different results at different times. And of course there are multiple datacenters that may or may not be in sync.

Use the data from any source as a guide, not an absolute. I use several tools and when all agree that one keyword has more searches and less competition then it's a go. The numbers don't have to match exactly, just show the same type of results.

Time and time again Google tells people that as much as half the searches are unique and everyday can be different. There are trends and common searches but I know people who don't even check the number of searches. They look at what the target audience might be looking for to determine the best way to find targeted visitors. And it works for them.

Forget about trying to get exact numbers, all it's going to do is drive you crazy. It's like people who look at thier ranking every day, all it does is frustrate most people.

All these tools are to help you speed up the process, not necessarily give you exact numbers. And things go bump in the night, it's the Internet so get over it. There is no perfect answer.

[carlos123]

Well said Texjd!

Carlos

[candacemevis23]

Yeah ... MNF are not working now.

[jjjones]

Hi Warriors, this is James from Micro Niche Finder.

Just noticed this post and wanted to jump in and answer your concerns. But first let me remind everyone that we have a help desk at James J Jones, LLC - Powered by Kayako SupportSuite Helpdesk Software and a full time support tech who can answer your questions much more reliably then posting here and hoping someone just happens to see it. So if you have a problem such as... "it's not working now" I'm pretty sure our support department can get you back up and running quickly.

Other concerns you have:

1) One digit 'strength of competition' (green soc) with a ridiculous amount of competitors. SOC was suggested by an early user of Micro Niche Finder as a way to quickly get a "thumbish" indication of the strength of a market. It uses intitle, inurl and inanchor to calculate the number. The reasoning being that a serious competitor would at the very least have the keyword phrase in the title of the page, in the url and have some backlinks with the keyword phrase in the anchor text. SOC is a estimate of the strength of the competition. However, it is an estimate, not an exact measurement. Other factors should also be used (such as the Exact Count)

2) Where does Micro Niche Finder get search numbers? We pull the numbers directly from the Google Keyword Tool. We do NOT database the numbers. If you are seeing a discrepancy it is most likely due to the fact that we default to Exact Match numbers while other tools default to Broad Match. We feel that Exact Match more accurately represents the real world search counts. You can switch to Broad or Phrase Counts search numbers within Micro Niche Finder by clicking the appropriate tab above the keyword phrase. If this is not the case and you still feel you are not retrieving accurate results please submit a support ticket (link above)

3) Why would you need a piece of software when all it does is fetch the data from Google itself? I agree completely! If that's all Micro Niche Finder or Market Samurai did then there wouldn't be much point in using them. But both have other features that speed up the process of evaluating a market and other tools that make your life easier. For example, Micro Niche Finder has a built in Domain Name availability feature that allows you to quickly check to see if the .com/.org/.net is available for the keyword phrase. You could do this yourself but it would take time. Micro Niche Finder does this in seconds plus keeps the information nicely organized for you.

I used to use a spreadsheet myself to keep track of the information. That's the reason I came up with Micro Niche Finder in the first place -- because it was taking too much time to get all the numbers together in order to evaluate a market.

James J Jones

[LIndaB]

I use both MNF and Market Samurai for keyword research and find them invaluable in quickly sorting down to the best potential keywords to target. They basically narrow down a large keyword list into a smaller one that I can then take to Google search and check out the actual first page competition. It is a LOT faster than using the Google Keyword tool, then having to type in every keyword into Google search to check out the competition. Instead of slowly slogging through a couple hundred keywords, I can quickly find the best 10-20, then go to Google search for further information.

No keyword tool is going to do everything for you, and will certainly not substitute for some common sense. They are best used to narrow down the possibilities for your own further research.

[archkre]

Originally Posted by jjjones

Hi Warriors, this is James from Micro Niche Finder.

Just noticed this post and wanted to jump in and answer your concerns. But first let me remind everyone that we have a help desk at James J Jones, LLC - Powered by Kayako SupportSuite Helpdesk Software and a full time support tech who can answer your questions much more reliably then posting here and hoping someone just happens to see it. So if you have a problem such as... "it's not working now" I'm pretty sure our support department can get you back up and running quickly.

Other concerns you have:

1) One digit 'strength of competition' (green soc) with a ridiculous amount of competitors. SOC was suggested by an early user of Micro Niche Finder as a way to quickly get a "thumbish" indication of the strength of a market. It uses intitle, inurl and inanchor to calculate the number. The reasoning being that a serious competitor would at the very least have the keyword phrase in the title of the page, in the url and have some backlinks with the keyword phrase in the anchor text. SOC is a estimate of the strength of the competition. However, it is an estimate, not an exact measurement. Other factors should also be used (such as the Exact Count)

2) Where does Micro Niche Finder get search numbers? We pull the numbers directly from the Google Keyword Tool. We do NOT database the numbers. If you are seeing a discrepancy it is most likely due to the fact that we default to Exact Match numbers while other tools default to Broad Match. We feel that Exact Match more accurately represents the real world search counts. You can switch to Broad or Phrase Counts search numbers within Micro Niche Finder by clicking the appropriate tab above the keyword phrase. If this is not the case and you still feel you are not retrieving accurate results please submit a support ticket (link above)

3) Why would you need a piece of software when all it does is fetch the data from Google itself? I agree completely! If that's all Micro Niche Finder or Market Samurai did then there wouldn't be much point in using them. But both have other features that speed up the process of evaluating a market and other tools that make your life easier. For example, Micro Niche Finder has a built in Domain Name availability feature that allows you to quickly check to see if the .com/.org/.net is available for the keyword phrase. You could do this yourself but it would take time. Micro Niche Finder does this in seconds plus keeps the information nicely organized for you.

I used to use a spreadsheet myself to keep track of the information. That's the reason I came up with Micro Niche Finder in the first place -- because it was taking too much time to get all the numbers together in order to evaluate a market.

James J Jones

My MNF exact search amount do not match the corresponding exact search in the G external KW tool, which MSamurai religiously does!

With that said, the main and basic function of MNF is not very reliable for me...
All the rest is accessory.

[jjjones]

Originally Posted by archkre

My MNF exact search amount do not match the corresponding exact search in the G external KW tool, which MSamurai religiously does!

With that said, the main and basic function of MNF is not very reliable for me...
All the rest is accessory.

archkre, can you give some examples? As stated before Micro Niche Finder gets search counts from Google External Tool. The only difference is the External Tool defaults to Broad Match numbers and Micro Niche Finder defaults to Exact Match.

Some examples would be helpful.

James J Jones

[GossipCrunch]

Thanks to all who have sent me messages asking for my way to use Google Keyword Tool. As I do not have 50 posts so I cannot personally message anyone. If anyone wants some assistance then they can forward me their gmail id as I will chat and if necessary make a call to show GKT works.

Best

[daisyashe]

i have yet not tried micro niche finder.
but after reading all these discussion willing to use it.

[Oling]

I use MNF and so far it is working to my needs at the moment. i used to speed up the process rather that getting the exact thingys I need. What I do is always always look into the actual search results from google when you search for a search term.

I did not expect MNF to give the exact results needed because big G will have the final word on that...

Just my 2 cents

[joesemo]

First I want to say thanks to James Jones for actually coming into the discussion and defending his tool.

I use Micro Niche Finder and am pleased with the product, and the fact that I can get all of the relevant information I want in one search query.

It is just a tool after all and is not the end all for your niche finding, I actually have a blog that was a red in the SOC, but has so many people involved in the niche, and I was able to get the Exact Name Match for the keyword, so I went after it anyway, and got enough traffic to make it worth using my common sense and gut feeling to go after.

For the Xfactor users it is an important tool to help find the low hanging fruit that may or may not pan out.

As for finding the exact search count of any keyword it gets a little confusing with the more tools you use.

Pick any keyword and try these tools below and you get different results that you have to kind of merge together for your own personal best guess.



SpyFu

Search-based keyword tool

KeywordSpy

https://adwords.google.com/select/Ke...rceLegacy=true

Seo Book Keyword Suggestion Tool

I am still learning how to make money with niche sites, and I do not claim to to be a guru, but MNF is still one of the best tools that I own, and use it every day.

[archkre]

Originally Posted by jjjones

archkre, can you give some examples? As stated before Micro Niche Finder gets search counts from Google External Tool. The only difference is the External Tool defaults to Broad Match numbers and Micro Niche Finder defaults to Exact Match.

Some examples would be helpful.

James J Jones

A quick example is in the attachment of the original post:

How can SOC be 3 if the exact phrase is 2,470,000?

How can SOC be 6 if the exact phrase is 461,000?

We love MNF, but the feeling is like having a cheating mistress!

[sridhar]

It is surprising to see that none has answered this correctly, so far.

The results that MNF is giving above is right. Yes, you read that right It is Google which is supplying the wrong data to MNF.

As on today, "firming face cream" has SOC of 39 (green) and exact phrase count of 2,430,000. Do a google search for "firming face cream" (with the quotes) and it says:

Results 1 - 100 of about 2,430,000 for "firming face cream".

Now to go the bottom of the search results page and click on 9 to go to 9th results page. And, what do you see at the top now?

Results 501 - 561 of about 2,430,000 for "firming face cream".

So the exact phrase count is in reality only 561. You need to ask Google what's going on here and where the 2,430,000 number is coming from.

The same funny thing is happening w/ the other keyword, "retinol face cream" in the OP's screenshot.

When things don't quite match up and when in doubt one should always click on the last search results page number a few times (unless you are taken to the last set of results upon first click itself) to ensure that exact phrase count shown by Google is what it is.

[arttse]

Archkre

The number of competing sites is TOTALLY IRRELEVANT in determining the strength of competition.

Once you detect a low SOC figure, you MUST then review the top 10 sites (using MOB) to evaluate their backlinks. Only then will you be able to determine if the keyword phrase is worth pursuing.

MNF can streamline the whole process.

Finally you need to also perform a manual examination of the backlinks (top 10 sites only) to ascertain if the keyword/s are worth targeting.

[jjjones]

Archkre, with all due respect you keep moving the goal posts Your statement was:

"My MNF exact search amount do not match the corresponding exact search in the G external KW tool"

I've already addressed the SOC question above. Now, please tell me which search terms in Google External Tool are not matching what Micro Niche Finder shows.

Thanks

[benkleiner]

Originally Posted by jjjones

Archkre, with all due respect you keep moving the goal posts Your statement was:

"My MNF exact search amount do not match the corresponding exact search in the G external KW tool"

I've already addressed the SOC question above. Now, please tell me which search terms in Google External Tool are not matching what Micro Niche Finder shows.

Thanks

You are right JJJ, but I suffered from both problems: search amount and exact phrase count but I can't disclose my KW's.

[kevinw1]

Why not use JJJ's help desk, that he posted the link to above, then you can get your problem sorted out without disclosing your keyword publicly. Then come back and tell us what the general problem/solution was

[rubyred]

Originally Posted by sridhar

It is surprising to see that none has answered this correctly, so far.

The results that MNF is giving above is right. Yes, you read that right It is Google which is supplying the wrong data to MNF.

As on today, "firming face cream" has SOC of 39 (green) and exact phrase count of 2,430,000. Do a google search for "firming face cream" (with the quotes) and it says:

Now to go the bottom of the search results page and click on 9 to go to 9th results page. And, what do you see at the top now?

So the exact phrase count is in reality only 561. You need to ask Google what's going on here and where the 2,430,000 number is coming from.

The same funny thing is happening w/ the other keyword, "retinol face cream" in the OP's screenshot.

When things don't quite match up and when in doubt one should always click on the last search results page number a few times (unless you are taken to the last set of results upon first click itself) to ensure that exact phrase count shown by Google is what it is.

I have found the same thing. If Google returned to MNF an unrealistic high exact phrase count higher than the broad phrase count, I know something is not correct. How can the exact be more than the broad? It can't.

I have found that relying on the SOC is safe for me. Better than 9 out of 10 times google has provided an incorrect exact total. Using the SOC green, and other criteria saves me so much time in determining great keyword phrases.
I can't live without Micro Niche Finder.