Google Keyword Tool Broad or Exact Search?

[valdivz]

I see other internet marketers show videos of them doing keyword research for SEO but they do not show the "Exact" search they always show broad.

Now, I understand that over time you may optimize for broader search terms but you can only focus on2-3 keywords at first.


So my question is... do a lot of you actually use the "exact" match in the Google Keyword Tool when deciding what keywords to go after?




any suggestion of other proven tools to help with keyword research?

Thanks

[tjcocker]

Only use exact, otherwise you'll be in for a rude awakening when you see your traffic. Even then it can be less than what it says. Not always.

[FeedbackSecrets]

I agree, whenever I use the external tool for keyword research I always the "exact" matches option is selected.

[jayanuaria]

Yup.. Use exact. I wasted 10-20 domains because of this mistake...

[lstoops]

Yes, I only use exact match. I learned the hard way on this one. If you are looking for targeted traffic (which I'm sure you are) you gotta use exact match.

[danjensen]

ALL THREE...

If your serious about IM I would suggest looking at Broad, Phrase and EXACT.

I would Use Phrase to narrow down your keyword list to 20.

Then review Broad and Exact.

If you see a huge drop against Exact, you might want to reconsider.

Broad is a good indication of width of searches. If it is big there is likely simialr keywords to help build your site.

[kwality]

Use exact or phrase match to get a good idea of the traffic.

[artforsale]

Here is the thing. I think all of you experienced SEO's might have been looking at this keyword thing kinda the wrong way.
I pay attention to what ppl do instead of alot of the minutia of doing SEO.
Here's a basic thing that was explained to me. Its very simple and I think its very logical and goes against everything I've been taught about doing keyword research.

When people do a search on Google they don't search , "running shoes" ,
or [running shoes] they simply type in running shoes.
The best way to do keyword research is to use the broad results.
I think exact would be best if you wanted to rank for
"green running shoes for central park" or some other 4 or 5 word key term and yes that would be a more serious searcher but as far as two and three words in the keyword go, your best bet and most accurate search volume is in the broad.
Now i'm just an artist that has read a ton of SEO tutorials and I sell my art fairly regularly compared to alot of other artist that I know. I've done this for last two years and I know that its the correct way. I've had so many SEO's tell me how wrong I am so I expect alot of disagreement about this, but I hate to say it , you are all wrong.

[MikeFriedman]

Originally Posted by artforsale

When people do a search on Google they don't search , "running shoes" ,
or [running shoes] they simply type in running shoes.
The best way to do keyword research is to use the broad results.

I've had so many SEO's tell me how wrong I am so I expect alot of disagreement about this, but I hate to say it , you are all wrong.

Yeah, those SEO's were right. You are very wrong about this.

Exact match in the keyword tool is not telling you how many people search for that term in quotes or in brackets. It is telling you how many people search for that exact term, with or without quotes.

Of course nobody searches for things in quotes.

[scott g]

Ok... This is from MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE.

Whenever I do keyword research I use Google Adwords Keyword Tool - I look at EXACT LOCAL MONTHLY SEARCHES. This will give you the best idea of how many people are actually searching for you search term or phrase in you country on a monthly basis. Looking at broad makes no sense at all if you're TARGETING long-tail keywords or phrases.

When you go to the big G and type in your long-tail keyword or phrase, the results that come up are your direct competition - that is what is being reflected when you do EXACT LOCAL MONTHLY SEARCHES in GAKT.

Even though you searched for your phrase in a broad fashion, you're looking at your EXACT competition... Does that make sense?!

Broad means those words could appear anywhere in any order some and not all... So it's pointless... But Google is smart... When the end-user does searches they give them the "Exact Broad" matches... Lol! It's true!!

I've had a couple beers hope this makes sense!!

CHEERS!

[markowe]

There is ENDLESS confusion about this topic.

Look, "broad" basically means all the possible related terms containing your search phrase.

So if you are targetting "red widgets" then the exact match means how many times "red widgets" (and ONLY that exact phrase) is being searched for.

If you look at the BROAD match for red widgets, that figure is much higher because it will also include searches for:

best red widgets
red widgets for sale
red widgets that are blue
where can i buy red widgets

Now this figure is of interest because it tells you how much scope there is for ranking for other interesting, related keywords - in a sense it tells you how "big" the niche is. BUT, if you are just making an EMD - redwidgets.com, then you are not targeting ANY of those broad matches, you are typically ONLY targetting the exact phrase "red widgets", which only has a fraction of the "broad" traffic, and you could get a nasty shock.

So that is why for any given keyword, if you are ONLY targetting that keyword, which is usually the case in SEO, you need to look at the EXACT match, and use the BROAD match to get additional keyword ideas.

I just know I still haven't explained this well enough, sigh...

[JaySam]

I think you can use both, Google Adwords Keyword tool and exact search. It will help you more in determining the best targeted keyword for your site. Be specific in targeting your keyword to make things simple.

[scott g]

Originally Posted by markowe

There is ENDLESS confusion about this topic.

Look, "broad" basically means all the possible related terms containing your search phrase.

So if you are targetting "red widgets" then the exact match means how many times "red widgets" (and ONLY that exact phrase) is being searched for.

If you look at the BROAD match for red widgets, that figure is much higher because it will also include searches for:

best red widgets
red widgets for sale
red widgets that are blue
where can i buy red widgets

Now this figure is of interest because it tells you how much scope there is for ranking for other interesting, related keywords - in a sense it tells you how "big" the niche is. BUT, if you are just making an EMD - redwidgets.com, then you are not targeting ANY of those broad matches, you are typically ONLY targetting the exact phrase "red widgets", which only has a fraction of the "broad" traffic, and you could get a nasty shock.

So that is why for any given keyword, if you are ONLY targetting that keyword, which is usually the case in SEO, you need to look at the EXACT match, and use the BROAD match to get additional keyword ideas.

I just know I still haven't explained this well enough, sigh...

re Re RE Read this... Markowe has basically hit your topic on the head.


Oh... & P.S. Read mine too

[sofiaarce]

I used all three. I commonly used exact match for branding, while phrase to narrow searches competition. More often, my keyword research begin with broad keywords to gain ideas, then I make sure to narrow it down to more targeted and specific keywords. I usually include my specific services, product, brand and geo-targets.

[Mikeys]

Everyone above is right, go for exact. I also like to use my "gut" and do some manual searches myself. Another good rule of thumb is the more the paid ads, the more competitive it is.

[artforsale]

Again, I've heard many disagree with my view of this. But show me where google explains this
I know if I want to search for the exact term in the search bar a person would use quotes ""

Why would Google use these parameters in the search bar and make them different in the keyword tools
[ ] + - and or filetype: site: ""

I'd love for someone to show me where Google explains that using
"" in the search bar is different from the exact searches used in the keyword tool

[MikeFriedman]

Originally Posted by artforsale

Again, I've heard many disagree with my view of this. But show me where google explains this
I know if I want to search for the exact term in the search bar a person would use quotes ""

Why would Google use these parameters in the search bar and make them different in the keyword tools
[ ] + - and or filetype: site: ""

I'd love for someone to show me where Google explains that using
"" in the search bar is different from the exact searches used in the keyword tool

Well, this time not only is someone disagreeing with you, but here is the proof you want.

What are keyword matching options? - AdWords Help

[yukon]

I think a few folks are confused in how broad, exact, & phrase work in the Google keyword tool.

This link should clear up any confusion you might have about the Adwords search options.

https://adwords.google.com/support/a...tp&answer=6100

[artforsale]

If that is the case then why have the modifiers ?

[MikeFriedman]

Originally Posted by artforsale

If that is the case then why have the modifiers ?

Why have what modifiers? The search engine modifiers?

[John Moore]

You need to look at both, exact so you know how much traffic you can aim for from the exact searches, then you need to look at broad searches so you can how much long tail traffic you can expect.

For example, look at these 2 keywords;

Keyword1 - 2,000 exact searches / 5,000 broad

Keyword2 - 1,000 exact searches / 20,000 broad

Which one can bring more traffic? Keyword 2 will because there will be more long tail searches you can target, so in this case you would build more long tail keyword backlinks with keyword2 than your would with kw1.

[julianbooth123]

You should do the exact search as doing the broad search may drive the untargeted traffic to your site.

[easyrider7]

It is good to look at both broad and exact. Broad tells you how much traffic there is for the exact match and for closely related search terms. BUT ... you must make sure it is not something like this:

Broad: 5,000
Exact: 12

It this is the case, the broad matches are going to give you a lot of spurious results. In other words, the traffic for the broad match is going to be very unrelated to the exact keyword - which means that this traffic is going to be very poor at converting for you.

To give an illustration of these spurious results, type your keyword into the Google Keyword Tool. Then look below at the alternative suggestions that Google gives you. Many of these suggestions are almost totally unrelated to the original keyword.

However, if the exact match is more than 50% of the broad search results, the broad results are useful to look at, in terms of how much targetted traffic you are likely to get if you successfully rank for that keyword.

[Clyde]

Use Exact search. Always.

[markowe]

Originally Posted by easyrider7

To give an illustration of these spurious results, type your keyword into the Google Keyword Tool. Then look below at the alternative suggestions that Google gives you. Many of these suggestions are almost totally unrelated to the original keyword.

However, if the exact match is more than 50% of the broad search results, the broad results are useful to look at, in terms of how much targetted traffic you are likely to get if you successfully rank for that keyword.

Again, I agree mostly with this, but this could again mislead someone, especially the bit I have bolded.

You will NOT get ANY searches on keywords from the broad match results IF your site does not contain those keywords (or maybe you have done heavy anchor text for them in your backlinking).

To go back to my example of "red widgets" - under the broad match results there may be "where can I buy red widgets". But if your site does not contain those words anywhere (or many of the other thousands of combinations given by "broad match"), if you are exclusively optimising for "red widgets" then you will NEVER get ANY of that "broad" traffic, only the "exact".

Of course, in practice we have all seen that all-kinds of long-tail traffic comes even when we are purely focused on a single exact-match keyword - we will still probably get hits for "widgets that are red" and "red widget site" - but the large broad match figure will not help you much at all if you are focused on a single keyword.

You NEED to primarily focus on EXACT match.

[outwest]

Use both but use the BROAD to find related terms
never buy a term and expect the number of searches that the BROAD MATCH GIVES

for the search numbers when deciding do I want to target this kw or not? THEN YOU USE EXACT, that will HOPEFULLY give you accurate figures, but not necessarily, sometimes they can still be way off

but never use BROAD numbers to say ok this term gets this many searches

I always compare
google adwords tool
SeoBook
Market Samurai,
a few others, to see if the daily numbers are anything similar

[JamesGw]

Both have their uses. If you're just ranking for the one keyword you're looking to hit, then exact will give you a good idea. Honestly, though, if you're SEO is decent at all, your figures will be closer to "broad" than "exact."

I might rank #1 for "big traps", but I also rank for get big traps, big traps exercises, how to get big traps, how to get big traps muscles, etc. Usually ranking for your main keyword will bring in traffic for related long tail keywords, which is what broad signifies.

Both are useful if you do things the right way.

My only suggestion would be to use only use "exact" to avoid deceptive keywords - pluralization and word order can make a big difference in rankings.

[UMS]

Originally Posted by artforsale

Here is the thing. I think all of you experienced SEO's might have been looking at this keyword thing kinda the wrong way.
I pay attention to what ppl do instead of alot of the minutia of doing SEO.
Here's a basic thing that was explained to me. Its very simple and I think its very logical and goes against everything I've been taught about doing keyword research.

When people do a search on Google they don't search , "running shoes" ,
or [running shoes] they simply type in running shoes.
The best way to do keyword research is to use the broad results.
I think exact would be best if you wanted to rank for
"green running shoes for central park" or some other 4 or 5 word key term and yes that would be a more serious searcher but as far as two and three words in the keyword go, your best bet and most accurate search volume is in the broad.
Now i'm just an artist that has read a ton of SEO tutorials and I sell my art fairly regularly compared to alot of other artist that I know. I've done this for last two years and I know that its the correct way. I've had so many SEO's tell me how wrong I am so I expect alot of disagreement about this, but I hate to say it , you are all wrong.

Unfortunately your logic is flawed.


Firstly, let's clear up a few things.

When you do a Google search, you have two options:

1. Broad match search (without quotes)
2. Phrase match search (with quotes)

There is no exact match search option. Doing a search for

[keyword phrase]

is effectively a broad match search as Google will ignore the []

OK, so why is the exact match figures so important in GAKT?

The first thing to remember is GAKT is primarily designed to allow people to make decisions on their adwords campaign. The options for broad, phrase and exact allow them to see the potential scope of their adwords.

Obviously GAKT is used by a lot of people for their keyword research, so let's take an example of why you should check the exact match figures.

If we use the keyword

white wedding cars


The broad match figures are: 1300
The exact match figures are: 91


When someone types in

white wedding cars

as a Google search, they will be performing a broad match search, BUT, Google is going to favour results based on the exact match.

Now if you do that particular search, there's only a few results in the top 10 that contain that exact phrase in the title or description.

There are matches for things like

A white wedding is a traditional format........bumper of the couple's car

wedding cars for hire.........a classic white Rolls-Royce


Then as you start to head down through the SERPs, the results start to become more and more unrelated to your search.

For example:

White Volkswagen Hearse and funeral fleet also available

White Wedding Chairs Manufacturers Directory

Handcrafted Roses Red White Blue


So if you were relying on the broad match search figures of 1300 searches a month and optimizing your site for 'white wedding cars', there's going to be a whole bunch of vaguely related searches that you are probably unlikely to optimize or even include as long tail searches, so therefore there's a whole bunch of searches included in the broad match search that you aren't going to pick up.


I've written a more detailed article about keyword research mistakes at What Are The Biggest Keyword Research Mistakes? | Ultimate Marketing Strategies

[guzpra]

Originally Posted by UMS

When you do a Google search, you have two options:

1. Broad match search (without quotes)
2. Phrase match search (with quotes)

There is no exact match search option. Doing a search for

[keyword phrase]

is effectively a broad match search as Google will ignore the []

I've written a more detailed article about keyword research mistakes at What Are The Biggest Keyword Research Mistakes? | Ultimate Marketing Strategies

Absolutely agree, I encountered many CONFUSIONS about exact, broad and phrase last week,
but after doing some research in 2-3 days, I find out that the right answer is like stated above.. so dont confuse again about that okay