Google Keyword Tool Lies....

[valdivz]

I'm curious to know exactly what keyword tools people use to determine the type of traffic and how much traffic a phrase gets?

Based off of Google Keyword and Market Samurai, it's telling me around 9,900 searches a month for "Exact" match for my keyword phrase. I have reached the #1 spot, so I should see about 40%-50% of that traffic, so lets say 3,960 searches a month or around 132 visitors a day- which I'm definitely not getting based off of Google analytics and cpanel stats.

I just installed GetClicky which is a real time analytics program so I can really see the traffic.

So, what gives? Has anyone else experienced a let down by the amount of traffic?

What tools does everyone use?

Thanks,

Ron

[askloz]

Where did you get this 40-50% from?

These search phrase hits are not just from the direct search....

you got the ads, you got the youtube videos, you got other site videos that are listed, you got related news, you got shopping listings, then there's the blogs section, then theres the wonderwheel, etc, etc etc list goes on and on...

you'll be lucky to see 10% of those hits.

[kazlas]

Originally Posted by askloz

Where did you get this 40-50% from?

These search phrase hits are not just from the direct search....

you got the ads, you got the youtube videos, you got other site videos that are listed, you got related news, you got shopping listings, then there's the blogs section, then theres the wonderwheel, etc, etc etc list goes on and on...

you'll be lucky to see 10% of those hits.

I think he wants to say that ~50% of searchers should visit his website, yet he doesn't get the potential from the keyword he took over.

[Adam Roy]

Originally Posted by askloz

Where did you get this 40-50% from?

These search phrase hits are not just from the direct search....

you got the ads, you got the youtube videos, you got other site videos that are listed, you got related news, you got shopping listings, then there's the blogs section, then theres the wonderwheel, etc, etc etc list goes on and on...

you'll be lucky to see 10% of those hits.

Exactly. Google's old search tool, used to pull traffic data from itself, as well as it's partner 'second-tier' search engine partners.

Now the tool revolves around just Google, however this search traffic isn't just for 'web' search. Notice when you hit the search engine, you're in 'web' search mode by default.

The traffic estimates also come from a combination of all the other Google search methods as well, including shopping, news, images, books, videos etc.

You have to remember people use all of those methods to look for things, and that traffic is also included in your estimates.

Unless you can rank for your keywords during searches in every one of Google's little tabs, maybe you'll come a bit closer the 40-50% mark you're expecting.

[Sandgrown]

The Google Keyword data is just an estimate and should not be treated as being entirely accurate. Google is a bit cagey with its real data.

The 42% figure which Market Samurai uses for CTR for a #1 spot is also an estimate and can vary widely according to niche and other factors e.g. how appealing and relevant is your site description compared to the other sites in the top 10 and the surrounding adwords ads?

How far are you off 132 visitors a day?

[Jacob Martus]

Originally Posted by askloz

you'll be lucky to see 10% of those hits.

That's flat out wrong.

A #1 position will get 25-45% of the searches. This is confirmed across many different websites from Google Webmaster Tools. On average, for a #1 position I get 35% of any given search term's traffic.

[jacksonlin]

Yeah, the Google KW tool is not nearly as accurate as you might have hoped.

I am ranking for some incredible terms and it turns out the traffic is just not that amazing.

But, what else can we rely on?

So I guess we just have to be able to be good at using your gut to feel things out.

[Adam Roy]

Originally Posted by Jacob Martus

That's flat out wrong.

A #1 position will get 25-45% of the searches. This is confirmed across many different websites from Google Webmaster Tools. On average, for a #1 position I get 35% of any given search term's traffic.

That's not wrong, and there are so many variables that have an effect on CTR.

I've tested different titles and descriptions and have seen the number of visits increase or decrease by as much as 5-20%

I would say that in your case, having a 35% CTR in Serps you must have great titles and descriptions, possibly tested them?

There's no way to 'confirm' that you will get xx-xx% of the traffic, there are too many variables both in the traffic estimates, and the serps themselves to have a 'set' number.

However, I can see 'achieving' results like that, either first shot or after testing, but I can't see any percentage of traffic being set in stone.

[askloz]

I know what he meant bro, that's why I said there is NO way he will get 50% or even 40% of the total local or global searches...

i'm going out on a lym here - it's impossible.

Originally Posted by kazlas

I think he wants to say that ~50% of searchers should visit his website, yet he doesn't get the potential from the keyword he took over.

[askloz]

I never used the google suggestion tool cos that's ONLY for PPC...

Google showed a link that says "go to the google search based tool"... these are the ones that gave off more accurate results, which now they have integrated into the new system

Originally Posted by friend

Exactly. Google's old search tool, used to pull traffic data from itself, as well as it's partner 'second-tier' search engine partners.

Now the tool revolves around just Google, however this search traffic isn't just for 'web' search. Notice when you hit the search engine, you're in 'web' search mode by default.

The traffic estimates also come from a combination of all the other Google search methods as well, including shopping, news, images, books, videos etc.

You have to remember people use all of those methods to look for things, and that traffic is also included in your estimates.

Unless you can rank for your keywords during searches in every one of Google's little tabs, maybe you'll come a bit closer the 40-50% mark you're expecting.

[askloz]

Sorry Jacob... I doubt it...

the 10% i mentioned is just a ball park figure...

show me where you're getting 25-45% of the total global or local search volume?

Originally Posted by Jacob Martus

That's flat out wrong.

A #1 position will get 25-45% of the searches. This is confirmed across many different websites from Google Webmaster Tools. On average, for a #1 position I get 35% of any given search term's traffic.

[askloz]

Funny you say that...

I was just thinking about getting some software made so one can rank for all those little tabs

Originally Posted by friend

Unless you can rank for your keywords during searches in every one of Google's little tabs, maybe you'll come a bit closer the 40-50% mark you're expecting.

[valdivz]

hmmm.... interesting responses, I'm surprised nobody mentioned to keep an eye out for Google Trends, which I completely forgot about. I used this insurance site more for testing link building strategies and other fun stuff so it didn't dawn on me that I was going to be entering a traffic drout for this insurance keyword.

After checking in with Google Trends I noticed that the months of November and December are extremely low and then January on out it picks back up and very high in the early summer, which makes sense for this insurance quote keyword phrase.

I heard of the 40-50% traffic expectancy from Ryan Deiss but I always saw different lower numbers since I'm ranked #1 for other keywords and can see for myself.

At least I have a site that's locked and loaded ready for more traffic :-)