Do I research my keywords in Broad, Phrase or Exact.....

[Moneyland]

Still alittle unsure .... I just came across a KW that was searched for 60,500 times a month in "broad" and then appeared as 170 when in "exact" so I thought I should get to the bottom of this once and for all to undertstand this...

Any explanations appreciated.

[alexts]

Originally Posted by Moneyland

Still alittle unsure .... I just came across a KW that was searched for 60,500 times a month in "broad" and then appeared as 170 when in "exact" so I thought I should get to the bottom of this once and for all to undertstand this...

Any explanations appreciated.

Always do exact.. Broad is almost useless.

[corycrabb]

Broad Match –
This filter shows results for you search term on a broad scale. For e.g. if your search term is ‘SEO India’ you will get results for ‘SEO India’, ‘SEO’, “’ndia’, ‘SEO Training’, ‘Marketing India’ etc. So you may get 10, 000 searches for the term ‘SEO India’ but the complete phrase ‘SEO India’ may have 100 searches in total, ‘SEO Training’ may have 300 searches in total and so on.

The aggregate got by this sort of search include all kind of combinations with any of the terms in the keyword. Obviously the result got for this is large as it is weakly focused.

Phrase Match –
Through this filter you get results for the searches and competition faced by the phrase ‘SEO India’ with inclusion of many other terms within this phrase. For e.g. the search results got for ‘SEO India’ will return with traffic for the term ‘SEO India’ along with ‘Outsourcing SEO India’, ‘SEO India Agency’, ‘SEO Firms in India’ etc.

The calculation received is the total of the entire search phrases that include the complete main key phrase, even if it is split by other terms or not. The numbers received through this filter is definitely more streamlines than broad match.

Exact Match –
This filter provides results for the exact term searched for. The volume of searches got is only for the key phrase entered. So if you are researching on the search activity for the term ‘SEO India’ you will receive results for ‘SEO India’ only.

There are no aggregates involved; the result shows the total searches made for the exact keyword. It is recommended that you have this option selected when checking for search volumes as it omits the traffic got by terms you have not included.

The internet provides many keyword analysing tools that can be used for a well researched search engine marketing strategy. Tools like Brainfox Keyword Research Tool, 7Search.com Keyword Suggestion Tool and many more can be used to analyse the keywords required to target. However many Search Engine Marketing Agencies recommend and themselves refer to Google Keyword Tool to check the search volumes.

[Steven Wagenheim]

Originally Posted by alexts

Always do exact.. Broad is almost useless.

Says who? I am so sick and tired of people "claiming" that broad match is
useless because some "expert" says it is.

Broad match is NOT useless if you know what to do with it.

More IM myth crap that drives me crazy.

[BruceWood]

"Broad" = the words in any order, even in phrases with other words.

ex: KW= 'words in order' Broad could include "order five words in sentences"

"Exact" means just that. The words in that exact order.

Odds are that fewer people have typed in the words in the exact order you specify, hence lower search results.

This differentiation is most important when using ppc (google adwords) and means much less for articles and seo.

[alexts]

Originally Posted by Steven Wagenheim

Says who? I am so sick and tired of people "claiming" that broad match is
useless because some "expert" says it is.

Broad match is NOT useless if you know what to do with it.

More IM myth crap that drives me crazy.

I am talking from my experience. Can you share more information on how to use broad search when choosing your keywords?

[Marvin Johnston]

In general, broad match is used to determine traffic numbers, and phrase match is used to find the competition numbers.

Exact match kind of eludes me, and I don't know where it is best used.

Marvin

[Steven Wagenheim]

Originally Posted by alexts

I am talking from my experience. Can you share more information on how to use broad search when choosing your keywords?

As Bruce said above, if you're using it for PPC (I don't) then yes, you better
use exact or you're going to lose your shirt.

But if you're creating content for the Internet where you're using LSI a lot
and not trying to jam stupid phrases into your content because they sound
retarded, then broad match will give you a very good idea of what kind of
organic traffic you're going to get.

And this belongs in the SEO forum anyway.

[tradewiser]

Originally Posted by alexts

I am talking from my experience. Can you share more information on how to use broad search when choosing your keywords?

One important use is that the difference between the broad & exact figures gives you a very good idea of the long tail potential of the keyword