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What's the "average" lowest number of search results to consider using a keyword?

by mnguyen04
4 replies
Hi all

So I hope my thread title made sense, but basically I wanted to find out if there is a ballpark number for the number of search results that say Google returns that will make selecting a keyword not take months and months of work using social networks/articles/bookmarking to rank well for.

eg. if "how to fly" returned 500,000 search results, will it be too competitive for me to use that keyword? As in, would it take lots of lots of work to try to get to page 1.

I think i remember reading somewhere that 100,000 search results or less would take some work to rank on page 1 but is not considered too competitive.

I know it differs for every keyword and scenario but I was hoping for an "average" number so I know whether I should consider using that keyword or not.
Also, I'm still a newbie and haven't found a keyword tool to help me yet.

thanks guys!!
#average #keyword #lowest #number #results #search
  • Profile picture of the author Nick Lotter
    I usually stick to long tail keywords with less than 50,000 search results with the keyword typed in inverted commas. Less than 20,000 is even better.
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    "Do not wait to strike until the iron is hot; but make it hot by striking."
    William Butler Yeats
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    • Profile picture of the author mnguyen04
      Interesting that you mention inverted commas, since theres a huge search result difference with and without the "keywords goes here".

      The search for a longtail keyword without quotes gave 800,000 results. However, with the quotes, it returned 50,000.

      Do any of the keyword research tools give stats that include the inverted commas?
      I tried using them in the Google Keyword Tool but it returned the same numbers as though I didn't using the inverted commas.
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      • Profile picture of the author julianwebb
        Hello,

        This has also been bugging me, although I'd like to believe I'm doing something right.

        This is how I do it, based only on "Avg. Monthly Searches (exact match only)". I would like to limit my discussion with such parameter.

        On Google Keyword Planner, I click "Find new keywords", type "used cars", hit "Get ideas", and then... On the left side, I make sure "United States" (the target), and "English" are up. Then I click the "Keyword ideas" tab (beside "Ad group ideas"). Then I download the CSV file.

        On the CSV file, I filter the column "Avg. Monthly Searches (exact match only)" to show results with 260 and up only.

        That's how I find my keywords.

        I don't rely on the "About xxx,xxx,xxx results (0.yy seconds)".

        Of course you'd have to further assess your keywords, like in terms of competition, etc., etc. But this is how I start with my keyword research, basically.

        My concerns are:

        1. I would like to know if I'm doing alright, with the particular "limit" I've set above.

        2. The 260 monthly searches that I use is for both long-tail keywords and "short-tail". My question is if I would like to use a "looong" long-tail keyword, can I use those with lower monthly searches, like 210, 170, or even lower? Until what number would you suggest?
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        • Profile picture of the author henryw1981
          I would say 1000 with a minimum of 500. You can also use a combination of keyword phrases with lower search results to reach the 1000 search results number.
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