In this case--is a broad search more relevant?

6 replies
  • SEO
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This applies to the google free suggestion tool. My current understanding () is that when doing keyword research, it is better to check for exact searches than broad because that shows how many people are using the exact term specified.

However, in this particular case, my niche is so void of competition I am 100% I can get #1 in google for any search string typed in for my subject, regardless of wording. Without any work at all, I'm already at 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 for most, and my competitors are not really relevant--not to mention I could advertise on their sites to get some of their traffic. The other thing is 80% or more of the people researching this subject are likely looking for a service like mine--not information.

So, in this case, if I just wanted to know the market demand for my offer, would it make sense to just use a broad query to find out how many people were searching for this subject? Common sense tells me my understanding here is correct, but I hate it when I rely on "common sense" in IM and end up way off. :rolleyes: Maybe those in the know can assure me or wake me up. In theory, is that how the broad function works?

Cheers
dru-man
#broad #caseis #relevant #search
  • Profile picture of the author Kevin Lam
    It's a good idea to at least consider the phrase match. Glad you're able to find such a gold mine though. Good luck to you and your success.
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    • It is a small market--only about 800 people searching for this per month. A micro-niche, I suppose. But the service is a must for expats living in my part of the world and the profit is pretty decent as well. Not to mention many clients who just find this kind of service by word of mouth, so offline advertising and networking open up a lot of possibilities--I just wanted to be sure my thought processes were right on this. I'll check out the phrase match as well, which is not the same as exact, correct? What is the relevance of phrase as opposed to exact?
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      • Phrase match: "keyword"
        Allows your ad to show for searches that match the exact phrase
        Exact match: [keyword]
        Allows your ad to show for searches that match the exact phrase exclusively
        Hmmmm....not sure I understand the difference here, but there obviously is one...Still, I would have thought that "match the exact phrase" already meant exclusively. Anyone want to add something? I know I'm really picking this subject apart, but I really want to get rid of the ambiguity here. The difference in these numbers could become pretty important for more popular niches.
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  • Profile picture of the author Kevin Lam
    Yeah, you're really nuking it, but the difference is this:

    Phrase match means a person includes the phrase in it, but it may be consisted of other words at the same time. When someone searches for "exact", it means JUST those words in that exact order - nothing more, nothing less.

    Example of phrase match: i hate the candy man

    or, candy man is scary

    Example of exact match: candy man

    Both included "candy man"..
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  • Profile picture of the author Kevin Lam
    I can't take credit for it. It's a term we used a lot in the Navy because some people keep asking dumb questions. Not saying you are, but they try to over-think and complicate things when it really is simple.

    That's why it takes a college grad to break jets, but high school drop-outs to fix them.
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