how to check keyword competition?

Hi Tim3,

Perhaps I can enlighten you a bit on how The Keyword Planner tool can be a useful tool for SEO purposes.

There is the most obvious benefit which is Search Volume data. This is extremely useful in determining the relative value of ranking a particular keyword, I'm sure we can all agree on that to various degrees, right? Most people would prefer to rank high on a relevant keyword with large search volume vs. a term with low volume, all other things being equal. However not everyone has the same objectives in mind when it comes to SEO campaigns.

Exactly how you will want to use the Keyword Planner tool will vary based on the Goals of your SEO campaign. So as with all marketing objectives the first step is to define your goals.

I will discuss 2 categories of SEO goals, the first being business goals for any company with a commercial website, the other type being SEO agency goals, since all too often the SEO agency's goals do not line up with the business goals of their clients.

Business Goals

Businesses are typically looking to increase their website traffic for relevant terms that have high commercial intent. Their goal often is to increase profits, not to merely move ranking stats on a report.

The Keyword Planner tool is extremely useful at identifying the value of ranking a particular keyword, based not only on the search volume, but also on the relative commercial intent of the keyword. The competition column shows relative competition among PPC advertisers who are typically very data driven in their actions. When you consider the search volume, competition level, and recommended bids, you get a very accurate read on the value of ranking a particular keyword. This is very useful in determining how much to invest and the potential ROI when achieving a top ranking.

While the PPC competition level by itself does not give you a precise measure of the difficulty to rank a particular keyword, when you combine the search volume, competition level, and recommended bids you can get a fairly accurate read on how difficult that keyword will be to maintain a ranking. The higher those data points are the more diligent you competitors are going to be at outranking you in a head-to-head competition for Search rankings.

It's also useful in finding keywords with high commercial intent and relatively low search volume (aka: longtail keywords) that might be quite easy to rank for and yield a very nice ROI.

SEO Agency Goals

SEO agency goals vary from one agency to the next. Some agencies have aligned their own goals with their clients' goals and they can use the Keyword Planner tool as described above. However, there are many SEO firms that prefer to focus only on a self-serving goal, like bumping up rankings for a list of keywords they are reporting on. Their goal might be to find the keywords that they can most easily show a gain in rankings without consideration of the value that brings to their clients.

Again, the Keyword Planner can help to identify low search volume keywords, with low PPC competition and low CPCs, targeting those terms to make quick measurable gains to put onto a report to show clients as a way of justifying their fees. Not a practice I would condone, but is just one of many ways the the Keyword Planner can be used by SEO agencies.

They might also be trying to demonstrate an increase in traffic. An agency can also use the tool to identify the keywords likely to bring the most search traffic and compare that to data gathered from direct analysis of the SERP to estimate the lowest cost per visit keywords to focus on in their campaigns.

Of course there are many more ways to use the AdWords Keyword Planner for keyword research that is used in SEO campaigns, this reply is meant to get you thinking about some of the ways to use the tool.

Hi saxmanay,

The answer to your question will vary based upon you goals. Why are you trying to rank the term? Is your goal just traffic, regardless of quality or commercial value? If so then go for it.

However, if your goal is to make a profit via online sales, lead generation or similar direct response marketing, then it is likely a very poor term to target.

The stats that you included are not enough to make a good decision, but from what I can tell it is likely a search term that is informational in nature and has very low, or no commercial intent. You can still make use of such terms if you build a landing page that matches the users intent and also includes content to build a relationship with potential future buyers. You essentially are targeting the upper marketing channel (awareness & branding), and as long as you can do that at a very low cost per user it can be worthwhile.

So you think there is just one way to do it... your way, or its wrong? Any other method that is different than your preferred method is wrong?

What if someone found a faster more reliable way? Would you just automatically proclaim it wrong because it is different from you method? Or, would you ask for more details, and try it out to see if it actually works? Just wondering if you have completely closed your mind to learning anything new, if so, please disregard my post, as it will be of no use to you.

Yes, the AdWords Keyword Planner tool does help you find relevant keywords, and yes, it does show you accurate search volume data as well, no one seems to dispute that about the tool. However, I must disagree with your assertion that "It has no other use in SEO.", that is where I believe you are completely wrong.

Yes, I agree that the competition level data is the level of competition amongst AdWords advertisers. And yes, this is where I disagree, that information is extremely useful for marketers, especially if you are doing SEO.

Keyword competitiveness levels are only meaningful within context of relevant value. If you are marketing for profit, you must consider the relative value of ranking for a keyword, and value is not based merely on keyword volume, not if you are marketing for profit. The competition level data, along with the suggested bids are a very accurate indicator of commercial value, as well as commercial intent as displayed by searchers' behavior.

Your method, as you describe it, sounds fairly labor intensive. Wouldn't it be nice if you could narrow you keywords down to just those keywords that you have already decided to target, then use your method on that short list?

There is also a strong correlation between that data in the AKP tool and the relative difficulty in earning and maintaining a ranking within the organic SERP listings. You see, AdWords advertisers are often doing SEO as well. In fact, many top SEO agencies use AdWords to gather data to inform their SEO campaigns. Generally, if you see a term that has high competition levels and relatively high suggested bids you will discover that the organic competition is typically at the same relatively high level.

If your SEO goal isn't related to profit, then the tool can also be useful in helping you find keywords with low commercial intent. Those keywords are often easier to rank because there is a lot less money chasing that traffic. That is where you often see websites like Wikipedia, or other information pages that dominate the top rankings. Again, understanding the strong correlation in the AKP tool data will save you a bunch of time.

There are other uses as well, but I want to keep this post brief. I realize that many folks in the SEO field are not familiar with data analysis concepts and methods. I hope it opens the eyes of those with a desire and willingness to learn a new trick or two.

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