Hi Begbie,

I'm Mal and I work with Wordtracker Customer Support.

This is a question that comes up from time to time, so you're not alone...

Google's dataset and Wordtracker's dataset are very different beasts - they have different sources, and so the numbers will vary - also, looking at the figures, it's very likely that Google applies some sort of algorithm to them before you see the numbers - but no-one outside Google knows what that is, or whether it's consistent across all keywords.

The best way to approach this is to look at the keywords and the numbers as relative to one another rather than as absolutes - this will give you a broader view of the big picture. I know that some SEOs don't even look at the search volume when doing keyword research - just at what keywords are more heavily searched. Obviously when using this method it's important to check the competition that exists on any given search term, but looking at the figures as relatives will probably be an easier way to assess a keyword's potential.

I hope this helps, but if you have any other questions, please drop us a line (I can't post an address here, but it's support at wordtracker dot com), and we'll be happy to help.

All the best,

Mal

I think what he is trying to say is that what matters more is the percentage of comparison in comparison to the number of searches for a specific word. Its really the ratio that matters the most.