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Google adwords competition inconsistency

by amnon
5 replies
  • SEO
    • |
Hi - I'm relatively new to this and was wondering if anyone can help me answer this:

When you look up the information for various adwords in Google's keyword tool ( adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal which I understand is the best free tool for getting CPC and volume data for keywords), there's a column named "Advertiser competition".

I found that in many cases, although the "Advertiser competition" is very high according to Google, running a Google search for these keywords, yields very little, if any, sponsored links in the search results and, as far as I can tell, content sites in these search results have very little adsense links for these keywords.

I can give quite a few examples of this, but perhaps "Advertiser competition" is not what I think it is - am I missing something ?

Thanks,
Amnon
#adsense #adwords #competition #google #inconsistency
  • Profile picture of the author MarQueteer
    There are many cases where the tool shows you high competition and you are the only advertiser, it's highly inaccurate and definitely not more than a very rough indicator.
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    • Profile picture of the author dburk
      Hi amnon,

      The AdWords Keyword Tool provides very accurate data but is often misunderstood by those who have not taken the time to learn exactly what the tool is reporting.

      The primary purpose of the tool is to provide AdWords advertisers with keyword ideas. By default it will show broad matching data which is not suitable for the type of information you are looking for.

      If you choose "Exact" from the "Match Type" selector you will be presented with data for the exact keywords. This will be the information you are looking for as described in your post.

      For more insight in what data the tool is reporting, see this link:

      What statistics can I see for my Keyword Tool results? - AdWords Help
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      *       Don Burk Advertising & Marketing - www.donburk.com

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  • Profile picture of the author Joseph Then
    Here's the kicker:

    Google Adwords is very accurate in their display of data. However, it can differ because they are showing the data based on:
    1) Your search location
    2) Your keyword type (broad, phrase, exact)

    When it comes to search location, the advertiser competition can be very different if you choose USA, Australia and the rest of the world.

    If I do a research and I choose USA, I could see a higher competition in, say, 411 Tax Relief. But if I choose Singapore, I will see very low advertiser competition for the same keyword. That's obvious.


    When it comes to keywords type, broad type gets searched more often then phrase, and then exact. So if you search for a phrase, all the related broad keywords will be 'filtered' out.
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    • Profile picture of the author dburk
      Hi Joseph,

      I agree with your post except the last paragraph. The primary purpose of this tool is to generate new ideas for keywords. The only match type that gives you exact numbers of search queries for a given keyword is the exact match option.

      Google's documentation states the following:

      "...the Keyword Tool's search volume statistics will vary depending on your selection from the Match Type drop-down menu. If you select Broad or Phrase, the tool will factor in certain variations of your keywords that could potentially trigger your ads."

      So, if you choose "Phrase" match, you will return search volume data for other keywords besides the one you are looking at. The only way to get search data for a particular keyword is if you choose the "Exact" match selection.
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      * Get Results - Outsource Your PPC Management |
      *       Don Burk Advertising & Marketing - www.donburk.com

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  • Profile picture of the author Joseph Then
    Hi Don,

    That's correct. Maybe I wrote a little too fast... but that's exactly what I mean.

    I must have written the wrong way.
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