TL;DR & Summary

Lot of people wrongly focus on search volume & gets misdirected as well. In most cases, it’s okay to decide based on search volume. However, this can be a flawed approach as it doesn’t take into account many other important factors.

By the end of this issue, you will be able to understand why search volume is not the right KPI and how to focus on other factors that will lead to more successful SEO efforts.

1. Understand why search volume is not the right KPI to focus on.
2. Learn what factors you should focus on instead.
3. Implement a more comprehensive approach to measuring SEO success.

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When it comes to measuring SEO success, many people in the industry focus solely on search volume. They believe that the higher the search volume, the better it is for their SEO campaigns. However, this is a flawed approach that can lead to misguided decisions and ineffective strategies.

The problem with using search volume as the sole KPI is that it doesn’t take into account many other important factors, such as user intent, and conversions.

Focusing solely on search volume can lead to a situation where you are ranking high for a keyword with high search volume but not seeing any meaningful conversions.

Furthermore, search volume is not a static metric. It can fluctuate greatly over time, making it an unreliable KPI to base decisions on. For example, a keyword that has high search volume today may not have the same search volume in a month or a year from now.

Instead of focusing solely on search volume, you should take a more comprehensive approach to measuring SEO success. This includes looking at factors such as keyword difficulty, competition, user intent, and conversion rates.

For example, you may find that a long-tail keyword with lower search volume but lower competition & higher intent can lead to more conversions than a high-volume keyword with high competition and lower intent. By focusing on these factors, you can create a more effective SEO strategy that leads to more meaningful traffic and conversions.

Reasons why you shouldn’t focus on search volume (primarily)

When you focus on search volume, you’re ignoring to look at the full picture. There’s a reason why the search volume is high. Sure it indicates that the demand is high, but does that mean you’ll achieve your business goals?

Search volume & traffic from SV won’t pay your bills

Here’s are a few reasons why search volume is misleading (& not fruitful):

1. You can never get 100% of the clicks
2. Search volume doesn’t give any insight of the user intent
3. The search volume is highly influenced by search algorithm which changes quite often
4. High search volume is usually a product of low quality traffic that wouldn’t convert
5. Search volumes are only a snapshot of time, it doesn’t tell the full story

It’s not that you should discard search volume altogether. But I want you to take the search volume with grain of salt. It’s usually not what it looks like.

Here are some scenarios when you’re free to worry about search volume:

1. For your branded keywords
2. When you’re bidding for PPC purely based on search volume
3. When you’re just starting out and need to fill top of the funnel with as much traffic as possible
4. Discovering niche that you ought to be targeting
5. When you’re into a seasonal business

Now that you’re aware of the do’s & dont’s of relying on search volume, let me share 3 simple & actionable steps that will help you define a path using search volume.

Step 1: Create keyword clusters

One of the best ways to improve your SEO is to create keyword clusters. This involves creating 10-15 posts for a particular category and publishing them together. Each post should target a different keyword within that category, with all pages linking back to the main pillar page. Create 10-15 posts for a category & publish all posts together. (all pages should point to the pillar page if any)

For example, if you have a blog about health and wellness, you might create a keyword cluster around the topic of “nutrition”. Each post within the cluster would target a specific aspect of nutrition, such as “healthy eating on a budget” or “superfoods for weight loss”.

By organizing your content in this way, you can improve your search rankings for a variety of related keywords.

Step 2: Target long tail keywords

While high search volume keywords are important, it’s also essential to target long tail keywords. These are highly specific phrases that may not have as much search volume, but can still drive valuable conversions to your site.

For example, instead of targeting a broad keyword like “fitness”, you might target a long tail keyword like “best running shoes for flat feet”. These types of keywords are more likely to convert into sales or signups, as they indicate that the searcher has a specific need or problem that they’re looking to solve.

To find long tail keyword ideas, start with the high search volume keywords in your niche and use tools like Google Autocomplete, Google Search Console, and Ubersuggest to generate related keywords. You can also look at your competitors’ websites to see what keywords they’re targeting.

Pro tip: Use the high search volume keywords to find long tail keyword ideas. Most conversions happen on pages targeting long tail keywords.

Step 3: Target geographic trends

Another way to optimize your content is to target geographic trends. This involves using tools like Google Trends to identify trends and topics that are popular in a specific geographic location.

For example, if you run a travel blog, you might use Google Trends to identify popular travel destinations in a particular region or country. By targeting these trends, you can create content that is highly relevant to your audience and improve your search rankings in that particular location.

Overall, optimizing your content for specific keywords and trends is essential for improving your search rankings and driving traffic to your site. This way, you can create a comprehensive SEO strategy that targets both high search volume keywords and long tail keywords, while also taking advantage of geographic trends in your niche.

SEO news this week

1. Page experience demoted from a ranking system to a ranking signal (Barry Schwartz on Search Engine Land)
2. Bing will start reporting clicks and impressions in Bing webmaster tools from Bing chat. Yep! It’s official

Clickworthy Resources

1. What if you could ‘Stream’ features & scripts from your servers? Kevin Indig documents 5 benefits of server-side rendering
2. Google inching to make real life experience a part of Search Quality Rater Guidelines. Lily ray shares their views on E-E-A-T update.

Tools that you should know about

1. Get help from AI come up with relevant alt text
2. Active on Linkedin? Create content 10x fast with AI using Lunaa

Surf the AI Wave

1. “91% companies are looking to hiring people with experience of ChatGPT” – Resume Builder
2. Apple to ride AI wave. Planning to introduce AI into its health product line up.

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