Why does google's autocomplete not align with google's keyword tool?
-
Is google autocomplete based solely off keyword search volume? Or is there some other factors i am missing here?
Here's an example:
Auto complete suggestions for 'storage toronto':
[storage toronto cost] [storage toronto downtown] [storage toronto rates] [storage toronto leaside] [storage toronto prices] [storage toronto dupont] [storage toronto laird] [storage toronto eastern ave] [storage toronto ontario]
Google adwords keyword tool results for these:
<colgroup><col width="151"> <col width="129"> <col width="169"></colgroup>
| Keyword | Global Monthly Searches | Local Monthly Searches |
| [storage toronto cost] | 0 | 0 |
| [storage toronto downtown] | 36 | 28 |
| [storage toronto rates] | 0 | 0 |
| [storage toronto leaside] | 0 | 0 |
| [storage toronto prices] | 73 | 73 |
| [storage toronto dupont] | 0 | 0 |
| [storage toronto laird] | 0 | 0 |
| [storage toronto eastern ave] | 0 | 0 |
| [storage toronto ontario] | 0 | 0 |So here is what i find confusing:
If [storage toronto cost] is the top suggestion for [storage toronto...] then why does google say it has 0 monthly searches? Why isn't [storage toronto downtown] the first suggestion? or better yet, why isn't [storage toronto prices] the top suggestion?
So either: 1) google adwords keyword tool is wrong.
or 2) google suggest isn't based on just volume??
I've run these same keywords through Bing's Excel keyword information spreadsheet query and it came back saying all keywords had 0 searches ever, except for...drumroll:
[storage toronto prices] with 7 monthly searches, once, in august, and 0 all other months.
Now i assume that bing/yahoo numbers are significantly smaller, but this does show that that the same keyword is the most popular, so in some way suggests that google's keyword is accurate. So i guess this brings be back to my confusion, what other factors is google's suggest based on, because it obviously isn't primarily search volume.
And yes, i have made sure to clear caches, and disable personalized search and search history, and tried the query in several browsers, just to double check i wasn't getting a personalized list, so we can rule that out.
Thanks,
Storwell.
-
Using a legal analogy, there are those who make the laws (i.e. politicians along with lobbyists and interests groups) and then those who work to understand the laws in place and use that information to serve people (i.e. lawyers).
That analogy may not be perfect but it is easily applied to this situation. As an SEO, I work to understand the policies and practices of search engines. I then utilize that information to help service the interests of my clients. If I was to spend any time on how I felt search engines should do things, I would lose a piece of my sanity. I try not to judge.
Search engines have a lot of educated people who spend considerable amounts of time researching details and data which we do not have access to. I try to think positively in that if the results don't seem to make sense I presume there is a logical reason for it. That's my approach anyway.
-
Oh thats funny! So it seems that google is judging that a lot on CTR, problem is though with that is that CTR is heavily biased by what the actual rankings are. Nobody is going to page in 5 pages looking for something, they will likely click one of the first 5 results. So in terms of local optimization, where there is an extremely heavy geographical bias towards the city center, you end up with the google suggest of:
Keyword DOWNTOWN.
this is so silly. Google is gaming it's own algo!
Lets take a quick check of my theory: Flowers Seattle ...
flowers seattle wa
flowers seattle restaraunt
flowers seattle downtown
flowers seattle capitol hillLets try another...
car rental chicago...
car rental chicago airport
car rental chicago downtown
car rental chicago midway
car rental chicago train station -
Why does google's autocomplete not align with google's keyword tool?
It's not meant to. It's kind of like asking why aren't search results ordered by PR.
Like overall rankings, Google's autocomplete has an algorithm which offers results based on numerous factors. Popularity is only one factor. Another factor is currently trending topics. Another example is your personal search history. You can read more about autocomplete here: http://www.google.com/support/websearch/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=106230
A detailed study analysis of factors which influence autocomplete can be found here: http://www.beattheautocomplete.com/study-results
-
Here's a guide that gives you some more sites that can help: http://www.seomoz.org/article/keyword-research-guide
It's a little dated, but most of the stuff on there should still exist.
Personally, some of the strategies I used are:
-
Look at my analytics. Where are my visitors coming from? Are there any similar terms using synonyms or different word order that I need to target?
-
Look at competitors. What keywords are they targeting? You can find hints by looking at their content, title tags, meta tags (if they're well-optimized, that is).
I think another important question to ask is Am I ranked as highly as I can be for the higher-volume terms? To me, I'd rather effectively target the terms that the most people are searching for rather than attempt to target a lot of low-volume long tail terms.
-
-
Hmmm...
Well my initial attempt here was to try to expand on possible keywords that I am missing out on. I feel i have been putting too much stock in google adwords' keyword tool. I have started to use the Bing keyword suggest excel tool but generally the numbers are so small in Bing/Yahoo that it is hard to get good results out of it.
Do you have any suggestions to help find more long tail keywords?
-
Interesting analysis, but I doubt the auto-complete is as calculated as you are trying to make it here.
Have you seen the sites and jokes like this?: http://www.autocompletefail.com/
That pretty much says to me that you shouldn't put a lot of stock into Google auto-complete ranking the order of terms in relation to search volume.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
My articles aren't ranking for keywords
Hello! I hope someone can help me...I've researched my keywords (long and short tail) for my articles but they are showing up as no ranking keywords. It looks like I've only got a few of my 15 articles which actually have keywords within - and I'm not sure why! Please can someone advise? https://www.el-well.com/helping-your-parents-declutter-their-home/ Thank you.
Keyword Research | | JessicaSilver1 -
Ranking a homepage for keywords
We recently found a handful of keywords we would like our homepage to rank for (for example - customer experience). On our homepage we have articles (4-5 posted daily) that feature the keywords we are targeting (one being customer experience). How do the keywords we are using in our daily articles that are posted to the homepage affect the overall keyword ranking for the homepage? In other words do the keywords used in the articles (title, first 2-3 paragraphs, meta description, etc.) all roll up/build up to the homepage's keywords or how does that work?
Keyword Research | | carlystemmer0 -
Why doesn't Google show my site in the results when searching for my exact URL ?
I haven't done too much work with optimizing the site yet, but I was curious as to why the site doesn't even show up in any of the google results when searching on the exact URL. What could cause this behavior?
Keyword Research | | fryguy1 -
Keyword Analysis
Is there any way I can find out a list of the top keywords for my site automatically without having to type in certain words myself and wait on the results?
Keyword Research | | meteorelectrical0 -
What does it mean when two keywords in Google's Keyword Research Tool have exactly the same amount of searches?
The two keywords are [publicity] and [product placement] (both in exact search - not broad) and have 22,200 searches each. Is it purely coincidental or are the two keywords kind of related in Google's eyes and that's why we're seeing the same amount of searches for each?
Keyword Research | | davhad0 -
Best practice for targeting 'unnatural' location based keyword phrases
When optimising for a local based service, lets say a painter in texas, you will have various keyword phrases which are relevant e.g Texas painter Painter in Texas Painter Texas I have found that often the phrase which has the most searches is: [Service] [Location] = ('Painter Texas' in this example) But unlike the other phrases this is very hard to work into a natural sounding sentence or heading. Is the best practice to try and target the unnatural sounding phrase anyway due to the higher search volume, or target the next one down to stay natural sounding in your copy? thanks d
Keyword Research | | dnaynay1 -
What is the relationship/difference between categories and keywords in terms of google local seo?
I know that they are very similar as search signals, but I would like to understand the exact relationship. My company is in the process of adding local seo services to our seo offerings, and we are trying to hammer out a process for determining optimal categories for businesses based on keywords we are already using for optimizing their sites. Any insights or suggestions on how best to do this would be much appreciated.
Keyword Research | | CustomCreatives0 -
Does description, alt and keywords tags are influence on density for google?
Does description, alt and keywords tags are influence on density of keyword for google?
Keyword Research | | ATCnik0