When it comes to SEO, one of the most important but overlooked, aspects of keyword research is the search volume, especially in relation to search competition.

Entire businesses can be created based on the popularity of specific search terms. So, what is search volume and how can it be used to boost traffic to your website?

What is Keyword Search Volume?

Keyword search volume is the simple data that indicates how many times a search occurred for a specific keyword. The data is often compiled monthly. Search volume can also be related to search competition, which is how many websites include the search word. Those pages are ones you will be competing with to get traffic to your site instead of another website.

Many businesses implement SEO keyword research before creating content for their website. Ideally, the goal is to find a keyword with a low search competition and high search volume.

SEO marketers use search volume to track how specific keywords drive traffic throughout the year. Some keywords, such as those regarding major holidays, are seasonal keywords.

Keywords that have a high search volume steadily are known as “evergreen” keywords. These are the keywords that are searched regularly regardless of the time of year.

How Does Keyword Search Volume Affect SEO?

Search volume is an integral part of getting new traffic to your website. It’s a fine line between having a keyword so unique that no one searches for it and using a keyword so popular that your website ends up buried pages deep in a search engine. In both scenarios, no one is looking at your website.

The chosen keyword should also be a description of the content users will find on your website. The right keyword also helps users find your page organically instead of as the result of a paid search placement.

Your keyword depends on whether you are looking for high search volume or low search competition. New websites fare better by using low-volume keywords because there isn’t as much competition. A more established website may fare well competing against other websites in the search results rankings.

Toggling your site’s keywords by adding additional words, known as long tail keywords, is one way to reduce search competition.

How to Overcome Low Search Volume using Long Tail Keywords

Long Tail Keywords is the concept of tacking additional words onto an existing keyword to reduce the competition by making a more unique keyword. Of course, you don’t want to add too many or you might be penalized for keyword stuffing, which can include using words that are too similar or using the keyword too frequently.

How to Get Search Volume Data

Keyword search volume data won’t help you if you don’t have access to the information. There are different strategies you can use to examine the data.

1. SEMRush

SEMRush offers a graph overview of specific keywords. While the service has subscription plans, some data, such as keyword search volume data, can be viewed with a free search.

In addition to the average search volume, the SEMRush dashboard shows the competitiveness of the keyword and tracks the trends of the keyword.

2. Google Trends

Google Trends can be used to gather more specific data regarding the search volume of specific keywords. Geographic popularity of a keyword and growth or decline of a keyword over time are two examples of the information to be found on Google Trends.

3. Moz Keyword Explorer

Moz keyword Explorer is similar to SEMRush with its dashboard overview and the ability to do free keyword volume searches. It is considered one of the best programs for boosting SEO marketing.

The Keyword Explorer returns data such as relevant keywords and an analysis of the chosen keyword’s SERP. All of Moz’s free search tools are bundled with a subscription to Moz Pro for advanced users.

Popular keywords are often attributed to strongly entrenched websites and it can be difficult to overcome that kind of competition. Long tail keywords is a simple way to make your keyword more specific, resulting in less competition.

For example, if your keyword is “dogs,” it has 6,280,000,000 search results. If you add a long tail term, such as “big” to that, “big dogs” brings 4,030,000,000 results. What if you add an additional long tail term, such as “great dane”? You’ll cut out more than half the competition and end up with 45,600,000 search results, etc.

Once you’ve cut out the competition, you need to pump up the search volume. You can do that by adding the new long tail keywords to your website’s content and meta descriptions to optimize the search engine results.

It’s also important to remember that search results don’t always result in clicks. Simple questions, such as how much a Great Dane weighs, would show the answer instantly, particularly if Google search engine is used.

It can be a real balancing act between finding the right keywords to increase your traffic but avoiding popular keywords that puts your page low in the search engine rankings. Researching keywords using search volume data can help hone in on a more unique keyword.