Recent moves by Google indicate that the search volume metric for keywords will become less available and, by default, less important. In this article, you'll learn which metrics may be best for demonstrating the value and desirability of keywords for a more holistic content optimization strategy. Recently, we read and saw the impact of limited data from the Google AdWords Keyword Planner. Search volume is a metric that many SEOs rely on to create a content optimization strategy, but it seems to be on the way out. And is that really a bad thing? In this article, I'll explore why search volume should already be a metric of the past and what other approaches and tactics perform better in a holistic content optimization strategy.

The background In the summer of 2016, marketers noticed changes to the Keyword Planner tool. In June, some observed image masking service that search query data was grouped together in ways never seen before, for example, plural forms of a word and singular forms of a word showed the same search volume (while in the past we could see different volumes for each). Advertising Continue reading below Then in August there was another big change. AdWords began showing search volume ranges , not specific numbers, for queries in accounts with low AdWords monthly spend. And the ranges were quite large (think 100,000 - 1,000,000).

Here is the word about it in an official announcement in an AdWords forum: Hello AdWords community, As of this week, previous technical issues affecting the Keyword Planner Tool are now resolved. Some important updates to keep in mind: Most advertisers will see search volume data in Keyword Planner as usual. Advertisers with lower monthly spend may see a limited view of data in the Keyword Planner. For example, you may see values ​​like 0, 1-100, 100-1K, 1K-10K, 10K-100K, 100K-1M, 1M+ in the average monthly searches column. Additionally, other advertisers may trigger the limited display of data by reaching a limit on the number of searches of search volume data.