Big discrepancy between search volume and actual traffic

[joshcanhelp]

I've been seeing this more and more... a page that ranks well for a great keyword but the traffic is much, much less than one would expect based on information from the Google Keyword Tool. The keyword gets 3600 searches locally, but the site, #9 on the SERP, got 11 visits last month.

Does that sound like a plausible drop-off or is there something else at play?

Thanks!

[Jay.Neely]

Hi Josh, are you looking at exact-match number of searches in Google's Keyword Tool, or broad-match?

[DonnieCooper]

Is that volume exact, phrase or broad match?

If it's exact match, then I'd say, loosely based on these SERP CTR's, you're less than (but close to) normal

Position #9 =  1.25%
3600 x .0125 = 54.72

I've noticed impression data from Adwords campaigns (that run ALL the time) are closer to about 1/2 that of the exact match predictions in the Adwords Keyword Tool.

Does this help?

[joshcanhelp]

I'm guessing broad match... I'm familiar with the concept but is there a way to restrict it to one or the other?

Broad would make sense, it's possible that the rank is different for different combinations.

[jargomang]

Yeah, when you're targeting a phrase, you'll want to look only at exact-match estimates for that phrase.  Broad-match is misleading when you're looking to get traffic by ranking for an exact phrase.  Broad-match is more useful if you are going to be bidding for broad PPC on Adwords.

[eunaneunan]

I would also add that the Google Keyword Tool can be way off the mark at times, giving you much higher numbers that the exact word gets, so giving good keyword terms low figures.  That has been my experience when doing research with for keywords in niche (google.ie), but I have heard other say the same.

Still its good way to get a few ideas for keywords and there numbers.

Also I agree exact is way more usefully (broad can be useful at times)

[joshcanhelp]

Thanks for the information. How do you filter by exact match?