The Keyword Tool provides several statistics along with your keyword results. This information can help you pick the keywords most likely to return quality leads within your budget. Below you'll learn how to customize the statistics shown, what each statistic means, and tips on interpreting the statistics.
Customizing the Statistics Table
You'll notice the following three columns included in your Keyword Tool results: Advertiser Competition, Local Search Volume: [Last Available Month], and Global Monthly Search Volume. You can show additional columns or hide any of the visible columns by following these instructions:
- Click the Choose columns to display drop-down menu.
- Select a column that you'd like to show or hide. After the table updates, you can select another column to show or hide, and so on.
- Select Show all to see all columns.
- Select Show defaults to restore the three columns that were showing originally.
About the Statistics
Each column in the table shows a different statistic about the keyword results. If you access the Keyword Tool from within an ad group, certain statistics will factor in your performance history, as well as your campaign's country and language targeting (if you target a region or city, only the country will be reflected). If you use the standalone or external Keyword Tools, your country and language selections will influence these statistics. Learn about the different variations of the Keyword Tool.
In addition, the Keyword Tool's search volume statistics will vary depending on your selection from the Match Type drop-down menu. If you select Broad or Phrase, the tool will factor in certain variations of your keywords that could potentially trigger your ads. Learn about keyword match types.
Here's a description of each type of statistic:
Estimated Ad Position: This column shows the estimated position for ads appearing on each keyword based on the maximum cost-per-click (CPC) that you enter in the Calculate estimates using a different maximum CPC bid field. If you leave the field blank, the in-ad group tool will use your ad group's maximum CPC. Leaving the field blank in the standalone or external tool will make the column default to positions 1-3.
If you access the Keyword Tool from within an ad group, the ad position estimates will factor in your performance history and your campaign's country and language targeting. The country and language that you select will affect the estimates in the standalone and external tools.
Estimated Avg CPC: This column shows the estimated average cost-per-click (CPC) for each keyword based on the maximum CPC that you enter in the Calculate estimates using a different maximum CPC bid field. If you leave the field blank, the in-ad group tool will use your ad group's maximum CPC. Leaving the field blank in the standalone or external tools will make the column default to the average CPCs for ad positions 1-3.
If you access the Keyword Tool from within an ad group, the average CPC estimates will factor in your performance history and campaign's country and language targeting. The country and language that you select will affect the estimates in the standalone and external tools.
Advertiser Competition: This column shows the number of advertisers worldwide bidding on each keyword relative to all keywords across Google. The shaded bar represents a general low-to-high quantitative guide to help you determine how competitive ad placement is for a particular keyword.
Local Search Volume: [Last Available Month]: This column shows the approximate number of search queries matching each keyword. This statistic applies to searches performed on Google and the Search Network in the most recent month that we have data for. It's specific to your targeted country and language as well as your selection from the Match Type drop-down menu. If we don't have enough data for a particular keyword, you'll see not enough data. Learn more about the Keyword Tool's search volume statistics.
Global Monthly Search Volume: This column shows the approximate average monthly number of search queries matching each keyword. This statistic applies to searches performed on Google and the Search Network over a recent 12-month period. It includes traffic in all countries and languages but is specific to your selection from the Match Type drop-down menu. If we don't have enough data for a particular keyword, you'll see not enough data. Learn more about the Keyword Tool's search volume statistics.
Search Volume Trends: This column shows fluctuations in Google search volume for each keyword over a recent twelve-month period. Each bar in the graph is relative to the keyword's overall performance for the 12-month period. This statistic is specific to your targeted country and language as well as your selection from the Match Type drop-down menu. If we don't have enough data for your targeted country and language, you'll see no data.
Highest Volume Occurred In: This column shows the month that each keyword received the highest Google search volume within a recent 12-month period, specific to your targeted country and language. If we don't have enough data for your targeted country and language, you'll see no data.
Tips
Here are some tips on taking advantage of the Keyword Tool statistics:
- Keyword selection should be based on quality over quantity; more relevant keywords are likely to give you better results. Keep in mind that keywords with higher search volumes or more advertiser competition don't necessarily provide more qualified leads.
- You can download your keyword results and the accompanying statistics by clicking "text", ".csv (for excel)", or ".csv", which appear below the keyword table. The Advertiser Competition and Search Volume Trends columns will show numbers ranging from 0 to 1 that correlate with the shaded bars in the Keyword Tool. A 0.8, for instance, would correspond to a bar that's 4/5 shaded. The Search Volume Trends information will be broken out into 12 columns, one for each month.
- To sort your keyword results in descending order for a particular statistic, click that statistic's column header. Click it again to sort your results in ascending order.
- See detailed instructions on using the Keyword Tool.
