When doing keyword research it is very important that you understand the competition, and what it’s going to take to get in the top 3. It is also very important that the data that you are looking at is correct. A lot of people go after keywords that are getting far less traffic than they think. In this example were going to use the Google Adwords Keyword Tool, and do a search for “toner cartridges”.
Take a look at the search volume, “1,500,000″ searches per month. Also take a look at the match type in the top right corner of the image, its set to “Broad”. The “Broad” Match Type will return all searches with the word “toner” and “cartridges” but not necessarily together.
Instead of using “Broad”, use “Exact” as the Match Type, and you will get the real results:
The “Exact” match as you can see is getting 22,000 searches per month, about 20% less than the “Broad” Match Type, and is the real number. The “Broad” Match Type is the default setting, and can really mess with your thoughts, and strategy… know the difference!
Thanks for posting this. I really needed to read this information for my site’s keywords.