Some of the features described in this article might be available only for Tracked Campaigns. Learn more.
When you need to understand the demand of a search intent in Google for a specific location, you'd check Google Ads' Keyword Planner for Search Volumes.
How does this work?
In SEOmonitor, you get these search volumes as a keyword attribute, representing an estimate of the 12-month average, and also the individual monthly search volumes for the past 12 months.
These are extracted using Google Ads API data for the specific location.
To make sure the data is correct, we have calibration systems in place – the most important one being the aggregation algorithm, grouping keywords sharing the same search volume under the same main one and its variations.
Search volumes by device
At a group level, not only do we aggregate search volumes, but we also split them into searches performed from desktop versus mobile devices.
We maintain market-wise keyword databases to store the keywords with their data from Google Search Console. We use this (specifically the impressions metric), to detect how many of the searches are coming from mobile devices and how many from desktop ones:
device search % = device impressions / total impressions
Sourcing the search volumes by device from multiple sources (that include your GSC connection, Google Ads, and our keyword database), we make this available to you, for a complete understanding of search volume data.
Where to see search volume data
The rule of thumb would be that you have search volumes wherever you have ranking data.
Next to this ranking data, search volumes are the main input in the Visibility metric. To segment the search volume by device, we primarily depend on the GSC connection. If that's not available, we rely on our market-wise keywords database. Search volume data also feeds into the Year-over-Year metrics and the automatic detection of highly seasonal keywords.
FAQs
Does the average search volume shown in the platform change if I change the timeframe?
No, we only store the latest available value for the 12-month average. The previous ones are overwritten with each monthly update.
However, you can always explore the past 13 months of individual monthly volumes.
When is the search volume data updated in SEOmonitor?
Every month, around the 15th, Google Ads starts providing the data for the previous month – e.g. around August 15th it provides the data for July.
Not all keywords get data on the same day, so we run this process continuously until all of the keywords in the campaign have data.
This is valid for the Rank Tracker and the keyword research tools (Keyword Explorer, Website Explorer, and Keyword Vault).
Why do I see N/A on the search volume split by device?
When there is enough data available via GSC or our keywords database on the search volume split, relative to the total search volume in the campaign, we calculate the desktop & mobile split; otherwise, you would see it as not being available (N/A).
Why does it seem that the Search Volumes are the same "across the board" (for multiple keywords)?
The values provided via Google Ads are estimates and rounded (multiples of 10), presented as a non-linear scale: 0, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, ..., 1000, 1300, 1600, 1900,... etc.
Do you also use Clickstream data?
No. The Search Volume data is from Google Ads, as this is the most reliable source for this kind of data. It can also easily be validated through a branded search, by comparing the Ads Search Volume (last monthly value) to the Impressions from Search Console, on the same location, on the specified brand query (always ranking #1 on it) and its close variants.
Why are some keywords provided with 0 searches?
Apart from the clear case of the keyword having no searches (zero search volume), there are two instances with 0 or no search volume, when:
keywords that have no Search Volume on Google Ads – these are what's considered dangerous products, so you cannot market on them; terms related to bitcoin and some baby products are also included here;
keywords that become dangerous, and we identify that the annual average cannot drop to 0 so suddenly – on these, we wait to see if they pick back up, providing the last available Search Volume for up to 6 months.
Note: If you have a list of searches from a third party for keywords that have 0 search volume, our Customer Success team can help you add the data against those keywords, with the help of the CSV (in the format: Keywords in the first column and search volumes in the second).