Member Avatar for komox

I did a ton of research on wordtracker and one of the keywords my co used in the past shows 0 searches in 90 days. Management says that wordtracker cannot be accurate because they have done google searches using that keyword. How can I explain this to them when I'm a little puzzled myself? I'm a big advocate of wordtracker but is it odd that a lot of our keywords are not even showing up in wordtracker's database? Please advise. No one likes bad news and I've been delivering bad news-I just want to be able to back up the research. Thanks.
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Motion Builder Asset Protection

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raised a common issue: a keyword can be visible in Google results yet register as "0" inside a third‑party keyword tool. That does not prove the tool is broken; it usually reflects how the tool collects and reports data (sampling, normalization, regional/time windows, and low‑volume binning). and others were right to warn against treating tool output as literal counts — the numbers are best used for relative comparisons, not absolute audit trails.

Practical checks to build a defensible answer for management:

  1. Confirm the exact query being compared (exact match versus phrase or stemmed variants) and the geographic/time range used by each tool.
  2. Pull primary data from the property — Google Search Console performance (impressions/clicks) and site analytics or internal site search logs — to show whether real users are seeing or using that term.
  3. Inspect server logs or landing‑page referrals for the keyword string; if the site has site search enabled, that often shows real intent.
  4. If management wants proof of demand, a narrow paid test or a small organic content experiment will produce measurable impressions quickly.

When presenting results, show methodology alongside the numbers: state which tool produced the zero, the exact match used, date range, and the site evidence (GSC/analytics/screenshots). That separates a tool artifact from actual user behavior and gives management clear, reproducible evidence. If the keyword truly has minimal volume, recommend treating it as a long‑tail opportunity (lightweight content or landing‑page optimization) rather than a priority for large campaigns.

This thread already points to tool variability. Use the steps above to reconcile the discrepancy, and provide management with primary data rather than a single third‑party estimate.

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Member Avatar for stymiee

Wordtracker gets its information from only one source. If that source isn't the same one you used then it obviously won't know about it.

And you have to keep in mind that tools like Wordtracker are not to be taken literally. The numbers presented should not be used literally at all. You are supposed to look at the volume of keyword searches by volume relative to each other and major search terms. That will give you an idea of how frequently a search term is being used. The fact that Wordtracker showed no results for those keywords means that it's search volume is extremely low which is all you need to know. Whether it is 1 search or 100 searches doesn't matter. You now know what kind of volume it has and what to expect in terms of competitiveness and traffic.

Google Trends is a good tool to be used in conjunction with keyword tools like Wordtracker.

Member Avatar for WebDave

I use Good keywords and it works fine for me. IMO try to use multiple tools to be on a safer side.

Member Avatar for stymiee

FYI, Good Keywords pulls stale data from overture which hasn't been update since January. I'd move on to a different source if I were you.

Member Avatar for bobchrist

Better to use another tools like adword keyword tools one that you can take a look on.

Member Avatar for neuronimbus

I think, Google Adword Keyword Suggestion tool will be much more effective to get an idea about keywords than wordtracker and overture.... But yes, tools like wordtracker and overture has a very old age and most of webmaster trust them....

Member Avatar for x3mario

Yep, it's better to use multiple tools than to relying a single tool that you are not sure how accurate it is.

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