keyword research - broad or exact match?

i always been taught to yuse exact match for keyword search and to get search data, but i was doing the market samurai tutorials and they say to use broad match as a default

which is really better to use in kw research??

i use exact match its the only way... i wont to know ow much traffic my exact keyword is really getting...

I use exact for my keywords but when link building I take the broad results into accounts as possible other keywords.

So instead of just link building with my exact keywords I'll take the broad terms into consideration. Thats really the only time I pay attention to it

We do keyword research to find out keywords on which we can rank and make money...

With broad searches we will always remain confused... We will not have any idea how much traffic we are getting on that particular keyword...

Back in the day I regged a domain thinking it's keyword was getting 90 000 searches. A few weeks pass I'm wondering where my traffic's at :hmmmm: . Check back on the adwords tool, try it with an exact match. 1000 searches. D'oh hwell:.

LOL happend same thing with me but my exact was still good number still I was not getting enough visitors... Then with another keyword I started to receive more then several times what it said in keyword tools...

So I guess even taking exact count is not enough but atleast it gives you rough idea...

I always use exact searches.

One thing (that has nothing to do with this, just thought I d share) I usually forget is to set the country from my default to USA, I always end up with results like 1000 monthly searches for keywords like lose weight and I am like WTF till I remember to change it

claude87 said:

i always been taught to yuse exact match for keyword search and to get search data, but i was doing the market samurai tutorials and they say to use broad match as a default

which is really better to use in kw research??

Click to expand...

I go against the grain of traditional marketing practices and always use a mix of wide and exact keyword searches in my research. The reason for this is yes, the exact keywords work specifically for those exact keywords but the more generalized, ' suggestive ' keywords in the same niche market tend to turn up way more active and pinged more.

The way it works is that search engines cross reference their keyword relations in any given phrase. Let's say you have a niche for ' eco-friendly disposible party cups ' as your keyword. You will only get say 1,200 targetted monthly searches on that given key phrase, as with more generic terms, reaching and promoting your specific style of product to a more general keyword in the suggestive list, like ' party cups ' or ' disposible cups ', which both have more general traffic, you are going to get way more options through your site.

People mistake this for being dead traffic because the phrase is too simple, however, the bottom line is that they are still looking for the exact same thing, there for they are too exact keyword traffic, the only difference is they don't know what ' exact ' style of cups they want to use yet.

Don't throw away really good traffic with bad market selection, as the customer is the final say in what it is they will/won't buy. Trying to predict that is cutting your own nose off and standing there wondering who could do such a thing to you.

Those big number, ' general ' keyword terms are where I get most of my profits from because I market to them for the specific items they want/need.
In the example above, it was ' cups '. It only matters the specific type as long and the keyword calls for it, however, until then, the rule of thumb follows a line of letting the customer decide what type of cups they want as their decision, where it should always remain.

Use your keyword range as a dorrway to reach the most traffic in relative search requests and make your objective to put the best option you have infront of them. If it is what they are interested in, then they will buy it, if not ,then they won't.

In the end, it doesn't matter if it comes from exact or general keywords, as long as it comes in period.


Food for thought.

I always go for exact. How much is a site ranked for a kw 100k broad searches but only 500 exact searches worth ?

Sure some people might find out but you need to findout what the other peoles are searching for

you can use broad for keyword ideas but go with exact to find exactly how much searches is done on that keyword.

I always focus on EXACT and LOCAL. Yes, it's depressing to use those numbers but out of my 50 domains that I've gotten ranked, it tends to be the most accurate. Getting to #1 will get you around 25% of the exact and local number. Not 40% as I've seen tossed around these parts.

I have always used the "Phrase" selection when doing my KW research because it tends to be the most accurate depiction of traffic for any given KW phrase.

"Exact" match is ok and will give you a ball-park figure on what kind of numbers your exact KW will get, but does not give you the full picture so to speak.

The reason I like "phrase" match is because

1. The majority of searchers do not just search for the exact phrase. The majority will search with all kinds of variations. This is why the "phrase" match numbers are higher than the "exact" match numbers. Just take a look at your log files for your site or your tracking stats and you will see all the different things people search for.

2. You will almost always rank for different phrase variations of your original kw phrase in the long run if you do your SEO correctly.