Google Keyword Tool Adds Local Search Volume

SiteVisibility discovered on 22nd April that Google added local search volume to the Google AdWords Keyword Tool.  When you tailor your results to a specific region around the world, Google Keyword Tool displays local search volume for the previous month.

This is essentially the same as what it was before.  The earlier version of Google Keyword Tool provided Search Volume for the previous month which one presumes was displaying number of searches based upon the region you had tailored results to.  One can now be sure with Local Search Volume that this is the case.

However, what appears to be quite different is the display of Global Monthly Search Volume.  Previously in this place was Average Monthly Search Volume which one assumed was the average search volume based upon the region in which you were tailoring results.

Now we have two very different volume metrics including one for local search volume for the previous month and one for average global search volume.  It would have been better to display previous month’s search volume and the average for the local region.

Longtail terms are not searched upon every month, therefore the previous month’s search volume for the local region could be zero and does not provide enough information about the seasonality behind the search behaviour of that term.  This does not mean that advertisers should not bid on local longtail terms just because the previous month there weren’t any searches.

Interestingly, Google Keyword Tool search volume is the same for local search volume (previous month) and global month search volume for niche, local terms such as “restaurants Auckland”.  This suggests that people from New Zealand are the only people in the world searching for this term.  However, it appears that people outside of New Zealand are also searching for the singular term “restaurant Auckland”.

When you look up the local search volume for a highly localized, highly niche term such as “best italian restaurant san francisco”, there is not enough data to provide the previous month’s local search volume.  However, is the Global Monthly Search Volume in this situation reflecting what local people are searching for “on average” rather than people outside of the United States searching for this specific term?  This is yet to be investigated and confirmed.