Why you shouldn’t ignore zero volume keywords
Many businesses immediately discount zero search volume keywords entirely. But did you know that they can be hugely beneficial for a number of different reasons?
What are zero volume keywords?
Zero search volume keywords are generally long tail queries that are hyper-specific and focused on a very particular topic. As they cover a very narrow topic, they aren’t as frequently searched as more generic, shorter keywords, questions or phrases.
For example, the keyword “self catering apartments” will deliver tens of thousands of searches. However, fewer results will be provided as your query becomes more specific. So, “self catering apartments in London” will provide fewer results, and “self catering apartments in Walthamstow, London” will deliver fewer still.
If you are a business owner who has historically ignored zero volume keywords or if you are now finding yourself questioning why you should spend time focusing your attention on answering questions that no one is searching for, I’m here to give you four compelling reasons.
1. Zero volume keywords and site structure
There are typically fewer core web pages on most websites that are built for branding purposes, and this is also the case on many ecommerce websites. However, this doesn’t need to become an issue, provided that you are utilising the power of zero volume keywords.
Zero volume keywords can be used to create content that is relevant to your audience. For example, you can create content that tells your ideal audience who you are, what you do, and how your brand can help deliver solutions to the problems they are experiencing.
Every time you discuss or showcase a service or product you provide, you can incorporate an internal link, which will naturally build your site structure with SEO in mind. Plus, you’ll also be helping individuals to navigate your website with ease in the process.
Top tip: by providing a high quality browsing experience and sharing informative content, you could find that your website becomes the go-to site that others link to, which, in turn, will build your backlink profile and further boost your SEO efforts.
2. Zero volume doesn’t automatically mean that no one is looking
While many SEO tools are pretty advanced, they don’t actually know what your ideal audience is asking. Instead, they create question variations and use data to make assumptions regarding the number of people who are searching those questions.
But you may well find that your audience is asking questions using words and phrases that are showing as having no volume.
In fact, many high-intent phrases return low search volumes, however they have the potential to drive more clicks, conversions and revenue than low-intent phrases with tens of thousands of searches each month.
The process of optimising your online presence should always be unique to your business and your audience, which is why it is always worth diving deeper into the data to ensure that you’re connecting with individuals who are at the ready to convert stage of the sales funnel.
Top tip: If you have a live chat feature enabled, it can be hugely beneficial to talk with your team to understand the questions that your audience wants answers to. Being able to refer to the data will give you a huge advantage over competitor brands that are relying on online research and taking stabs in the dark.
But how exactly should you use this information to your advantage?
Well, you might want to think about developing a dedicated page that addresses the topic. A blog post can be an excellent vehicle to incorporate zero volume phrases in ways that directly address the needs of your audience. One reason for this is that blog posts can be enhanced by additional media, such as an embedded YouTube video that showcases a relevant how-to.
Alternatively, if you discover that your audience is asking questions that relate directly to a specific service or product you offer, why not incorporate it into the service/product page or create an FAQ section? By ensuring this information is ultra-visible, you are giving yourself every opportunity to secure those all important additional conversions.
Plus, by ensuring that your audience has access to all the information they need to make an informed purchasing decision, you will find that your customer support team won’t need to spend time answering the same queries all the time.
3. Zero volume keywords can help you to maximise your SEO spend
Bidding on keywords with huge search volumes is costly and doesn’t always deliver a decent return on investment. So, instead of just focusing on this approach, it can be beneficial to focus on remarketing by targeting people higher in the sales funnel and bringing them back in later down the line.
Remarketing pixels can be used to remarket your ads to searchers you have brought to your website via SEO and low volume keywords. This allows you to showcase exactly what you have to offer without the need for a hard sales pitch, which can help you to build a robust sense of trust between you and your potential customer.
Zero volume keywords have vastly less competition, so by incorporating them into your strategy, you can secure an immediate advantage over your competitor brands. However, don’t forget that in order to rank for any search term, you will need to invest in the creation of thoughtful, informative and fully optimised content.
4. Zero volume keywords can boost your visibility
Many long-tail keyword questions or phrases don’t achieve a high search volume, but that’s not to say that a shortened version of the same phrase doesn’t.
In fact, entering the shorter volume phrase into Google using incognito mode may well show the question in a variety of places, including knowledge panels, related searches, and the People Also Ask box.
I recommend making a note of the results that appear when conducting this type of search. This will allow you to identify content gaps, which you can then fill yourself and secure additional traffic from key results pages without ever needing to directly target the main high volume phrase.
So, those were just four reasons why targeting zero search volume keywords can be worthwhile. However, as with everything SEO related, it is imperative to ensure that you are only ever exploring strategies that are relevant to your business.