A free alternative to the WordTracker keyword traffic analysis software
Rather than paying a $329 annual subscription to WordTracker, I’ve found alternative free keyword traffic analysis software that works just as good if not better.
The Google Adwords Keyword Tool is a tool designed to help Adwords advertisers analyze competition for keywords. I have found that you can use it to analyze traffic for keywords regardless of what your intent is.
After you have entered a keyword and clicked “Get keyword ideas,” the tool will show you:
- Advertiser competition from the Google Adwords program (the only sponsored ads Google runs alongside search results).
- Local search volume or traffic data specific to your country for the current month.
- Global search volume or data collected from your country as well as every other country world-wide.
- Match type: broad, phrase, exact or negative. The match types that you really need to remember are broad and exact. Broad matches include traffic data for long-tail keywords or searches with extra text around the keyword (like “what can monkeys do” for the keyword “monkeys”). Exact keywords are searches that only contain the keyword and no extra text (like “monkeys” and nothing else).
- Traffic data for keywords synonymous with the keyword you enter. This can be enormously helpful because you may decide to target a less competitive, higher traffic keyword that is synonymous with the keyword you had in mind.
The Google Adwords Keyword tool also allows you to download information as a text or .csv file (for excel).
To me the decision of using Google’s free and simple keyword tool over the overpriced WordTracker tool is a no-brainer. Google knows better about what goes on with their own search engine and is therefore far less prone to inaccuracy for keyword traffic analysis than WordTracker.
Unfortunately most newbie Internet marketers don’t even know that the Adwords Keyword tool even exists. Too bad they don’t read this blog.
Tags: advertising, blog seo, google, traffic
To bad googles keyword tool isn’t very accurate.