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Google Explains Sudden Drop in Global and Local Monthly Search Volume Data

By on September 30, 2010

In a recent announcement about the AdWords Keyword Tool coming out of beta, Google has finally revealed information which explains the significant decrease in search volume data.

Domainers like to review Global and Local monthly search volume data for expired domain research, aftermarket valuations and more. It’s an excellent resource for getting a first impression of keyword popularity.

Many have been in a state of confusion as to why global monthly and local monthly search volume data rapidly dropped by tens of thousands or more in some cases.

The Google AdWords team explained:

Statistics in these columns are now based on Google.com search traffic only. Previously, they also included traffic from search partners.

Now, it’s not clear whether their search partners were powered by other engines or if they are referring to Google Custom Search implementations which display results on external websites.

It seems a shame to me to lose that extra search data. If it was indeed data from Google Custom Search setup on niche websites that was removed, they could now be significantly undervaluing keyword search volume.

This change is reported to come at the request of advertisers. Big AdWords bidders were likely not seeing the return expected from such high volume numbers. The new data should now accurately represent a potential for traffic from Google.com.

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About Mark Fulton

Mark is the Founder of DotSauce Magazine and a full time web developer, domain investor, SEO and online marketing professional residing in North Carolina, USA. Visit MarkFulton.com for information on freelance website development, SEO and consultation services.