Google organic search: long tail keywords - number of results?

[Olly]

Hi guys,

Many thanks for your material so far - I'm participating in your 12-days-to-page-one course and it's excellent so far :O).

I'm currently finding keywords for my niche... but finding it a rather frustrating process! Trying to find a broad match with less than 50,000 in google is a challenge (I'm nearly there though).

However, I've noticed that if I type in, say 'mind creativity tools' I get say 18,800,000 broad matches... but if I then add 'for kids' it jumps up to 41,400,000! I thought a longer-tailed keyword would have a smaller broad search match? What's going on?!?

Thanks again for your advice - looking forward to (finding my keywords) and the next part of the course :O).

[c14h20o4]

Hi Olly,

Great to see you here. About your question, so if you look up mind creativity tools, (no quotes, using quotes is phrase matched) you get results for that phrase, plus results for mind, and creativity and tools, and mind tools, and creativity tools, and mechanics tools etc. So if you tack, for kids, on the end, you're getting the additional searches those two words add.

If you were to add quotes, "mind creativity tools for kids" vs "mind creativity tools," then the longer phrase will have fewer matches. This is because the quotes means include the phrase in this order, so you'd still get, buy mind creativity tools for kids, but you wouldn't get, buy creativity tools for kid's minds.

Finally, don't get super hung up on keyword selection. Getting the right keywords is important but if it's something that going to hold you back, it might be beneficial to throw caution to the wind and pick something you like and go. I say this because I've not yet found a 100% reliable way to judge competition.

Hope that helps,
Chris

[Olly]

Ah - I'm with you, thanks Chris!

Sounds like I'm getting hung up on keyword selection as you say (I've a scientist background, so like to 'tick the boxes', such as the course criteria to make the broad match less than 50,000 results...)

Thanks again,

Olly