Contents 4
Sufficient consensus
Keyword research identifies the terms an audience uses, with volume, competition and intent attached. It shapes structure, titles and content priorities, and it is the first step in nearly every process.
Relevant keywords are still important. The context of the query is more important.
If search demand gathered in a few established phrases, most distinct queries would repeat. Almost two thirds of them were typed exactly once in 43 days.
| Times a distinct query was typed in 43 days | Share of distinct queries |
|---|---|
| Once | 63.7 % |
| Twice | 16.2 % |
| Three times | 6.5 % |
| More than three times | 13.6 % |
Silverstein, C., Henzinger, M., Marais, H. and Moricz, M., Analysis of a very large web search engine query log, SIGIR Forum, 1999. AltaVista log of about 1 billion requests, 2 August to 13 September 1998, 154 million distinct queries.
What the result pages leave out
These belong to the subject. People ask about them. They are missing from the agreed coverage.
- Demand without vocabulary. A tool reports what was typed. A need that has no established wording produces no volume and therefore no entry in the list.
- The zero-volume question that decides the sale. The question a buyer asks in the last minute before signing is often searched twenty times a month and answered nowhere.
- Why the phrase was chosen. Volume data carries no trace of the situation that produced the wording.
- Synonyms from outside the tool. A dictionary of synonyms and a conversation with a customer regularly beat the keyword tool for the terms that matter.
- Terms that will exist next quarter. Historical search data cannot contain a word that the market has not yet started using.
What people actually want to know
- Which of my customers' real questions appear nowhere in my keyword list?
- What would someone type who has the problem and does not know the technical term?
- Which term did my last three customers use in their first email?
- What am I building because a tool suggested it?
Keyword research is a part of the work. The part that pays is the question that was never typed because nobody had the words for it yet.
Last revised 2026-09-16.