Should You Target Zero Traffic Keywords?

Dec 9, 2022 | All, Digital Marketing, SEO

Do zero traffic keywords help with your SEO campaign? Is there value in optimizing for these keywords? In this write-up, we share helpful insight on this trending SEO strategy.

Let’s start by asking a question – will you target a keyword that no one is searching for?

Did you say ‘No’? As you refine your SEO campaign and boost visibility, zero-traffic keywords might be the secret weapon. Though there are enough naysayers if you have a low marketing budget, it will be a good time to rethink. Zero-traffic keywords may not be as useless as they sound.

Before we delve further into this keyword strategy and how you can optimize your website using them, let’s start by understanding what they are.

Zero Traffic Keywords, SEO Campaign, Cyrusson

What Are Zero-Traffic Keywords?        

Zero-traffic keywords or zero-search volume keywords are queries that have minimal or no search volumes. Most keyword research tools don’t list these keywords due to the absence of data or their abysmally small search volumes. From a technical perspective, these keywords hold very little value for your SEO campaign; hence, most keyword tools and their users ignore them.

For instance, the search query “Plumbing Services” will have a huge search volume and competition. But a similar search query, “Plumbing Services for restaurants in Chicago,” may have zero or negligible search queries. However, a restauranter in Chicago looking for plumbing services might search using the exact keyphrase on Google or other search engines.

As you already know, the narrower the search query, the lesser the search volume and competition. Therin lies your opportunity where you can target these keywords and enjoy an open field with little or no competition. Your bigger rivals would target the high search volume keywords, which you must also do to compete against them. Complementing this with zero-traffic keywords adds teeth to your SEO campaign and lets you gain traction in unchartered territory.

Are Zero-Traffic Keywords Long Tail Keywords?

Zero-traffic keywords are the same as long-tail keywords as they contain a combination of three or more individual keywords. As searches are getting more conversational with the advent of voice searches, we see an increase in long-tail keywords. Generic keywords have limitations, and you can overcome this with zero-traffic keywords.

Going back to our previous example, a restauranter needing plumbing services may search “Which is the best plumbing service company for restaurants in Chicago?” or search “plumbing service company for restaurants in Chicago.” Both these queries are the same, and optimizing for one would attract traffic for the other as Google and other search engines have gotten smarter with their latest algorithms. They consider the user’s search intent while displaying results.

Why Target Zero-Traffic Keywords?    

There has been a debate on the usefulness of Zero-Traffic Keywords. Some digital marketers completely stay away from these keywords in their SEO campaigns as they don’t see value in this marketing strategy. On the other end of the spectrum, there are good reasons for you to use these keywords in your campaign, and here are some of them.

# 1 Low Competition

You know the challenges of targeting high search volume keywords. While you will make them part of your campaign, you are unlikely to see any tangible benefits ranking on Google’s second or third page! Zero-traffic keywords have low competition and no competition in many cases. You can rank on top of search results by targeting them with a good content marketing strategy.

# 2 Drives Traffic

Since you are looking for alternate strategies with your SEO campaign, it is safe to assume that high-competition keywords aren’t driving traffic to your website. These keywords can be your ticket to success and drive traffic to your website. As a rule, most optimizers target keywords that have been searched which is a reactive strategy. Here is your opportunity to be proactive and optimize the website for the keywords people are likely to search for!

# 3 First Mover Advantage

You know about the first mover advantage, and every business aspires to be a first mover in its domain. Targeting these keywords would offer you the first-mover advantage in digital marketing. Not only will your content rank high for these keywords, but you will be able to retain the top rank for a long time when search volumes for these keywords increase.

# 4 Targeted Marketing

Zero-traffic keywords are significantly niche, which explains their low or no search volume. However, an audience often uses them during their search to be served with generic content on broad-based topics. Referring to our earlier example, you can meet the expectations of a restauranter looking to hire a plumbing company by targeting these keywords. Though the search volume may be low, they are a low-hanging fruit waiting to be plucked.

# 5 Understand Your Audience

Broad-based keywords generate traffic but don’t let you understand your customers’ needs, as well as zero-traffic keywords. When a customer searches for commercial plumbing services, you don’t know whether they are a retail store, a restaurant, or a shopping mall. However, if the same customer searches for restaurant plumbing services, you get insights into their exact needs. Once you know their needs, you can serve them better.

How To Find The Best Zero-Traffic Keywords?    

Now that you know the benefits of targeting zero-traffic keywords in your SEO campaign, it is time to find the right keywords. You can compare different keyword planners, and you will notice a vast difference in their results, as they aren’t based on actual data but assumptions or models created to deal with low-volume keywords! It is challenging as most keyword research tools would fail you.

To state a fact, finding zero-traffic keywords to target for your campaign will require you to invent your strategy. Let us share a few tips on finding the best zero-search volume keywords that work

  • Long-Tail Keywords – As stated earlier, zero-traffic keywords are usually long-tail. Hence it would help if you used the traditional keyword research techniques where you get into the shoes of your target audience and find the keywords they are likely to search. Adding location or narrowing down your service niche would help.
  • Google’s People Also Ask – You may have seen the “people also ask” section on Google search results. It is the best place to fish for such low-search volume keywords. Most keyword research tools tend to ignore these queries from users. Using this tool, you can find some of the best keywords related to your business and target them in your content marketing strategy.

Zero Traffic Keywords, SEO Campaign, Cyrusson

  • Google Autocomplete – Google has constantly been improving the experience for its users with innovative features. Google Autocomplete is one such feature on the search engine that completes search queries based on user habits and past search history. Type a few letters or the primary keyword related to your business on Google search, and you will come across suggestions. Note these suggestions and add them to your target keyword list for optimization.
  • Related Search – Have you noticed the “Related Searches” section at the bottom of the results page on Google? It is another place where you can find some of the best low or no-traffic keywords. In most cases, this section would return the same suggestions as autocomplete, but there are variations that you shouldn’t ignore in some instances.
  • Alphabet Soup Method – This is another interesting method of finding the best keywords. In this method, you type a word or phrase on Google search followed by an alphabet, and there you have all the relevant queries starting with this alphabet. It can be painstaking as you have to do it for individual alphabets.

As you can see, finding zero-traffic keywords for your SEO campaign isn’t easy. We have become used to relying on keyword planners to help us find the best keywords for our campaign. But it is worth all the effort as you will find keywords that very few people have targeted in the past and can bring tons of traffic to your website.

Work On Your Content Strategy  

Keyword research is the first step to a successful SEO campaign, and your success depends on a creative content marketing strategy. Once you have made a list of the zero-traffic keywords, it is essential to complement it with an intelligent content marketing strategy. Create informative blogs with these keywords and make them a part of your web content. As your website gets indexed for these keywords, you will drive traffic to your website.

Final Thoughts       

Zero-traffic keywords are one of the best ways for small business websites to establish their relevance on search engines. You can rank at the top of the Search Engine Results Pages by targeting these keywords and building a large content base around them. Over time this helps you build more credibility on the search engines and in front of your customers. These niche keywords attract high-intent customers and hence improve the scope of conversion.

To rank top on the search engines and improve your visibility, you need the services of an SEO agency that capitalizes on the latest trends in digital marketing. Zero-traffic keywords are one of them, and we at Cyrusson Inc. have creatively used them in our SEO campaigns. Our passionate team constantly explores out-of-the-box ideas to help clients rank high on search engines.

Call us today at 415-228-9969 and let’s start boosting your SEO campaign with zero-traffic keywords and other trending SEO strategies.

 

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