One of the premier tools used in Keyword Research is Wordtracker.  Thus, we should all assume that Wordtracker performs impeccably and finds us the right keywords every time.  Or should we?  In this article, we will ask the question:  Is Wordtracker Accurate?

As I wrote in the article Wordtracker vs. Google Keyword Tool: Which is better for keyword research?, I use both Wordtracker and the Google Keyword Tool to identify a solid base of keywords for articles and promotional material.  I especially like Wordtracker for long tail keywords.  This is an area in which Wordtracker excels and the Google Keyword Tool fails.

Occasionally, I will stumble upon some amazing long tail keywords that ostensibly would result in massive amounts of hits to an article.

Let’s take a look at an example.

Bring up the free version of Wordtracker and type in the word “hurricanes”.  What do you see? The first entry that appears under a Wordtracker search for the keyword “hurricanes” is this:

More than twelve thousand people per day are searching for the term “how do hurricanes form”!!!

If this is the case, I will go create a website about how hurricanes form, become #1 in Google because there is not much competition, and makes loads of money with advertisers.  Life will be good and lots of money will roll in!  Right?

Right?

Regrettably, it’s not quite that easy. Like when we find that shiny, 2-year old BMW convertible on sale for $2,500 and we think, “Wow, I have found the one in a million deal”, we need to ask the question:  Is this too good to be true?

Is Wordtracker Accurate?

I use Wordtracker everyday.  It is an amazing tool for long tail keywords and keywords that I would never have considered.  On top of that, I also use common sense everyday.  And common sense tells me that there are not more than twelve thousand searches a day for the term “how do hurricanes form?”  So, what happens?  How could Wordtracker be wrong?

Wordtracker and the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle

In my many years of teaching computing networking, I often demonstrated how to measure and analyze network traffic. I invariably brought up The Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle in these discussions.  This principle essentially states that “to measure an activity is to modify the outcome”.   As we were analyzing network traffic (an activity that creates network traffic), we were modifying the results.

The Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle produces similar results with Wordtracker.

As people using Wordtracker find exciting, hidden keyword gems, they then go out and search for that term to evaluate the competition.  This, in turn, creates many more apparent “searches” for that particular term.

Of course, like Heisenberg, I am theorizing.

In an article entitled Keyword quality and the Wordtracker database, we read that Wordtracker maintains the purity of their results by using two sites: http://www.dogpile.com and http://www.metacrawler.com.

Wordtracker uses these sites, which purport to roll all of the search engine queries into one place, to provide quality data that cannot be manipulated by automated programs.

It would be an interesting undertaking to have 10,000 people search these sites for a long, silly term such as  “Why can brown paper bags help you with asthma?” and see what happens.

Is Wordtracker Accurate: Summary

I know without reservation that Wordtracker is not always accurate. I know that it is a victim of the people using it…a victim of the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle.

I also know this. I use Wordtracker everyday because it is the best long tail keyword analyzer.

I have used many long tail search terms found on Wordtracker that claim to receive 2,000 hits a day and receive just that after I get the page to the #1 spot in Google.

So, when you find a great, obtuse long-tail keyword that seems too good to be true (like 12,000 hits a day), it might be. However, it might just be the next big thing! How can you tell the difference?

The old fashioned way:  Common Sense!

Now…I am going to go find the answer to the question…How Do Hurricanes Form? 🙂