Zero-Traffic Keywords Hidden Profit Potential
Niche marketers don’t tell you that 15% of searches are brand new. In other words, they are undiscovered, zero-traffic keywords that still need to be listed in keyword tools for you to discover as something worth pursuing.
Oddly enough, you will see a lot of advice about pursuing long-tail keyword phrases, precisely what zero-traffic keywords are all about. The wonderful thing about this strategy is that the keyword phrases are precise, so they convert very highly for you.
Many marketers have disclosed that although something was labeled a zero-traffic keyword phrase, they benefit from hundreds of monthly searches.
While the numbers aren’t yet significant enough for the keyword tools, they can add up to something extraordinary for your niche site’s success.
Don’t Be Fooled By Zero-Traffic Keywords Metrics
People rely too heavily on keyword tools to tell them what direction to go. However, these tools often need to be updated in real-time. In addition, some keyword phrases emerge as a new trend in the niche, so you may not see the numbers lining up with what’s unfolding.
Google has openly reported that 15% of all searches are new. These are phrases that have never been typed into their search engine before. If you know about the volume of searches each day, that could be an enormous number you can target for your niche.
People change their language and search habits so that a phrase might have evolved into something brand new but still based on an original core concept.
For example, some people still use the wording pay per click, but many have evolved to use the phrases Google ads, search engine ads, or paid ads instead. Or someone using social media marketing might now be searching for influencer marketing.
Reported Search Engine Metrics
They often report based on averages, not by a specific count. The volume might skew when looking at something over an entire year compared to recent months.
There are other theories about how accurate the reporting is and what reasons search engines have for not being fully transparent with search volume data. You have to assume that phrases may have more search traffic than what is shown in the results.
You want to use a mix of tools, research, and apply your mind to develop keyword phrases worth pursuing as a zero-traffic keyword option. By using your creativity, you’ll be expanding beyond the reach of what most of your competitors are doing.
Rewording Keywords
When considering the right metrics, stop focusing on volume or level of competition and instead think of different ways to say something more familiar. Drill down into the specifics of what your audience may want to discover.
It must still be highly relevant to your niche topic, but you want low-hanging fruit – not highly competitive phrases. So, for example, if you want to target a phrase like homemade dog treats, that’s a phrase with high competition and high search volume.
But if you target a phrase like all natural healthy homemade dog treats, you’ll see that it shows zero traffic and no competition. Yet, it’s a particular thing people might search for differently.
It’s very specific and doesn’t appear in the keyword tools. But it gives you a ton of profit potential. When you closely target your audience (they want good health for their pet), it can create a built-in community feel for those who feel the same.
They’re willing to spend money and make an effort for their pet’s health. It’s a topic that will trend upward as people begin learning more about the nutritional needs of their dogs.
It also gives you many content slant possibilities – whether teaching them how to make hypoallergenic treats, weight management treats, or treats for other issues like something digestive.
The True Advantage of Zero Traffic Keywords
So when you see a keyword phrase that looks “useless” at first glance, you want to think of what you can do with these phrases. First of all, the competition will be virtually non-existent.
Most marketers need help to break into the marketplace with broad keywords and phrases that are hard to dominate.
So, by targeting zero-traffic keywords:
- You’ll find that your content can rank very high immediately, even if you don’t have an authority site.
- Your content is going to convert better for you. Most zero-traffic keyword phrases are so specific that the reader feels it was written just for their needs. It should perform well if you’re savvy about monetization or list building with the content.
- Suppose this is a new, trending, or evolving phrase from an original concept. In that case, you can leverage it before competitors get wind of its potential.
- If you’re a marketer leveraging paid ads, these will help you get targeted traffic at a mere fraction of what others are shelling out for their ads, targeting highly competitive phrases.
Remember that as you continually use zero-traffic keyword phrases and rank high for them with valuable content, the search algorithms will see that your domain is providing what that target audience needs. Then they will begin showing your site to people using more competitive phrases.
How to Uncover Zero Traffic Keywords That Are Worth Pursuing
So, how do you uncover this unique, low-hanging fruit? As mentioned, you want to use various tools, research, and creative brainstorming. But let’s dig into that process in more detail.
Using keyword tools like Google’s Keyword Planner, SEMRush, Ahrefs, or even AnswerThePublic or Ubersuggest, you can try to drill down from a broad seed keyword into more specific, lesser-known phrases.
Use Google Autosuggest
You can even go to Google and let the autofill feature help you. For example, if you start typing all natural health dog treat into Google, you’ll see that people also add the word training before treat. It gives you an even more specific, zero-traffic keyword phrase option.
Use Forums and Communities
In the research phase, look at more than keyword tools. Start looking in forums and communities online to see how real people are searching. If you see someone using a keyword phrase like treats for raw fed dog, take that to a search tool. Then you’ll know that you can use another phrase: best training treats for raw fed puppy.
Check Out Related Social Media Platforms
Start looking around on social media platforms, too. Look at how people are discussing things – the vocabulary they use not only in posts but in comments and hashtags, too.
If you start looking on Instagram for homemade dog treats, you’ll find comments asking if they’re puppy-friendly – so you can create a new zero-traffic keyword phrase like puppy-friendly homemade dog treats to use.
Spy On Competition for Zero-Traffic Keywords
You can also spy on the competition. Analyze competitors’ SEO to see what phrases they’re ranking for and tweak them to be similar but more specific as a zero-traffic keyword phrase.
For example, if you find a competitor that ranks well for organic dog treats, use keyword tools research and creative brainstorming to come up with variants such as natural organic dog treats, organic grain-free dog treats, or organic dog treats that are puppy friendly.
In all cases, you’ll start with a broader keyword and narrow it down until it makes sense but has little to no traffic or competition. You may have dozens or hundreds of subcategories when doing this, which means lots of content potential.
Using Zero Traffic Keywords in Your Business Strategically
The main thing you need to know after discovering these zero-traffic keywords is what to do with them once you have them. First, use them in your search engine optimization (SEO) efforts.
Using this strategy, you can get high rankings and even a featured snippet position easily. Google provides more weight to those with a voice-search approach and these long-tail, zero-traffic keywords are perfect.
Use the keywords in your titles, headers, body content, anchor text, tags, and more. Even though they’re already narrow, do some research to gather related semantic keyword phrases to use, too.
Take time to develop value-packed content for your blog and social media based on these ideas. Your audience will gobble it up and interact more with your content because it’s very specific.
Use Mixed Media & Build Your List With Zero-Traffic Keywords
Use a mix of media formats, not just text but also video and images or audio, to create a podcast episode or audiobook about it. Ensure you have a monetization or list-building strategy when using these.
If you’re targeting the phrase all natural healthy dog treats, you might have a recipe book you’re selling or promoting silicone dog treat molds on Amazon, too. But get them on your list so that you can cater to their needs from then on.
Zero-traffic keywords seem like a waste of time. Still, savvy marketers use these for hundreds of unique visitors per month and find their site gaining traction overall in the SERPs (search engine results pages).
