Hi Ryan, Here's a question that might be geared up you alley. I'm validating a business idea using Google AdWords and came across this test using their traffic estimator tool. Here's a screen shot: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/33173113/AdWordsTrafficEstimate.jpg Does the search term with over 6 million monthly searches mean there's an untapped niche with little competition? Thanks, Josh

Hi Josh,

not necessarily. It looks like, even though you’ve hidden the search terms, that they were run in “broad match”, which means that you’re going to get a lot more garbage in because your ad will appear for more non-relevant terms.

There should be another column there for Competition, which Google displays kind of like PageRank, a number from 0-10. There are some edge cases where there is a lot of search volume, and little competition (which “might” translate into low CPC’s), but it’s unusual.

I also must warn you of the accuracy of Google search volumes: http://www.pearanalytics.com/blog/2011/how-accurate-are-google-adwords-search-volumes/

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