What Is Keyword Search Volume? (& How to Check It)

Keyword Search volume is a metric used to calculate the average number of searches for a keyword or phrase on a monthly or yearly basis. Here, let us learn more about keyword search volume in detail.
authorImageVarun Saharawat30 Oct, 2025
What Is Keyword Search Volume? (& How to Check It)

Keyword Search Volume is one of the most talked-about things in SEO or marketing. When you have a list of keywords available, search volume helps you prioritize the one you can pick for better and quicker results. 

Digital marketing experts use these metrics to find the keyword popularity and estimate the potential traffic these keywords can deliver. Here, we will learn more about keyword search volume in detail also learn how to check this search volume, particularly for keyword strategy.

What Is Keyword Search Volume?

Keyword search volume Keyword Search Volume is the total average number of times a phrase or term is searched on the Google search engine, generally on a monthly time frame. 
  • Keyword search volume helps you pick the right set of keywords for your SEO strategy.
  • Search volume of a keyword or phrase helps predict which keywords can help a site gain traffic when ranked on search engines.
  • It is a monthly/annual average of how many searches are made for a particular keyword on a search engine.
  • Also, keyword search volume does not tell the unique number of visitors looking for a keyword rather it tells the searches for a keyword within a timeframe.
  • Keyword Competition and relevance are also important factors to gain the benefits of search volume.
  • There are many tools like Google Keyword Planner, Semrush, and Ahrefs that can be used to research the search volume of keywords.

Why Is Keyword Search Volume Important? 

Search volume is an important ingredient in keyword research as this metrics tell how many searches the following keyword or phrase has in a month or an annual period of time. When you understand keyword search volume, you pick a keyword with high search volume to get you good traffic and ranking on the search engine result pages. Keyword search volume However, if you ignore keyword search volume and cover content without using the right set of keywords with good search volume, then you end up getting minimal or no traffic and ranking on Google search result pages. 
  • Search volume tells how popular a keyword is; the more volume, the more people are interested in a given topic or product.
  • If your site gets a good ranking using a high search volume keyword, you can get a good ranking, leads, sales, or service. 
  • You need to keep in mind the keyword difficulty, as high search volume keywords come with high competition harder to rank on search result pages.
  • Keyword Search volume can help reveal customer behavior, trending interests, market patterns, seasonal demand, and more.

Factors Affecting Monthly Keyword Search Volume

Check some of the major factors that affect the keyword search volume.

1. Seasonality

Many keywords depend on the peak season for rise and fall throughout the year. For example, when you search for “Holi Events”, then it might peak in February or March but drop right after these prime months.  Also, the “World Cup Ticket” might come in trend during one of India’s matches in the World Cup cricket. Hence, keyword search volume also depends on events, festivals, or product launches. 

2. Geographic Location

Keyword Search volume also depends on the location, as the keyword popularity changes based on where people live. For example, “Cricket live score” has very high popularity in India when compared to the United States or other Western countries.  These keywords depend on the events, culture, and practices popular in some parts of the country or a specific location. You can target these keywords based on their location.

Read More: What Is Keyword Intent? An Overview & How To Identify It

3. Marketing Campaigns

With an efficient digital marketing campaign, a keyword search volume can drive more online searches. When you promote a product regularly throughout your target audience regularly you can see a good rise in monthly search volume. These promotions are more common during new product launches, event announcements, and more.

4. User Behavior

Customers' online interaction habits can show noticeable differences in search volume. For example, after COVID-19, searches for “remote work”, “virtual internship”, and “remote jobs” increased due to the change in workplace and working mode. 

5. Market Effects

Any change in the market trends, economic patterns, or launches can impact keyword search volume from a specific industry. For example, the launch of the “iPhone 17” series shifts the dominance of other series down to it. A product rollout can spark significantly higher search interest.

Read More: What are Seed Keywords With Examples | How To Find Seed Keywords In 2025?

How to Check Keyword Search Volume On Semrush?

You can check keyword search volume by using any free or paid keyword research tools available in the market online. Check the complete step-by-step method of checking keyword search volume below.

1. Go to the Semrush Dashboard

Open your Semrush account on your web browser and on the homepage, search for “Keyword Magic tool” in the left side menu.  Keyword search volume

2. Keyword Magic Tool

In the keyword magic tool dashboard, search for the main term related to your niche or target audience. You can set the location (country) and the number of keywords in the keyword magic tool. You can also add your domain name to the magic tool. Keyword search volume

3. Output 

You will get a list of “broad matched keywords” having a starting term and close variants related to the keyword or topic you searched for. You can also customize the filter by selecting “by volume” to get results by comparing the search volume of keywords. Keyword search volume

Read More: What is a Primary Keyword? Best Practices For Using Primary Keywords In 2025

Metrics Related to Keyword Search Volume

Check some of the major important metrics related to keyword search volume, which every SEO professional must be familiar with.

1. Three-Month Volume Change

This metric can generally be seen in Google Keyword Planner, which tells the change i,e. Increase or decrease in keyword search volume in the last 3 months. 

2. Year-over-Year (YoY) Change

YoY metrics compare the average keyword search volume for the same month this year vs. last year. For example, the average searches for “work from home jobs” in 2021 vs. 2020 showed a big YoY increase due to lifestyle changes post-pandemic.

3. Average Monthly Search Volume

These metrics in keyword research depict the average number of searches per month over a specific period i,e. usually the last 12 months. 

4. Cost Per Click (CPC)

The CPC is used to calculate the average cost advertisers pay for a click in Google Ads. When CPC is high, it often means the keyword has strong commercial intent. For example, car insurance quotes.

Important Points While Making Search Volume Research 

When you are searching for a keyword based on search volume, there are certain things you need to keep in mind.
  • Remember! Keywords with high search volume generally have high competition for ranking on Google Search pages. So choose accordingly.
  • You can also use “personal keyword difficulty checkers” online to know how hard it is for your site to rank for a following keyword.
  • Always take into consideration the intent, PKD% ( Personal Keyword Difficulty), and Keyword Difficulty KD% before adding a keyword to your SEO strategy.
  • The CPC column in keyword research shows the average pay per click that you, as an advertiser, need to pay. The higher the search volume higher the cost per click.
  • Keywords with C (Commercial) and T (transactional) tags are more likely to convert as they are most probably ready to buy. 
  • Never depend only on the high keyword search volume. You can mix high-volume keywords with long tail keywords for better chances of ranking and getting to the right audience.
  • Keep seasonal and trending keywords in mind, with some keywords being evergreen while others are seasonal-based.

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Keyword Search Volume FAQs

Q1. What is keyword search volume?

Ans: Keyword search volume is a metric that tells how popular a keyword is. The more volume, the more people are interested in a given topic or product.

Q2. How to find keyword search volume?

Ans: You can use free and paid keyword research tools, such as Ahrefs, Semrush, and more, to find keyword search volume.

Q3. Can I determine local search volume for specific keywords?

Ans: Yes, you can use keyword research tools online with filters that allow you to select regional or local areas based on your preferred location.

Q4. How many types of keyword search volume trends?

Ans: There are mainly two types of keyword search volume i,e. Evergreen keywords and seasonal keywords. Evergreen keywords Maintain consistent keyword search volume throughout the year. However, seasonal keyword search volume changes throughout the year.