Revealing the Secrets of Keyword Data (Tim Soulo and Jason Barnard)

Tim Soulo talks with Jason Barnard about revealing the secrets of keyword data.

Tim Soulo is the Chief Marketing Officer and Product advisor at Ahrefs. Tim has been a frequent and noteworthy contributor to the SEO and digital marketing industries for the past 12 years. Thousands of online publications have quoted his data research studies, including Inc, Techcrunch, and Venturebeat, and he has spoken at some of the world’s top industry conferences, including PubCon (Las Vegas, US), BrightonSEO (Brighton, UK), and Digital Marketers Australia Conference (Melbourne, AU).

Keyword search volume is a metric many use obsessively, but what is it exactly, and is it really the best metric for SEOs? You probably know about Google Keyword Planner. Interestingly, there’s a big difference between these two. Jason Barnard points out what Google Keyword Planner is designed for Google to sell ad space to advertisers, while Tim Soulo emphasises that keyword search volume is for SEOs.

They dig deep into that debate, and also veer off track and talk about focussing on users… why businesses should aim to better understand what their users want, need, and value. SEOs also need to focus more on what the business’ audience is looking for since as Google displays in the SERPs what it deems valuable, helpful, and relevant to the user.

As always, the show ends with passing the baton… the grooviest Tim Soulo hands over the virtual baton to next week’s charming guest, Elizabeth Marsten.

What you’ll learn from Tim Soulo

00:00 Tim Soulo and Jason Barnard
00:52 Myroslav Khmarskiy’s Message of Gratitude and Request for Support in Ukraine
02:04 Tim Soulo’s Message of Gratitude to All Who Support Ukraine
05:21 Ahrefs’ Brand SERP
06:41 Concerns on Ahrefs’ Knowledge Panel
08:26 How Many Billions of Keywords Does Ahrefs Track?
09:24 Where are Google are Going with Users’ Keyword Inputs
10:58 How People Try to Manipulate Ahrefs Metrics
12:04 Is Keyword Search Volume the Best Metric?
12:28 Keyword Search Volume Vs Google Keyword Planner
14:06 Google Keyword Planner: A Tool for Advertisers
17:53 Speaking the Vocabulary of Your Audience (Focus on Users)
19:30 Brand Queries aka Pull Queries
20:22 Keyword Search Volume is Misleading
21:18 Overview of Ahrefs’ Traffic Potential (Keyword Metric)
22:52 What Can a Small Business Do When Competing for a Keyword with a Top Ranking Site?
25:11 Tim Soulo’s Thoughts on AI Tools and Google Educating Itself
29:17 Tim Soulo’s Approach to SERPs
33:27 Important Thought-Provoking Insights from Tim Soulo on Keyword Search Volume
36:45 Passing the Baton: Tim Soulo to Elizabeth Marsten