I’ve been thinking about this while working on smaller websites.
We often judge keywords mainly by search volume, but a keyword with 500 searches can sometimes bring more useful visitors than one with 20,000 searches if the intent is much clearer.
For example, someone searching for a very specific calculator, formula, or troubleshooting solution is probably much closer to getting something done than someone making a broad informational search.
So I’m curious how others approach this:
Do you prioritize search volume or search intent?
Have you ever deliberately targeted a low-volume keyword because the competition was weak?
Do you measure the success of those pages by traffic, rankings, conversions, or something else?
I’d be interested to hear how people balance volume, competition, and actual user intent when choosing what to publish.
Not every keyword worth ranking for is worth targeting.
I usually prioritize search intent over search volume. Intent tells me how valuable that audience could be. I’ve deliberately targeted low-volume keywords when they had strong relevance and weaker SERP competition. For example, a doctor may target “dermatologist for hormonal acne” instead of only chasing “dermatologist.” The first query may have far fewer searches, but the person searching has a much clearer need and may be closer to booking an appointment.
For measuring success, I analyse qualified organic traffic, conversions, meaningful engagement, and whether the page is generating actual enquiries or revenue. Rankings and traffic growth are useful leading indicators, but shouldn’t be the final goal.
This makes sense for me but overall I think it depends on how you define your business outcomes.
The keyword for me is “customization” you have to understand what your audience tends to search, why they are searching for it and how they want that search to be answered.
So I would prioritize search intent here, while STILL using search volume as a meaningful indicator of how a topic could be broadly search searched for and how the audiences are behaving around it or their search volume related pattern.
As for deliberately targeting a keywords that are low-volume simply because competition is weak. I would be cautious with that type of approach. Low competition can certainly be useful but it shouldn’t be the primary objective by itself. Otherwise, you risk optimizing for something simply because it’s easy to rank for rather than because it contributes to the business outcome you’re trying to achieve.
For measuring success I think traffic, rankings, conversions, and inquiries can all be useful metrics but their importance depends heavily on the intended outcome.
I’d be particularly interested in looking at the recurrence and patterns behind searches. A strong keyword with relatively low volume but consistent, highly relevant search behavior may tell you something very different from a high-volume keyword driven by just occasional or broad interest.
Ultimately, I think the question isn’t just about how many people are searching but - What does this search tell us about what our audience is trying to accomplish, and does answering that need contribute to our business outcome?