On this page
An average, not a promise
Search volume is the first number every SEO tool shows you, and it hides more than it shows. A volume of 1,300 next to "accountant utrecht" means: that often per month on average, in the area you chose, for that term and the variants Google treats as the same. It is an estimate and an average. December may see half, March double.
For SEO and for search ads, it is the first measure of a term: how many people could you ever reach? But it is half the story. The other half is search intent: what those people want.
Rounded, from Google Ads
Search volume comes from advertising. Google shows it in Keyword Planner inside Google Ads, a tool to plan bids and budgets, not to measure SEO. That is why it rounds, merges variants and leaves out terms with very low volume. Paid SEO tools estimate their own numbers, partly from the planner, partly from their own data, so they often disagree, especially for small markets.
Four sources side by side
| Source | What you see | Cost | Reliability in small markets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Google Ads Keyword Planner | Average monthly searches and a rough cost per click | Free with a Google Ads account | Good for broad terms, small terms missing |
| Google Trends | A relative curve from 0 to 100, no counts | Free | Good for seasons and trends, not volume |
| Google Autocomplete | Whether people really type a term (Google suggests it) | Free | Proof a term exists, no count |
| Google Search Console | Real impressions and clicks of your site per query | Free | Exact, only for terms you already show for |
The strongest mix for a small business: Autocomplete to prove a term exists, the planner for an order of magnitude, Search Console once your page is live. What a click on the term costs in ads, the Google Ads budget calculator works out, and the guide to Google Ads cost explains.
The number against what is left of it
Monthly search volume, and what is left of it (worked example)
“accountant”, whole country8,000
Broad: students, job seekers and private people too. At position 6 a few percent click.
“accountant ghent”1,300
Local and ready to buy. At position 3 roughly one in ten clicks.
“accountant for construction firm ghent”40
Small volume, but whoever types this is looking for exactly you.
The figures illustrate the sum, they are not a measurement. Real volumes come from Keyword Planner and Search Console.
Do not count volume alone: three terms of 40 that each bring a customer beat one of 8,000 where you never reach page one.
Turned into requests, in four steps
- Volume1,300 searches a month for 'accountant ghent' (example figure).
- Position and click rateAt position 3 roughly one in ten clicks: about 130 visitors.
- RequestIf 3 percent ask for a quote, that is about 4 requests.
- CustomerIf half become customers, the term brings 2 new clients a month.
Why the number misleads in small markets
Too small. Belgium is split into Dutch, French and German-speaking markets, and many ready-to-buy terms there have a volume of 10 to 50 a month. The planner sometimes hides them. Such a term can still bring a customer every month: "payroll office eeklo" is tiny, but whoever types it wants exactly that.
Too big. A broad term with thousands of searches pulls in students, job seekers and private people, and big sites and marketplaces already hold page one. The volume is real, the customers are not.
Language and border. Dutch searchers in the Netherlands and Flemish searchers in Belgium use other words. A volume for one says little about the other, and French terms in Wallonia or Brussels are another market again. Always pick the right country and language; for a site that sells across borders, research each market on its own, as we do for multilingual websites.
Season. The number is a yearly average. Put your page online at least two months before your peak: a new page needs time before Google shows it, see how long until a website shows on Google.
Free sources, paid tools
The free sources are enough for most small companies; paid tools quickly cost a hundred euros or more a month and show the same gaps in small markets. What search volume returns is a choice: which pages to write first. Pick terms with proven demand and an intent that fits what you sell, write a strong page for each, and measure in Search Console what they really do. The SEO checker shows whether an existing page is technically ready to rank.
About tools, rounding and small terms
How do I check search volume for free?
In Google Ads Keyword Planner: create an account, you do not have to run an ad. Pick the country and language. Use Google Trends for seasons and Search Console for your own site.
What is a good search volume?
It depends on what a customer is worth. For a contractor with jobs worth tens of thousands, a term with 20 searches a month is gold. A store with thin margins needs far more volume.
Why do SEO tools show different search volumes?
Each tool estimates with its own data and rules. For small markets they drift far apart. Use them for an order of magnitude, not as an exact number.
Is a keyword with zero search volume worthless?
No. If the planner shows nothing but Google suggests the term in Autocomplete, people type it. Such terms are often easy to win and ready to buy.