Dumb SEO Questions

(Entry was posted by Jay Horvat on this post in the Dumb SEO Questions community on Facebook, 01/20/2022).

Do you always base your keyword difficulty on the U.S. database?

Hi all - any help on this would be much appreciated. Cannot seem to find a straight answer anywhere on the web - which makes me think it may be a "dumb SEO question".When doing keyword research, do you always base your keyword difficulty (KD) on the U.S. database? Even if targeting another country`s audience?There are many keywords with a high KD on the U.S. databases but with very "easy" difficulty levels when other countries are selected - say Australia (where I am from). What does this mean? I`m guessing I can`t just go ahead and target a keyword that has a low difficulty in Australia (and high in the U.S.) and then expect to rank for all the Aussies that search that term? Are these false positives?Any clarity around this would be much appreciated! Cheers!
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YOUR ANSWERS

Selected answers from the Dumb SEO Questions Facebook & G+ community.

  • Travis Bailey: It really depends on the query.

    Google has been able to produce different results for different geographic areas for a very long time. If the targeted term is searched by someone in Australia, and Google determines there`s some kind of geographic scope, it will likely return results (hopefully) more relevant for people in some part of Australia. (`ice coffee` or `thai restaurants`)

    Though one can hopefully reduce international competition with local intent, you`re just as likely to end up competing with US & UK pages. The query could be `buy nike shoes`, we don`t know. But the perceived intent of the query makes all the difference in how results are presented.

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  • Buth Main: It`s hard for me to answer the question. Third-party SEO toolsuse own methods, metrics and can`t replicate any part of search engine system. I prefer to use real queries that visitors use. Also I optimize content for the specific location to make it understandable to a local audience. I am not a native English speaker so it is very interesting to learn Australian English, American English, etc. For me, keyword research is a strategy-driven process that based on my audience, my marketing strategy, and my goals (what do I get out of these keywords, how does it help my brand or product).

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View original question in the Dumb SEO Questions community on Facebook, 01/20/2022).