Does 0 volume on Semrush really mean no one searches for it?

Seeking Advice
1

I’ve been doing keyword research, and I see some keywords with 0 volume on Semrush. Does that really mean no one is searching for those terms?

2

No, it doesn’t. I blocked scraping bots like Semrush and similar ones using Cloudflare. Right after that, Semrush and those types of sites showed my visits going down, but I know that’s not true since Google Analytics shows my traffic hasn’t changed. Just goes to show you can’t always trust those numbers.

3

@ciggarfin
Blocking Semrush bots doesn’t affect the data they show about your site. They pull that info from how your site is visible in Google search and from other data sources, not just by crawling your website.

4

@Harper
Then how come as soon as I blocked the bot, Semrush showed my traffic as nearly zero, even though Google Analytics shows no drop at all?

5

ciggarfin said:
@Harper
Then how come as soon as I blocked the bot, Semrush showed my traffic as nearly zero, even though Google Analytics shows no drop at all?

That’s probably just a coincidence. Blocking the bot shouldn’t change what Semrush shows for your Google search visibility.

6

@ciggarfin
Interesting, thanks for sharing. What do you use for keyword research then?

7

Hey! When you see ‘0 Volume’ on Semrush, it usually means there haven’t been enough recent searches for that keyword. A few things to consider:

  1. The keyword might have less than 10 searches per month.
  2. Semrush might not have enough data for it right now.

If you switch from local data to national or global data, you might see a different number. If there’s still no data for a specific location like ‘Brooklyn,’ try a broader area like ‘New York, New York.’ That might help you see a better volume estimate.

8

@BloggingBuddy
That makes sense. Thanks, this really helps!

9

If you’re seeing 0 volume, it’s Semrush’s way of saying that the search volume is too low to estimate, maybe close to zero.

10

Rangton said:
If you’re seeing 0 volume, it’s Semrush’s way of saying that the search volume is too low to estimate, maybe close to zero.

I noticed that Google’s Keyword Planner shows some volume, even if it’s small, like around 100 searches. Which one is more reliable?

11

@SarahLays
For very low search volumes, all the tools are just guessing. I wouldn’t expect any of them to be accurate.

12

Rangton said:
@SarahLays
For very low search volumes, all the tools are just guessing. I wouldn’t expect any of them to be accurate.

Got it. So if Semrush shows 0 volume, but Google Keyword Planner shows something, there’s still a chance people are searching for it?

13

@SarahLays
Yep, exactly. I’d trust Google Keyword Planner more in this case.

14

Rangton said:
@SarahLays
Yep, exactly. I’d trust Google Keyword Planner more in this case.

Thank you! That clears it up.

15

It probably just means Semrush doesn’t have enough data for that keyword. It could be really low in search volume, or they just don’t have enough info to give a number. No tool has perfect data, since none of them have direct access to Google’s data. They’re all guessing based on what they can see. If you want more accurate info, try running a short Google Ads campaign and see what it reports.

16

@Harper
That’s a good suggestion. I might try that. Thanks!

17

You can assume ‘0’ means ‘we’re not sure, but it’s probably less than 100 searches per month.’ Even Google struggles with low search volume estimates. Every SEO tool has the same issue; we’re always trying to get better data at my company, but it’s hard!