How Do You Find the Total Search Volume for an Industry?

[sparefoot]

Currently my company is working on trying to find the total search volume (read: search potential) for our industry, but aren't sure how best to go about it. Obviously GWT data and Keyword Planner data came to mind, but those are not all encompassing (at least we don't think they are) -- GWT only has data for terms you rank for and the Keyword Planner only gives you volume if you already know the queries. Is there some quick and easy way to go about finding this that we haven't thought of?

One thing to note is that our business is nationwide, meaning that all our terms will have a geo-identifier associated with them for each location i.e. [city] + search term -- this just makes things even more complicated. Any advice on to approach would be much appreciated!

[sparefoot]

Right you are Keri, there's no fooling you I have not read that post you mentioned but I'll be sure to take a look.

What you mentioned is exactly the problem we are facing -- how can we go about finding all the ways people are searching for and finding us organically? Where are all the places we can be in SERPs? Not sure if we will ever get a complete answer but we are trying our best. Thanks for the reference!

[sparefoot]

No worries Monica it's definitely a tough one, thanks anyways. We are going with GWT tools right now but just wanted to see if there was another option. Fingers crossed!

[KeriMorgret]

To add to Ryan's good answer here, I'm going to assume that you're asking about the storage industry, based on your profile URL. I wrote a post about finding negative keywords and used the examples of moving and storage companies, and highlighted some of the many alternate intents people could have when they search for storage (such as storage containers for their flour and sugar). If you need some other examples, check out the post at http://a-moz.groupbuyseo.org/blog/negative-keywords-for-positive-roi.

[RyanPurkey]

Getting precise numbers on such a broad topic will likely be a bridge too far, plus they start to move and oscillate into the future so some projection factor is going to have to be used for any sort of planning as you make them. For example, look at Google Trends analysis of the topic LEGO: http://www.google.com/trends/explore#q=LEGO&cmpt=q.  And look at some of the ways it begins to get messy: Is it just the industry of toys? What about the movies LEGO is now producing?  Or are Legoland searches at the core of it?

The broader net you cast the more odd intersections you're going to come across...

It sounds like you're trying to use these numbers not as an industry report but for actionable budgeting and tactical planning for the nationwide business. Or maybe I'm mis-reading your question. The point being, your existing business should have some reliable numbers on current conversion rates and traffic that are much more applicable to scale into other locations. Why not use those and first apply some level of market penetration based on demographics and populations?

TL;DR: I'd project some simple trends for the industry, but then be tactical on the small scale. Work where you can move the needle most.  Cheers!

[MonicaOConnor]

I can't think of anything specifically. In my industry, the manufacturer provides search volume information for us.

In GWT, total impressions for the week or month might give you some kind of idea. I know that it is only impressions attached to the search queries listed on the page, but this is the only place I can think of to find high level data like that without looking for search volume on every key word individually.

Sorry!