So you’ve heard all about the Keyword Golden Ratio, but you’re still wondering…
“What about all those keywords with high search volume?
Do I just skip them because the search volume is higher than 250?
Why would I want to target such low search volume keywords anyway?”
Here's the good news:
We’ve discovered a way to take advantage of high search volume (1000-3000+ searches per month) keywords with the KGR method.
Check out the video here:
Need a Refresher of the KGR Method, First?
The Keyword Golden Ratio (KGR) uses search volume and keyword placements for article titles, in order to discover low competition keyword opportunities. (We talk a lot about keyword research in our course.)
But for now, here’s the formula to help us find our “golden ratios”:
If the result is .25 or less, then you have a Golden Keyword.
If the result is .26 to 1, it will be a bit harder to rank for.
A ratio of more than 1 is considered not really worth targeting, unless you have other reasons to target the keyword (your website might need to cover the topic in order to be well rounded, etc.).
NOTE: “Allintitle:” is a Google search modifier; you use it in front of your search term like this:
If you're still not sure what we're talking about, then watch this video from Doug Cunnington himself:
We also did a 2 part interview with him here and here.
Now that we're all cool. Let's start off with an example!
Let’s say you have a keyword like “best tennis rackets for seniors”.
You discover it has a search volume of 30, so you check the allintitle: results and discover that there is only 1 result online:
In this example, it is quite obvious that you’ve found a good keyword to target, but let’s apply the formula anyway:
This results in a ratio of .034, which is well under the .25 required for a Golden Keyword, so this keyword is a good one to target!
So, how does the rule of 63 come in?
63 comes from working backwards with the supposed highest search volume that works with KGR: 250 searches per month.
Like this:
If I have a keyword with 250 searches per month, what is the highest number of allintitle: results I can have and still hit the Golden Ratio?
The answer is 63 because:
Then, the key is to understand what exactly the KGR ratio is telling us:
- The ratio is simply a good way to figure out the balance between how many people are searching for something in a given month (search volume) and how thoroughly the topic is covered online.
- People who have used KGR extensively have discovered that once you start using keywords with search volume over 250, you can have a ratio of .25 and the keyword will still be hard to rank for.
- Therefore, the sweet spot for the ratio is between 0 and 250 searches per month.
In this whole scenario above, we’re talking about search volume but that’s taking our eyes off of what is really critical here:
The number of allintitle: results, NOT search volume.
Let’s put this picture into words:
This calculation is saying to us:
You have achieved a .25 ratio since the keyword has 250 searches per month, and there are 63 allintitle: results.
The significance of this is that you have found a keyword which is used in the title of an article 63 times anywhere online.
Since the keyword gets 250 searches per month and is only served by 63 results, you should target this keyword (it has a Golden Ratio).
So, the power of the Rule of 63 is this:
If a keyword with 250 searches per month and served by only 63 articles is worth targeting, do you think a keyword with 4x the search volume but still only served by 63 results is worth targeting?
Of course it is! 4x worth it.
This is exactly why the focus on search volume alone is leaving money on the table.
KGR is great, but incomplete without the Rule of 63.
Take a look at this keyword:
You can see there are 1300 searches per month.
Traditional KGR research would stop here and discard the keyword because the search volume is much higher than 250.
Rule of 63 says no way, let’s check it!
And…
Only 2 results!
Does that look like a keyword you want to pass over?
Definitely not.
Here’s an example of KGR keywords ranking on Page 1-2, with no backlinks and many of them with higher than 250 search volume:
If you notice the keyword with 2600 searches for the second picture, just a short while ago it was at position 5.
Just remember that if a keyword has search volume greater than 250, but there are 63 or less allintitle: results, you’ve found a Golden Keyword!
Now that you have a better sense of how powerful this strategy can be, let us know in the comments how you've put the Rule of 63 into action!
What does KD stand for on the data table? Thanks
Keyword difficulty
Hi Brad,
I’m amazed that it is a matrix. I ranked 4/5 kw at a low SV less than 100 within a month after indexing and got search snippet for 1 kw. I didn’t know .25 formula though. Not only does this, I also ranked for 2 more kw more than 700/mo SV in position 7&9 though they didn’t meet the formula .25 & 63 as well.
I was a bit frustrated when I found my main targeted kw vanishes from SERP for ranking a long tail kw variation e.g. best xyz for abc hits and hides the main kw best xyz. I’d be glad if you show me tips to recover it.
After reading your blog post today, I got some kw that meets KGR .25. Now time to get results, lol.
Hi Brad Vandenberg, I am new to this whole KGR thing, but I saw you comment about a better way to approach it in a certain affiliate marketers’ group we both happen to be members of. Now I know what to do; thank you a ton. Actually, I have found about 10 or KWs that fully satisfy the rule of 63. But some of the KWs have a seach volume of 10, 20, or 30. So I’m wondering: are these ones worthy pursuing, really?
Yes, if your site is just starting out, these are some of the biggest wins.
Great info on kgr. I thought 0.25 was the limit. Why rule 63? Got some keywords that were a little over 100
Another great post.
I have found that domain authority has an impact on the Rule of 63 number. I don’t have the mega-data pool that you guys have but for my sites, I can go higher than 63 on those that already have traction. I would think there is a way to add this variable to the ratio. Something like adding some integer to 63 based on the DA of the site.
Hi,
what is the best tool/way to find exact and true search volume? I have seen different tools give different result for same keywords.
Thanks in advance!!
Hi Anshul,
I just pick a tool and stick with it 🙂 Ahrefs is my personal favorite.
Not sure anyone knows what the true search volume is.
Thank you for the awesome guide.. today i was seaching this thing that how can one target the higher search volume without kwfinder things.. and few minute before stopping my research i recieved the notification.
thanks again
Glad you liked it! 🙂
I’m so happy you shared this because I’ve skipped some good keywords because it went over the 250 searches a month but they were still well under the 63 AIT rule. Thanks for sharing 🙂
Love super actionable content like this! Extremely useful, so thanks for that! Great with a quick explainer video to show it hands on as well!
Thanks Thomas! Glad you liked it.
If you have anything else you’d like to hear from us on, definitely feel free to make a suggestion too!
Very good article thank you but a concern here:
Searching for words below 250 was a limit that made the way Clear a bit.
Now increasing it over to 250 sounds good but May confuse and distract from us to focus. We need to be more careful while spotting it. Thank you
Hi Mehmet,
Good point 🙂
You could just take the approach that if you find a keyword with higher than 250 search volume, and it has less than 63 AIT results you can use it. And mostly stay focused on KGR.
The way I did it was generate a list of likely KGR’s or Rule of 63 keywords and then had a VA run through the list with his screen setup like I have in the video. If I’m paying a few dollars an hour, I’m not going to avoid the high search volume ones when it takes a few seconds per keyword and I could chance on a Rule of 63 keyword.
Hi, as a student of both Bryon and Doug since I heard of the KGR I have been focusing on it on my site (which I bought from HPD).
I have few KGR keywords above 250 but 2 of them where so outstanding that from the moment they got indexed by Google they were on number 10 and 9 within 48 hours and about a week or 2 later they are between spots 2, 3, 4 and 5 in the SERPS with no backlinks at all.
Now I understand why… the Rule of 63.
Thanks guys this will hwlp me focus more.
Hi Victor,
Glad it was helpful! And congrats on your success so far. Well done!
Do the words need to be in exact match for the allintitle or is it OK if the words are mixed up with other words in the search title
The idea is that the keyword would be exact match in the title.
Sometimes you will find a keyword like “tennis shoes men blue”. I’d not bother with that one even if it was KGR compliant because it just doesn’t read properly even though it is a perfectly valid search query.
Thanks Brad! I used to restrict myself with keywords which has less than 250 searches only, but this rule of 63 has got me pump up to go updating my spreadsheet again. This method is really effective. However, it was so effective in my case that it ranked even higher than my main money page.
My KGR post (900-words long) is actually targeting keyword “best xyz for abc”, while my main best-of post (4K-words long) targets “best xyz”. The KGR post is indeed a subset of the main best-of post, but I couldn’t get myself to 301 redirect the KGR post because it is currently #1 and owns the featured snippet too.
Do you have any ideas how to solve or prevent issues like this?
A good way to handle this type of thing is to plan content clusters, rather than targeting individual keywords.
We cover content clusters extensively in our course humanproofdesigns.com/human-proof-method
The general idea is to plan a top level post like “best xyz”
Then, you can have a second level post or posts that cover “best xyz for abc”.
Here’s an example of a 12,500 word content cluster similar to what I’m talking about here:
Image: http://take.ms/QNgpO
Hi, thank you for the explanation, the issue with traditionnal KGR is with the low traffic even you are in google 1st page, isn’t it?
Hi Nabil,
While some might consider it an issue, I’d rather rank in position 1 for a keyword with 250 search volume than be on page 10 for a keyword with 1000 search volume.
The other thing to remember is that the search volumes are estimates, and don’t account for the variations in spelling/keyword structure that you will also rank for with the same article so often a keyword with a low search volume can drive much more traffic than the specified search volume.
The other thing is, I don’t consider ranking for a keyword a problem 🙂 Some KGR detractors have tossed the method out because “it is just low volume keywords”.
This is also the main reason we are sharing the Rule of 63 with you today, so that if you do find high volume search terms you don’t just discard them.
KGR keywords, Rule of 63 keywords, and ROK Keywords (humanproofdesigns.com/revenue-oriented-keywords) are just some methods of keyword research that we use here at HPD. We will be sharing more throughout the month!
The best way to stay in the know is to join our email list – opt in form to your right.
We really need a tool that can pull the search results into a sheet for us or bulk import, bulk export the data.
Hey Tyson,
I know a guy who says, “If I can hire someone for $5/hr to do it, I consider it automated.” That’s one way to look at it 😀 , and there are few processes as easily outsourced as KGR or Rule of 63 research.
Great explanation! I am learning this business step by step and I am in my first stage.
I recently bought the KGR pack from HPD. Do you apply the 63 rule in this package?
Thanks again for everything!
Hi Ricardo!
When we build the packs, we basically extract about 1000 keywords from Ahrefs like I showed in the above video and then begin analyzing them.
So yes, if we find a Rule of 63 compliant keyword, we will include it for you!
Hey Brad,
Thanks for the post, it really helps.
I’m one of Doug students and I’m familiar with the KGR. I’ve heard about the rule of 63 as well but never actually applied it.
I’ll do it that today though and hopefully I’ll have some positive results in the same way I’ve experienced with the KGR. I’ll come back in a few weeks or months and let you know guys if this worked for me 🙂
Thanks for the video as well, helped a lot to see how you speed up the process a little bit by using ahrefs tool.
Adrian
Hi Adrian,
Glad it was helpful!
All the best, and definitely would love to hear back from you with results 🙂
Hey Brad, hope you are good.
I said I will come back when I have results…
I’ve done kw research with the rule of 63 … and I was amazed to find some nice keywords that will fit the description.
Today I’ve decided to attack the kw with the most potential, this one is insane. It has 4400 LMS with only 2 AIT.
So I created quickly a nice article targeting this keyword … what do you think happened?
Straight to page 1, position 8 … let’s hope it stay there and will go up with the pass of the days!
It’s a very small sample of course, but I was so euphoric that I could not wait to share this with you guys 🙂
I’ll keep you posted!
Hey Adrian,
Thanks for coming back and letting us know! Great to hear the result, that’s excellent! 🙂
Thanks, Brad! It sounds like you guys were successful at ranking using “The rule of 63.” Is that correct?
I’ve had my hunches before about some missed opportunities, and I’d hate to pass up any good ones. This will help me change my keyword evaluation. I appreciate it.
Hi Marty,
Yes, we’ve had success ranking with high volume terms that pass the Rule of 63 test.
In general, they still need backlinks to get to position 1-3, but page 1/page 2 without links does certainly happen, just like traditional KGR.
So is the new max for volume 3,000 searches a month? Doug recommends a max of 250 and you said in the article 1,000 to 3,000 a month? Just curious. I might try this out later on down the road. Thanks!
There is no new volume; basically I’m showing in the article above that while KGR is suitable for max 250, using the HPD Rule of 63 you can also take advantage of high volume search terms.
There’s no upper limit to search volume using the HPD Rule of 63, there’s just a limit to the number of allintitle: results and that limit is 63.
In summary:
1) If search volume is 250 or less, use the usual KGR method
2) If search volume is more than 250, use the Rule of 63
Gotcha! Interesting concept. I will definitely try it out.