Yandex.Wordstat: instructions for use

In articles on website promotion, we often recommend the Yandex.Wordstat service.

What is Yandex.Wordstat

This is a simple, convenient and (what is important!) Free resource that is highly popular among internet marketers and SEOs. Today we will analyze Yandex.Wordstat for spare parts.

Why do you need Yandex.Wordstat?

Wordstat is required to track the statistics of search queries in the Yandex. Based on these statistics, you can:

• develop a semantic core for the site (free book on the topic);
• select anchors for links;
• predict traffic to the site (how exactly – here);
• prepare an advertising campaign in Yandex.Direct;
• find out the seasonality of demand.

What does Yandex.Wordstat show?

1. The total number of queries containing the desired phrase.

2. Requests for specific phrases that include the one you are interested in.

   

3. Other queries that were also entered by users interested in this phrase.

   

4. Yandex Wordstat allows you to view general statistics (for all types of devices), as well as selective statistics on desktop (this includes desktops and laptops), mobile devices (these are phones and tablets), only phones and only tablets.

   

   The mobile-only view rate feature allows you to predict mobile traffic to your site and helps you make a site customization decision. Although “mobilization” is a steady trend in recent years, so in any case, it is worth thinking about how to adapt the site for mobile devices.

   

5. Impression statistics in selected regions.

   If you sell bicycles in Tomsk, you are unlikely to be interested in statistics from all over Russia. Just find the region you are interested in and click on the “select” button:

   

   If you are interested in several cities at once, you can see the general summary by region by selecting the appropriate search:

   

   Here the data is presented in actual and percentage values. Percentage values ​​show regional popularity: values ​​above 100% indicate that the interest in a query in the region is higher than the average for Russia, and vice versa, values ​​below 100% indicate reduced demand.

   Information helps you make strategic decisions about entering new markets.

   So for a large bicycle seller, entering Yekaterinburg (107%) will probably be more interesting than entering the Novosibirsk market (74%), although the population of Novosibirsk is 125 thousand more.

   BUT! To make such an important decision, one must look at other indicators (competition, average income of the population, etc.).

   

6. Query history and seasonal fluctuations.

   Yandex.WordStat allows you to see how query statistics have changed over time. To do this, search for the “query history”. Select the type of detail (by months or weeks) and set the region (if you are interested in statistics in a specific region).

   

   The example shows that the query “bike” has a pronounced seasonal demand. Which, in general, is logical, given the climatic conditions of our country.

What does absolute and relative value mean in Wordstat?

Please note that statistics readings are presented in 2 graphs: absolute and relative. Let’s try to figure it out.

Absolute indicator Is the actual value of impressions in different periods of time.

Relative indicator – This is the ratio of impressions for the word of interest to the total number of impressions on the network. It demonstrates the popularity of the query among all others.

Both graphs should go exactly, repeating each other (for example, this is how it is).

If the graphs diverge sharply, it may mean that something is wrong with the request. Perhaps, there is an automatic cheat of the request or, despite the general seasonal downturn, the interest in the request is higher than normal (if the schedule relative value higher than absolute). Or vice versa – the demand should have been higher, but it was lower than the expected values ​​(if the graph relative below absolute).

Operators Yandex.Wordstat

All of the above examples show statistics for a wide range of queries. That is, when we request statistics from Wordstat for the query “bike” and see the number 6 887 204, this does not mean at all that users have searched for the word “bike” so many times. The statistics show the sum of various queries that include this word, including “buy a bike”, “bike price”, etc.

You can refine query statistics using various operators.

• Operator “” (quotation marks)

  This operator specifies the statistics for the word / phrase of interest (without “tails” – additional words).

  

  Do you feel the difference? 85 thousand requests, this is no longer 6.8 million.

  How many times have you been asked to buy a tricycle?

  

  1,045 times. In this case, all word forms are considered, such as “buy a tricycle”, “buy a tricycle”, etc.

  Such an operator helps in developing the correct semantic core of the site.

• Operator! (Exclamation point)

  This operator allows you to fix the form of a word (number, case, time).

  

  For example, if you want to know the frequency of the request “buy a ticket to Moscow” and not “buy a ticket to Moscow”, this operator will be very useful to you.

  

  

  Another example of how to use the operator! helps to filter out unnecessary queries.

  Use this operator when looking for link anchors.

• Operator + (plus)

  Yandex.Wordstat does not count prepositions and conjunctions in statistics by default (they are considered stop words). Sometimes it is very important to consider these parts of speech, as otherwise the meaning will change. Compare what Wordstat shows when you enter the query “recording in the studio” just like that, and using the “plus” operator:

  

  

• Operator – (minus)

  This operator works the other way around – it excludes unwanted “tails” (words) from statistics.

  For example, if an online store sells only luxury furniture, then all information on inquiries related to inexpensive furniture will only interfere. They can be removed using the minus operator

  

  If we had just looked at the statistics for the word “buy furniture”, we would have seen 439,013 queries, and excluding the “tails” that are not interesting to us, we would have received other data. And again, in this case, we make it easier for ourselves to further work with refined queries.

  This operator helps to narrow down the number of viewed keywords, for example, when compiling the semantic core of the site.

• Operator (|) – parentheses and pipe

  In order not to enter similar queries one by one, we use the brute force operator.

  For example, we are interested in such queries as “buy a folding bike”, “buy a sports bike”, “buy a mountain bike”, etc. depending on the assortment of the store. You can search for statistics on all these requests one by one, or you can all at once

  

  This Wordstat operator helps in the development of the semantic core, significantly saving time for selecting queries.

  * Several identical words in a query

  When using the operator “” (quotes), the repetition of the same word / preposition / number is perceived by Wordstat as any word from the search results Wordstat by the specified keyword length… That is, if there are 3 words in quotes, 2 of which are repeated, then Wordstat shows statistics for phrases from 3 words, including 2 specified + 1 any other.

  

  If we enter the query “buy a bike bike bike bike” (5 words in quotation marks), we will get statistics for queries like “buy a bike in Moscow inexpensively”, “buy a bike in Moscow for sale”, etc.

  

  This point must be taken into account when working with queries that include retries. For example, statistics for queries like “movie about movies”, “1 + 1” will be distorted.

  

  If you need statistics on such repeated requests, use the “!” Operator.

Disadvantages of Wordstat Statements

Yandex.Wordstat operators are a handy thing. They allow you to get accurate data on a large number of requests in a short time. But even they have flaws.

First, some operators cannot be combined with each other. So, for example, you cannot use the “” and (|) operators at the same time, but it would be desirable. However, use the operators “” and! at the same time you can:

Second, Wordstat statements do not work when viewing query history. Therefore, we can view the history and seasonality only at the request of a wide range.

Common mistakes when working with Yandex.Wordstat

1. Working with a wide range of keys

   If the user does not know how to use the operators of the Yandex.Wordstat service, he often receives erroneous data and wastes his time on dummy requests.

   When developing a semantic core and searching for anchors for link promotion, be sure to use the “” and / or “!” Operators.

2. Region selection

   If you plan to promote your site in one specific region, but do not specify the region when viewing statistics, you will get erroneous forecasts.

3. Ignoring seasonal demand

   If a site owner orders promotion from specialists, then dishonest optimizers can deceive him, especially if the promotion is not by position, but by traffic (we wrote about the difference between these 2 methods here). After all, traffic growth can occur naturally.

   Or, on the contrary, the keywords were chosen correctly, and the promotion tactics were chosen correctly, but the decrease in seasonal demand was not taken into account – the result is not impressive, after which a decision is made to change the course.

If all of the above is tiresome for you, then contact us, we will help you choose a semantic core. When working with keys and anchors in the “Business” tariffs and when writing texts, as well as in complex promotion, we take into account the operator “” (quotes) and be sure to look at the region in which the site operates.