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Google Acknowledges Bug in AdWords Keyword Tool

Observant users of Google’s AdWords Keyword Tool have noticed something odd in recent days — when you do an exact match search on certain terms, the volume reported is zero. Surely someone has been searching on terms like wine, iPod, and dogs. Indeed, a Google spokesperson confirms that it’s a bug. “We’re aware of a […]

Pamela Parker on November 29, 2011 at 10:30 am | Reading time: 1 minute

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Observant users of Google’s AdWords Keyword Tool have noticed something odd in recent days — when you do an exact match search on certain terms, the volume reported is zero. Surely someone has been searching on terms like wine, iPod, and dogs. Indeed, a Google spokesperson confirms that it’s a bug.

“We’re aware of a potential issue that is affecting the keyword tool in AdWords, and are working hard to fix it,” said the spokesperson in a statement.

We first saw news of the bug on SEO Consult’s blog, where one commenter says he’s seen similar results for a couple of weeks. The problem has also been reported in AdWords help forums as early as November 23.

There appears to be little pattern to what terms are affected and which aren’t, and both global volume and local volume are currently showing as zero.

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Pamela Parker

Pamela Parker is Research Director at Third Door Media's Content Studio, where she produces MarTech Intelligence Reports and other in-depth content for digital marketers in conjunction with Search Engine Land and MarTech. Prior to taking on this role at TDM, she served as Content Manager, Senior Editor and Executive Features Editor. Parker is a well-respected authority on digital marketing, having reported and written on the subject since its beginning. She's a former managing editor of ClickZ and has also worked on the business side helping independent publishers monetize their sites at Federated Media Publishing. Parker earned a master's degree in journalism from Columbia University.