For almost a decade, whenever I wanted to research popular search terms related to a clients business, I’ve had to rely on a combination of keyword phrase search tools (they show what people are actually typing in the search engines) and each of them carried a heft yearly subscription.

Besides the cost, what really gave me heartburn was Google searches were never included because Google, since its inception, has refused to release actual search numbers and only referenced their numbers as Low, Average or High.

The problem with that reference is, who knows what low, average or high means. Does low mean 100 searches a month? Or 500? So, in practice, I had to estimate Google numbers based on their market share of total searches.

Two weeks ago, with not a press release in sight and no fanfare, that all changed.

I was doing a bit of research for a clients Pay-Per-Click campaign and clicked into my Google Adwords Account.

Lo and behold, right there on my monitor, were actual search results with two sets of search figures.

One showing the number of searches for the prior month, and the other showing the monthly average.

I thought I’d died and gone to heaven!

So, what does this mean to you, the attorney?

Simply this, if you’ve ever wondered how many “potential clients” are really looking for your particular expertise, you can immediately get a look at actual search numbers from the search engine that 60% – 80% of Internet users in your area are using.

All you need to do is put in the geographical location and your practice area(s) – like so:

Divorce Attorney in Charlotte or Bankruptcy Attorney in Orlando.

So head-on over to Google Adwords Keyword Tool and start typing (and make sure to check the synonyms box).

Then, if you’re brave enough, hop on Google search and see how your website stacks-up against your competitors for the search phrases you found.