🤯Why you shouldn’t ignore low-search keywords

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Top of the morning, folks. Busy day in this work-from-home hood. So, let’s get on with it.

Today’s Feature Story highlights why you should look into “zero-volume” searches. No search volume today, but potential SEO gold next month or next year. Concrete examples plus a few keyword predictions.

Then, we’ll get into the following sections: 

• The Knowledge Base  

• Self Help (positive propaganda)

• Facts & Stats (youngsters & signage)

• Get Hacking (exit your box)

Appetizer: YouTube Short shows a simple Canva tip for impressive presentations.

Ok, let’s pop the top open today’s Feature Story…

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Feature Story

Buried SEO Gold?

I’m probably the worst guy to call on to make predictions. Though I do recommend 23 and 5 on the roulette wheel (results may vary).

However, even I can learn from history. And history tells us that ignoring zero-search keywords is unwise. 

Keywords with low or no search volume seem worthless. But what if they go boom? 

Never happens, you say?

The word “ChatGPT” got nearly no search volume three years ago. Now it’s insane. 618 million monthly searches!

“ChatGPT prompts” gets over 60,500 monthly searches. Zero just a few years back. 

More examples like that are coming up, and a few keyword predictions to help you pop new ideas in your head about what keywords might catch fire in 2026.

First, let’s get into the nitty-gritty of these seemingly worthless keywords that most SEO experts and SEO tools would tell you to not bother with.

Not Just Trends

Gaining an SEO advantage doesn’t have to rely on you guessing the next hot trend. Two other ways you can take advantage of keywords your competition ignores are…

1. New consumer language

2. New product categories

Language doesn’t have to relate to new services or products. It can be slang or acronyms. In case you ain’t noticed, Gen Z has an acronym for every word in the dictionary (EWID). 

New product categories arrive when just one innovative product pops on the scene. Like with ChatGPT, think of all the categories that came to life that no one talked about or searched for before. 

Phrases like:

• “Best AI video editor”

• “Prompt engineer courses”

• “AI voiceover”

• “Alternative to ChatGPT”

• “AI girlfriend” (sad but true🙄)

Not just AI, either. 

More examples where keyword phrases went from zero searches to thousands per month

"Contactless payment options" spiked from near-zero during COVID-19.

"Plant-based meat recipes" grew from niche to mainstream over several years (some trends come and go, as this one did).

"Remote work productivity tools" exploded from minimal searches in early 2020.

"EV charging stations near me" grew as electric vehicle purchases grew.

Better Class of Searchers

The other good thing about zero-volume searches is the people searching are serious about the topic. How else would they know about the topic before others, if they weren’t deeply interested?

That means if they clicked on your ad that used the keyword they searched for, they are a better lead. More likely to make a purchase than someone who scrolls past an ad with a title using words they don’t understand. 

The other benefit is the low-cost of the paid ad for keywords no other brand cares about. No bidding war that makes your CPC higher than a black-market showerhead.

Now, don’t settle for the keywords from the past I showed you earlier. 

Use those examples to think about the future. What keywords are likely to take off based on what we’ve seen the first half of 2025?

Zero-search Keywords with Big Potential for 2026 (or sooner)

AI Integration:

• "Workplace AI ethics policy"

• "AI-generated content detection"

Health & Longevity:

• "Longevity supplement stack"

• "Biohacking for beginners"

Technology Adoption:

• "Quantum computing applications"

• "6G network benefits"

Social & Economic:

• "4-day work week implementation"

• "Social media platform that bans AI"

Generational Shifts:

• "Gen Alpha marketing strategies"

• "Aging millennial skincare"

Future Worries:

• "AI job displacement support"

• “Fantasy sports gambling app debt”

If you want to hear all that info in audio form, check it out here - made with Google’s NotebookLM, so it ain’t perfect. Still pretty impressive. 

Time to dip into The Knowledge Base…

Self-Help

Some of you can never be convinced to try meditating. So, there’s an easier alternative with similar benefits.

People tell me I’m the calmest person they know. 12+ years of tiny morning meditation (ten breaths is all). 5+ years of the alternative method I’m handing you→ a personal code of conduct I read each morning.

Got that idea from either copywriter Ray Edwards or author Dan Miller. 

Anyway. Jot down 10 or 15 things you aspire to do and not do every day — for the rest of your life. 

Two examples on my ragged paper from March of 2020 are:

1. Feed the good dog inside me, starve the bad dog.

2. Be forgiving of self and others. 

 Simple, but the power is in reading them every day before I do anything else. It’s self-fed positive propaganda. And history proves propaganda works.

Facts & Stats

Bonus: Stephen Colbert’s salary for The Late Show was $20 million a year before getting cancelled last week. How much money was the show losing each year? Answer at end of email.

Get Hacking

A specific strategy to implement today

No worries if you’re not up for this hack. Seems too simple.

But for those willing to waste 45 minutes, give it a shot. 3 little tasks:

1. Read poetry from before the 1900s (easy to find online).

2. Watch one random YouTube video on a topic you don’t care about.

3. Listen to ten minutes of an album from a music artist you never heard of.

What you’ll get out of those tasks is possibly a great idea, slogan, unique phrase, or new perspective.

That’s how Nike’s “Just Do It” slogan was born. And how one legendary advertising woman came up with ad ideas that didn’t come naturally to her.

(Both examples were covered in Inbox Hacking this past Monday and last Wednesday, BTW.)

Thanks for reading Inbox Hacking. Please share it with your peeps - it’s sugar-free but stings a bit.

Shane McLendon - Copy Kingpin

Bonus answer from Facts & Stats section: Stephen Colbert’s salary for The Late Show was $20 million before getting cancelled last week. The show was losing $40 million a year.

“Sometimes the best copy to sell a horse is ‘Horse for Sale.’” ~Jay Abraham

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