Keyword research with regional volume for non-Google channels

One complaint that stands out from the rest: 'I'd suggest adding search volume for regional keywords in the Gen AI keyword feature, might be more helpful.' This is a different flavour of the same channel-coverage problem — even when AI-assisted keyword tools exist, they pull volume data from Google only, so a buyer building out an Apple Search Ads campaign or a Microsoft Ads campaign for a regional market is working blind on whether a keyword actually gets searched in that geography on that platform.

This gap persists because keyword volume data for Apple Search Ads and Microsoft Ads is structurally harder to get — Apple in particular provides very limited keyword volume signals through its Search Ads API compared to Google's Keyword Planner. Building regional volume estimates for non-Google channels requires either direct API access (limited) or modelling from first-party campaign data aggregated across accounts. That's a data problem, not just an engineering problem, and it requires a critical mass of connected accounts before the estimates are trustworthy. No small vendor has had the incentive to accumulate that data when Google dominates search budget allocation.

What this means practically: a buyer expanding to Apple Search Ads for the first time has no reliable way to know whether 'running shoes Chicago' gets 500 or 50,000 searches per month in the App Store. They either start a campaign and waste budget learning, or they skip Apple Search Ads entirely. Neither outcome is good.

This is a business because every brand that runs an iOS app has reason to be on Apple Search Ads, and the lack of keyword intelligence is the single most cited reason media buyers give for delaying that expansion. The need recurs every time a new campaign is built or an existing one is restructured — it's not a one-time research question.

What to build

Build a keyword research and volume estimation tool that pulls real search volume signals from Apple Search Ads campaign data (aggregated and anonymised across connected accounts), Microsoft Ads, and Google Ads simultaneously, then shows regional volume estimates side-by-side so a buyer can see whether a keyword list built for Google translates to meaningful volume on Apple and Microsoft in a specific metro or country.

Where to start

Start with mobile-first agencies that run Apple Search Ads as a primary channel for app clients, where even rough regional volume estimates are dramatically better than nothing and where the Google-centric tools are visibly useless.

The hard part

Apple Search Ads volume data is only available at scale if you have enough connected accounts contributing anonymised signal — you need a minimum viable panel of live Apple Search Ads accounts before the volume estimates are credible enough to sell, which means you're recruiting customers before your core value prop is ready.

How it makes money

Per-seat subscription for the research workspace, with pricing that increases based on the number of markets (regions/countries) a user pulls volume for — natural expansion as clients grow into new geographies.