Google’s Keyword Tool seems like a potentially magical thing - after all, what better source of keyword ideas than the search giant through which 60+ percent of all queries are processed?  But it may be best if you don’t entirely bet your site’s success on the tool’s abilities.

Earlier today, Barry Schwartz asked his readers a simple question: “Do You Trust Google’s Keyword Tool?”  Exactly 169 people have responded so far, so the results are (although we won’t get into the exact mathematics of the statistical significance) quite noteworthy.

And as for how they responded, 22 percent of people said that, yes, they do trust Google’s Keyword Tool.  Which isn’t exactly overwhelming.  On the other hand, just 11 percent of folks said they didn’t trust the tool.

A full 64 percent of people landed somewhere in the middle with the response “Not Fully.”  Whether that sounds like a vote of confidence or not may depend on whether you tend to see glasses as half full or half empty.

So use the Keyword Tool as a go-to idea generator, perhaps . . . just don’t accept every term it spits out simply because the Google logo is visible on the same page.