Some API users have noticed a difference between the search volume numbers returned by the TargetingIdeaService in versions v201206 and later compared to earlier versions and the user interface.

When running a query of 'STATS' request type with the latest API version, you will typically get a higher number for search volume compared to the user interface. The reason for the difference is that the volume returned by the latest API includes Search Partners data in its calculation, while the UI and the older API versions don’t have this metric available.

We understand this change may have caused confusion for some customers and we plan to include an option to choose which networks to account for in future API versions.