“As for SE, yes, traffic is very very low. As a matter of example, I am still first for “internet gambling guide” at Google and I rarely receive hits. And I was in the top five before for “internet gambling” at Google, and I was receiving maybe one hit a day.”
That’s not because search engine traffic is low. It’s because the terms aren’t very useful, just like “online gambling” isn’t much of a term. Break it down even more generic to “gambling” or even “gamble”. People don’t normally search that generic. People don’t want to “gamble”. They want to play blackjack or poker or slots or bingo or whatever. Some generic terms are huge, like bingo or poker, but they are actually a whole lot more specific than “online gambling”.
The value in ranking well for the generic term is more in having a leg up for all the different variations that people type in.