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 KEYWORDS!! Oh man,
they can make your business, but break your brain! What a nightmare to
figure my way through! My computer monitor looks exactly like the one
on the left, which is why I chose the pic!
Everyone knows (or should know) that keywords are critical to your online business.
Whether you are paying for clicks through Pay Per Click campaigns, like
Google Adwords or similar.. or if you are just wanting to research a
new niche market to get into. You NEED to know what people are
searching for first!
The most important First Step to take is determining how 'popular' your
search term is. The more popular it is, the more traffic it
generates. Conversely, this often means it also generates a lot more
advertising costs and competing websites, so getting skilled at
researching high-traffic keywords with low-competition is a skill worth
your learning. Use these tools to get started:
Overture Keyword Tool: http://www.123promotion.co.uk/ppc/index.php
OK, this has to be my favourite search tool of all at this point in time. This site gives you the ability to search for your keyword popularity using Overture and the Wordtrcker database. It displays results in different color table rows so you can see which is which. I don't know how accurate the Wordtracker results are because I have gotten different results by using that tool directly. The Overture results have some controversy surrounding them too which you can read about here.
BUT...
The big benefit of using this tool is the fact that it gives you SIMILAR KEYWORDS and their results as well. So if you are mining for keywords about a particular subject, it gives you the popularity of that keyword, plus about a dozen others. It's a good way to spot potentially profitable keywords you might not have thought of.
Here's a direct link to the actual Overture Tool: http://inventory.overture.com/d/searchinventory/suggestion/
I still recommend you use the 123promotion.co.uk site though, it gives a LOT more information.
Digital Point Keyword Tool: http://www.digitalpoint.com/tools/suggestion/
Essentially similar to the 123promotion site, but it tends to pull more instant data form Overture. A lot of the time the Wordtracker results aren't available, so don't count on it for that. It's another free resource and is prone to server load, so be patient. Help them out by supporting their sponsors or donation drive, and keep free tools alive on the net!
Wordtracker Keyword Tools: http://freekeywords.wordtracker.com/
This has to be the BEST of the lot when it comes to searching a known database. Wordtracker is the leader in the 'search term' industry, and they used to provide a free trial of their service. Lot's of people used it to research free keywords, so they built this tool for the public to use. It will return the top most searched TERM for your keywords. Terms are more niche-targeted and produce better traffic, so make sure to use this tool heavily before investing in keyword terms in Adwords!
Wordtracker counts the most hits over the last 60 days, and it is based on real-time stats, so it is VERY current. You will get better results using Wordtracker than most other free tools.
Here's the free trial link too: http://www.wordtracker.com/tour.html
Google Adwords Free Keyword Research Tool: https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal
Google Adwords is currently the king of PPC ad campaigns, so it makes sense to be researching your Keywords here before going off buying a whole bunch of useless terms. This is an AWESOME tool, so make use of it. You can search on:
- Keyword Search Volume:
The raw stats of how many people searched for what ketword. This gives you a great idea of volume of traffic it generates. Remember though, that you are competing against others for your share!
- Cost and Position Estimates:
YeeHaaa! THIS is what you want to know before you get started. How much is your keyword going to cost per click, and for what position. In other words if you want position #1 what's it going to cost and so on. This is where you can start to make your calculations based on your conversion rate, and estimate a budget for your campaign.
- Search Volume Trends:
Want to know if your market is dying, or moving to some other keyword trend? Is your niche expanding or contracting? If so you need to do research for terms that are increasing in volume and make the switch yourself. Follow your market.
- Possible Negative Keywords:
This is a HUGE bonus for you. If your niche shares a common keyword with a non-related industry you may be buying clicks for traffic that isn't interested in your service or product. Take 'mini sites' for example. Type it into Google and you get a ton of sites about the Mini Cooper S! Yikes! If I didn't know, I could be trying to sell internet marketing to owners of small BMW cars! No good! KNow which words NOT to buy, or which may HURT your campaign! That should keep you busy for a while! Don't forget to check your COMPETING websites on Wordtracker. You can get a free trial at the link above. Your best efforts could be for nothing if you are trying to get into a market that is already saturated. I see it ALL the time, so do your research first!
Comment below on what you think!
DJ
P.S. Gold and Platinum Members, don't forget to watch the Guest Mentor session with Clint Dixon on Search Engine Marketing to learn how to use your keywords in your Mini Site to get your site ranked in the search engines. Natural rankings beats paid rankings any day!
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