If content is king (and it is) then keywords are the queen. Choose the right keywords, then step back and watch search engines bring you more web site traffic. On the flip side picking the wrong ones or at least words that are too general in nature can relegate your website to internet obscurity. That is why it is very important to get you keyword marketing off to a good start by researching compiling and analyzing your keyword list.
You can use any keyword tool available to do your research. The big enchilada is of course Overture. Just type in your word or phrase and then check out the results. Is there a potential target market available? Higher search results mean more competition. There is nothing wrong with that, it just means you will have to work a little bit harder. Compile all words and phrases that fit your niche into a list.
Next comes the analyzing stage. The goal here is to edit your list down to those keywords that will get you the highest number of visitors who would most likely be interested in your product or content. How do you do this? By evaluating 3 elements of the keywords you choose
a. How Popular is your Keyword? This is pretty easy to measure. Just go to Overture and find out how many people are searching using that specific word.
b. How specific is your keyword? Let's say you are building a website on Paris Hilton (I know but it's just an example). There are over 1.6 million searches using just her name. That would be a lot of competition. However the keyword phrase Hilton Paris scandal yields 2,144 search results. That means less competition, higher ranking in the search engines and a greater chance of people finding your website.
c. What's the incentive? This is where you want to do a little role play with your target audience. The goal is to find people who are motivated to take action now no matter if it's buying your product, reading your content or clicking on a link. There are various tools and software to measure consumer trends in relation to site traffic.
As you have probably figured by now all of this involves a lot of trial and error. There is more to keywords than just search results. You have got to know what words and phrases are triggering action. For this reason you need first and foremost to study your target market thoroughly.
To make your keyword marketing a success requires constant evaluation. The good part is once you put your system of research, compiling and evaluation into place, the process will flow more quickly and smoothly right toward your online success.
If you don't target your keyword phrases effectively then you will be wasting both time and effort, performing tasks that will never pay off no matter how hard you try.
Here are some points to consider when conducting your keyword research:
1. Consider which tools you are going to use and save them to a one of your favourites folders for easy and frequent access. There are even some tools out there that allow you to download a tool bar with all the tools readily available. There are numerous free tools, many of which are very useful. I personally, use a tool called Keyword Elite to conduct my online keyword research.
2. What keyphrases are you going to target? - If you have very few resources available and are new to online marketing then it is advisable that you target 'long tail' keyword phrases. These are keyword phrases with 3-5 words, which make them a lot less competitive and easier to attain top rankings in the search engines.
3. Use a variety of keyword phrases for each campaign - Are you using the keywords in your website content or are they primarily for backlinking text? I would find two or three less competitive keyword phrases for each target market and use these to create backlinks through article submissions. Then, take ten different variations of these keyword phrases and use them in your website content.
4. Target profitable keyword phrases - Obviously the main aim of keyword research is to find profitable keywords. How can we do that? One effective way to target buyers and also find less competitive search terms is to find keyword phrases that contain certain words like, 'buy' as in 'buy keyword research tool'.
5. Find untapped markets - Many of your competitors will be targeting all the same keyword phrases. This is where they fall down. Find obscure phrases that your target are already searching for and go after these by specifically writing articles based on these to achieve better or top search engine rankings. One good way to do this is by scanning your current website visitors and finding the keyword terms that sent them to your site.
Keyword research is only a beginning in building a profitable online business but it is an aspect of your marketing that cannot be overlooked. Effective keyword research is essential to ensure your business becomes a huge success and not a dismal failure.
Both Daryl Campbell & Mal Keenan are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Daryl Campbell has sinced written about articles on various topics from Blog Traffic, First Date and Email Marketing. Daryl Campbell invites you to get free access to more tips, video, step by step coaching, tools and up to the minute internet marketing news to grow your business the right way at. Daryl Campbell's top article generates over 450000 views. to your Favourites.
Mal Keenan has sinced written about articles on various topics from Finances, Make Money Online and Public Relations. Mal Keenan is Owner of . To Check Out His Most Powerful, HIGHLY Effective Keyword Research Tool Click the Link Below:. Mal Keenan's top article generates over 60500 views. to your Favourites.