Wordtracker is a site/program that allows you to do keyword research for just about anything. It monitors various search engines and tracks the number of queries made for certain keywords. I am going to assume you already know how to use the program so we can get to the heart of the matter.

Once you develop a list of keyword phrases you are interested in using Wordtracker, you can take a second step. The step is to run a competition analysis. You simply click the search engines you want to analyze the keywords for and wait for the system to kick out the results.

Once the results are kicked out, you will see all kinds of information. There is a KEI number representing whether a particular phrase is worth trying to get rankings under with the higher the number, the better. There are also estimates of traffic for 24 hours and so on. To the far right, you will also see the ?competition? column, a line where mystery abounds.

The competition column essentially tells you how many other sites are competing for rankings for the phrase. In technical terms, it represents how many sites the search engine in question returned when Wordtracker queried it. To say the least, it is not an exact science or even number. It does, however, supposedly give you an idea of how many sites you would have to pass to get up to the top spot.

The competition column is a matter of significant debate. Some people assign massive importance to it while others don't even pay attention. In truth, it is worth paying some attention to. If you see a logical keyword phrase without many sites competing for rankings, why not go after? That being said, you should also use your common sense. Many of the phrases with low competition numbers are bizarre. If they don't make sense, avoid them.

On a broader note, Wordtracker is a tool, not God. You should use it to help you come up with ideas, not as an end all to your research. I live in San Diego. I know people are searching for information on ?San Diego Beaches?. The fact that Wordtracker doesn't report as much is not going to sway me from using such a phrase in my optimization effort. The shear difficulty of finding a parking space near the beach tells me the program is wrong.

Personally, I am of the opinion that Wordtracker is a great tool. Others don't care for it, but there you are ? a world of different opinions. Regardless, the competition column is something to keep an eye on, but don't be a slave to it.