Good search engine optimization experts perform extensive keyword research and analysis prior to starting any SEO campaign. Much like PPC marketing, obtaining a large list of related keywords gives a search marketer the opportunity to select the most profitable and high traffic terms. Without a large list of keyword phrases, choices for optimization are slim and probabilities for success decline along with it.

Armed with a good research tool (which is usually a paid version), a SEO collects a large subset of related terms in a list and analyzes the competition levels for the ones with higher search traffic first. It is important for web marketers to understand that keyword research tools are not perfect in their data by any means. This is because many of the search tools available gather data from meta search engines. Unless the search tool is directly linked to the actual search engine database and outputs data in it’s entirety, there is always room for possible error since the data collection method is not perfect in itself. For search engines to provide direct access to this data without limitations would be any SEOs dream come true. This, however, is unlikely to happen because the potential for abuse is just too high. There are two ways keyword research tools may not report completely accurate data. First, your tool of choice may output incorrect daily or monthly search traffic. Second, it may not list other keywords that are actually being searched for. Just because the data isn’t perfect doesn’t mean it isn’t useful. We can still deduce relative search traffic strengths from the numbers given so you can feel reasonably safe, in general, when viewing traffic potential on relative terms.

Great SEOs, though, are not only looking for the most targeted and relevant search terms but are also seeking keywords and search phrases that have a decent chance of getting ranked in the search engines. Like any marketplace, there are gaps and opportunities which competent SEOs will seek out before expending a large amount of resources on optimizing similar good search phrases. This is because similar, yet relevant, search terms have varying levels of difficulty and competition levels. After collecting a large subset of related terms in a list, a SEO analyzes the keyword competition levels for the ones with higher search traffic first.

For websites starting their optimization, it is highly recommended the internet marketer goes after the low-hanging fruit. Why? This simply means to quickly rank for terms with the least competition levels and reasonable traffic volume. Many inexperienced to the SEO game, naturally lean towards the highest search traffic terms first. This is the single biggest mistake newbies make and sets them up for failure before the SEO campaign even gets started. Let’s say you sell diamond jewelry. An amateur would go for “diamond jewelry” as their first target since this keyword yields a higher number of searches. In most cases, however, the keyword which is the most intuitive is not the one to go after because it is the most generic term for that product. Rather than going after “diamond jewelry”, you have a choice of related terms such as “black diamond jewelry”, “blue diamond jewelry”, “discount diamond jewelry”, “blue diamond wedding jewelry” and so on. Of course, you’d generally only optimize for products you actually sell so as to increase sales conversion and not mislead your visitors. Thus, if you don’t offer “blue diamond jewelry”, you don’t want to go after it unless your expertise as a diamond retailer tells you that black diamonds are far superior to blue diamonds and you are attempting to sway potential buyers of blue diamonds to black diamonds as a strategy.

With a more straightforward approach to optimization, these search terms “black diamond jewelry”, “blue diamond jewelry”, and “discount diamond jewelry” show significantly lower search numbers relative to “diamond jewelry”. These keyword phrases are considered tier two search terms. Jewelry and diamond jewelry are considered tier one search terms. For most niche markets, optimizing for more specific terms and directing the visitor to the related subpage of the website converts a whole lot better than general terms. Therefore, it is a great strategy to go ahead and optimize for these tier two keywords (after you’ve confirmed the competitiveness of the keyword search phrase). By building up traffic for the a bigger basket of lesser competitive terms, you will be able to have the equivalent traffic levels as if you were going after one or two difficult search terms. You’ll reach your goal of getting higher search rankings with faster and with less resources.

There is also another benefit many fail to realize. Notice also that the terms above have the base term “diamond jewelry” in them. As an experienced SEO company, we have found that you are getting credit for the base term even though you aren’t specifically going after it in your inbound anchor link text. Furthermore, in terms of business cashflow, it is going to be much easier to rank the lower search traffic terms first and therefore start getting some sales to generate more profit that can be channeled into the tougher key phrases. Rather than hoping to rank a tougher search term which usually takes longer and costs more, it makes sense to generate profits that can be applied towards further aggressive Internet marketing and ensure that your pool of marketing funds don’t dry up before getting higher search engine rankings. Once you reach the top ten rankings for the tier two or tier three search terms, your attempt to rank your website for tier one terms, jewelry and diamond jewelry or even gold jewelry, will be an easier climb to the top.

We’ll cover how to perform detailed keyword and competition analysis in part two of this article. In the meantime, here are some useful free online keyword tools for starters (search for these terms specifically and the top result will be what you’re looking for):

WordTracker Free Keyword Tool

Google Adwords External Keyword Tool

Overture Search Suggestion Tool

More search engine optimization resources are available on our SEO tools page.



By: Anthony Yap

If you get your keywords right, Google and Yahoo and MSN will send you all the traffic you want. But if you get your keywords wrong, your website will be like a ghost town.

You will only get lots of free search engine traffic when you give the search engines what they want. It isn’t difficult when you know how, it’s just a matter of knowing the steps to take and finding the right keyword to target.

Keyword Research is crucial if you want to get free search engine traffic

Keyword research involves finding the phrases that your potential customers type into Google when they are looking for information. Before you write anything, you need to discover the phrases you need to target to make sure your site appears on the first page of search results. Keyword research should be the first step before you write any content.

Create a master list of keywords

You could use the Google trends free keyword tool from Wordtracker, it is a good starting point for keyword research.

http://freekeywords.wordtracker.com/gtrends/

When you type your primary keyword into the search box it will give you the number of daily searches and show you how much competition there is for each keyword. When you use the keyword research tool, you are aiming to find keywords that have low competition, because they are easier to rank for.

Go to the tool and type in a broad keyword that describes your niche. The keyword research tool will return the top 100 keywords with that word in them. You will get an estimate of how many searches there are each day.

Click on the G button to see how much competition there is for that keyword. You will immediately see how much competition there is for that keyword in Google and the actual number of daily visitors from the number 1 spot in Google for that phrase.

Ideally you want there to be less than 30,000 competing pages and at least 100 visitors a day. But as long as the keyword phrases is getting some traffic and hasn’t got much competition it is a keyword worth targeting because it will be easy to rank on the first page of search results.

Most people make the mistake of targeting keywords that have lots of competition and wonder why they have hardly any visitors to their website.

When you are starting out, it is much easier to get on the first page of search results when you target multiple keywords that have a relatively small amount of traffic and little competition. The small streams of traffic become a big stream when combined.

Multiple listings on the first page of search results can add up to a lot of traffic, so dig out a few good keywords that don’t have a lot of competition and are easy to get ranked on the first page of search results. and watch your visitor numbers soar.



By: Lynne Lee

Why is keyword research important in online marketing?

* You need to learn what your competitors are doing

* Find the exact keyword phrases you need

* Keyword research even helps you determine who exactly is your target audience

* Lets you optimize you PPC Campaigns by targeting the most important keywords in your niche

How Do You Determine Which Keywords You Need?

First you need to research your competition. Keyword research tools scan the competitor`s websites to see what keywords they target and shortly delivers them to you. Spend more time on keywords that are targeted, not the general keyword phrases, targeting the most searched keywords right from the start is just like digging your own grave. Over time you`ll already know what keywords you need to target (your audience) )in order to get the best results.

Keyword research is a key part of any marketing campaign. All the \’Big Guys\’ do keyword research. That is why keyword research tools have been developed. The majority of these keyword research tools are developed by top marketers and SEO Experts, there is no way you can go wrong using them. Wordtracker is one of the most advanced keyword service ever released, SEO Elite, Keyword Elite, and Micro Niche Finder are other keyword research tools on top of the list.

Knowing exactly what your competition is doing, why they are successful and how do they go about it to become successful is what you are really looking for when starting your online business. There is not a better way to do so, except by using keyword suggestion and analysis tools.

You\’ve done your keyword research, targeted the exact keywords that your competitors use to gain success, now what? Build a list with those keywords, always build lists.

Where Do You Place those keywords? (One of the most problematic questions, yet answered completely here).

* Off-Site Anchor Text Links – Anchor text Links usually give your visitors useful information about the content of your page.

You can use anchor text links just about anywhere you want and have the permission, such as article directories, press releases, blog comments, link sharing, sidebar link exchanges with related websites

* Inside the pages of your site

* Keyword density is an important issue. Use your keywords at least 5 times inside a 500 word article.

Other Places To Use Your Keywords:

* Title Tags

* Header Tags

* Blog posts

* Site Navigational Areas

* Alt Tags in pictures and links

* In the Meta tags title

* Blog comments (do not spam blogs)

Why is keyword research always an ongoing process?

Trends always change, people always look for new services, products and content sites.

Summary

* Use Keyword Research Tools to get the best out of your website. Always \’spy\’ on your competition and never miss something out. Realize that you are competing with webmasters that are optimizing they keywords for the past ten years or more since search engines like Google have been launched.

* Take your time, keyword optimization can really save you time and important sums of money and it can be done all alone using keyword suggestion tools.

For a list of the top keyword research tools please visit my review page: Keyword Research Tools



By: Alex