Keyword Research

Keyword Research Waterford, because whether its a Start-up or reviving an Established Site, when it comes to Search Engine Marketing, your list of Keywords is the Secret to Online Success

"Keyword Research is one of the most overlooked aspects of website design and internet marketing"

The most common mistake that all website owners make is assuming they know what their target customers are looking for on the internet. They choose the names of their products and services, throw in the company name or brand and that's it. The truth is, they could be missing out on large numbers of potential clients merely because they haven't bothered to do the necessary keyword research before setting up the site.

Ideally every website should be structured around what the clients are looking for rather than what the website owner wants to promote. The pages and their content should provide relevant information pertaining to the search terms and then lead into the reasons why the visitor should do business with that company or buy the products on that particular website.

This is the true concept behind internet marketing. Establish what the visitor wants and give it to them. If they are looking for basic information - supply it. If they are looking to buy stuff, sell it to them. If they are looking for someone to do business with provide them with the reasons and testimonials to choose you ahead of your competitors. However, unless you actually know what they are really searching for you cannot give them what they need. This is why proper Keyword Research is so important for search engine marketing.

Keyword Research is done using online statisitical tools which measure the number of times a particular search term is used. Basic keyword research can be done using the keyword research tools listed below, For more intensive keyword research professionals use a range of special software to analyse online searches and website rankings based on tags, keyphrases and competitor websites. 

A List of Popular Keyword Research Tools:

Extensive Keyword Research is Essential in any Search Engine Marketing Campaign.

1. Wordtracker: generates keywords for search engine and website optimization.
     http://www.wordtracker.com/
2. Keyword Discovery: compiles keyword search stats from worldwide search engines.
     http://www.keyworddiscovery.com/
3. Goodkeywords: downloadable freeware that queries a number of popular search engines to identify good keywords.
     http://www.goodkeywords.com/
4.  Google Keyword Tool: Shows the number of searches done for a particular and related keywords, and what keywords are associated with a particular website.
    https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal
5. Google Alerts: email updates of the latest relevant Google results based on your choice or topic or keywords.
     http://www.google.com/alerts
6. Google Suggest: as you type in a keyword, Google offers suggestions and shows the number of results.
     http://www.google.com/webhp?hl=en&complete=1
    Example: “Yoga” when entered into Google Suggest tells me that I should write articles about “Yoga Journals” or “Yoga Journaling”.

Key Insight:
While it is tempting to focus only about the most popular topics and keywords, also remember that these topics have the most competition within the search engines, meaning each website is  fighting against hundreds or thousands of competitors to get the attention of the market.

Perhaps a better strategy is to focus on the middle to lower “tail” of the market by looking at the 50th-200th most popular keywords or phrases from the keyword research and use them as your basis for the page content. There will be less competition for the ‘long tail’ than the short list of most popular terms and key-phrases.

Keyword Research Tip:
Look at how your market  and niche keywords may intersect with a holiday or current event, when there can be a surge in searches for particular phrases. It’s a great way to pick up current interest traffic. Keep an eye on the news!