Home » 2007 » November » Conducting Keyword Research: 3 Simple Ways To Discover Great Keywords
Conducting Keyword Research: 3 Simple Ways To Discover Great Keywords
If you want more traffic to your site, you only need to optimize your pages to better suit your visitors. Search engine optimization is something every site owner should be involved in, at least on a basic level.
Keyword research is vital, but it need not cost you a dime to get started. It doesn't require hiring an expert or buying expensive software. Sure, an experienced expert can help you... and there are some outstanding software programs available today to help you. But if your research is inaccurate, then all your efforts to rank high in search engines are wasted.
Fact is... no one knows your business like you do. So the easiest and cheapest way to get started is to think like your customer. Put yourself in your customer's shoes. Imagine what's going on on their minds when they're ready to find your solution. the purpose of this exercise is to uncover the keywords or search terms your customer might use to find you.
Brainstorm on your own or in a small group. Set a timer to 3 minutes and spit out ideas like crazy. Hold back nothing. Don't stifle your creativity. Just get it out there and you'll be surprised how effective this method can be for you.
It may only be the tip of the iceberg... but beginning to think like your site visitors will inevitably lead to keywords and phrases that hit the mark. Consider all possibilities at this stage including commonly misspelled words and adaptations such as "Skil Saw" instead of "circular saw".
Another simple thing you can do is conduct a survey of your website visitors. Keep it simple and to the point with multiple choice questions. If you have a mailing list, ask your readers for their feedback. It's always a good idea to offer a gift in return like a free report or teleseminar download.
Soliciting direct feedback this way gives you an idea of the keyword terms that tend to draw the biggest crowds and deliver the high conversion rates. You may be surprised by what you hear. Just be open to the information and adjust your course to fit.
You can also expand your list by using one or more keyword research tools. Several free tools are available online -- Overture and Wordtracker are two popular choices. You can also choose one of the more in-depth keyword software programs available for sale.
Look for the details on the number of times a particular search term is used. See how many competing sites you're up against. Using all the information gathered, you should be able to come up with a decent, first-time list of relevant keyword phrases.
Once you've chosen your best keyword terms, work them into the text on your web pages. Now it's just a matter of testing and tweaking... analyzing and adjusting your approach and your keyword terms.
There are tools available to help make it a whole lot easier. But you already know enough to get started the right way.
About The Author
Bob Douglas writes about internet marketing techniques. If you like these ideas for making more money online, wait until you get your hands on the most powerful, robust fully-automated keyword software program ever created. For complete details and to claim your valuable free report (worth $47) Click Here
Previously on SearchEngineChannel
- How To Find Targeted Keywords
- Google Page Rank Update
- You've Been Slapped By Google. So What?
- Paid Link Pain of Google's Iron Fist
- Google Bowling and Negative SEO: Tearing Down Rather Than Building Up
- The Most Effective Link Building Strategies for Your Website
- How your website navigation could be killing your search listings
- How Does Google Deal With Hacked Websites?
- Google Snatch Lets You Discover Google's Undisclosed Pay Per Click Secret
- Little SEO Secret about Headlines
