Ok I hear some of you saying “surely this is just for beginners – do I need to read this?” and I have to say possibly for some of you yes you’ll be right, scan it over quickly and move on. But for many of you just starting out keyword research is vital information so I make no apology for covering it yet again.

Don’t Learn The Hard Way (as we did!)

Our own experiences when Sam & I first stated out tells it all. At seminars and workshops we attended various speakers went on about keyword research until our heads were just spinning round in circles. We tried to pick out the key information to use, but I have to admit not very well – the result poor, unfocused keyword research and choices which meant our initial internet marketing activity produced very poor results – how frustrating.

 

Keywords are essential for getting your site recognized in the search engines.  In this article, were going to look at how to find the right keywords for your sites search engine optimization.  It’s much easier than most people think!

The ‘Vital’ Starting Point for Your Internet Marketing Activity

Keyword research is the first thing you should do before you build a website.  It’s going to determine everything about it, including the name.  Take some time first to find one primary keyword and some secondary keywords to target.  This is how you dominate in the Google SERPs.

Are keywords really so important? 

There’s some debate on this and were not going to go there.  The answer is Yes.  When it comes to on-page SEO, keywords are the basis of everything we do.  Keywords are how people find your site, period.  End of argument.

The first step is to find the right keywords. 

You need to find keywords that get lots of searches, that are relevant to your niche and that are money makers.

To find the right keywords, you don’t need any fancy software.  You can use the Google Free Keyword Tool for everything you need.  Once you learn your way around doing keyword research, then you can upgrade to a software program that has more features and customization options.  For now, keep it simple and learn the ropes.

I have to admit here that I’ve bought other fancy keyword tools, and yes I use them but I still come back to the good old favourite @ Google.

The Google Free Keyword Tool is available here – https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal it’s called something else now but the link still works

It’s pretty easy to figure out how to use it, but well cover the basics here.  First, enter your topic into the main search field and hit submit.  It will come up with a list of similar keywords (including what you put in) and data about their searches.

What you’re going to look at are Global Monthly Searches.  This means how many people are searching for that keyword worldwide.  There are other features you can get to know on the Tool, but this is the most important for basic searching.

How many searches is a good number? 

This depends on a lot of factors.  If a keyword has too many searches (like over 500,000 per month), that means it will have lots of competition.  Lots of folks have come along before you and built sites targeting those keywords already and unless you’re really great at SEO, you’re not going to make it onto the results page.

Domination Is The Way Forward

On the other hand, if you go with a keyword that has fewer searches and less competition, you can dominate it.  This is the most recommended strategy.  As a really general guideline, go for a keyword with around 10,000 global searches per month.  This means that lots of people are looking for it, but you won’t have so much competition.

When you’ve honed your SEO skills, you can start going after more-searched keywords.  Or you can keep it small and build lots of specialized niche sites.  Lots of marketers specialize in doing that and make very good money.

 

Tony

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