Are You Targeting the Right Keywords?
Enhance Keyword Research with Free Advice from the Search Engines
Are you getting all you can out of your keyword research? If you are only using tools like Wordtracker & Keyword Discovery the chances are that you are missing out on some excellent free information. Don’t get me wrong, Wordtracker and Keyword Discovery are excellent tools but they both have their limitations. I still believe that both tools offer great features and serve as an excellent starting point for keyword research but to really enhance your keyword research you should utilize the free information provided by the search engines.
Take your keyword research to the next level
Search engines are becoming more robust and providing more and more information to users. Some of this information can be leveraged to enhance your SEO and PPC efforts. I want to look at a few ways that this data can help you find quality and relevant keywords that users are actually searching for. One of the best parts is that many of these keywords are being ignored so they are not that competitive in organic or paid search.
Search Suggestions
I know there is a lot of discussion about the Google Toolbar in regards to privacy concerns as well as the whole PageRank debate but it provides a great keyword research tool. Here is how it works. When you start a search in the Google Toolbar you will notice a couple of things. The first is that you will see you historic searches. Second, and most important for keyword research, is that you will see a list of suggested keywords. This is where you can find some great keywords that users are actually searching for. This is data that Google has collected and finds the most popular in terms of searches for keywords related to your original query.
Ask.com Search Suggestions and Yahoo Search Assist also provide similar functionality without a toolbar. Test these out for yourself. This will help you find new keywords for all the engines as well as design specific PPC campaigns and create targeted SEO content for each specific engine. Below are some screen shots of the Ask.com and Yahoo suggestions. I was unable to capture the Google screenshot, which is similar but you have to use the toolbar to get the suggestions.
Ask.com Search Suggestion
Yahoo Search Assist
Related Searches
Another excellent tool that all of the major engines provide is the Related Searches. When you search on a popular or broad subject you will find a group of keywords on the SERP somewhere that includes related keywords that users searched for. This is also an excellent way to find additional keywords that are actually being searched for on the each specific search engine.
Google Searches Related To:
At Google you can find these terms at the bottom of the page under the heading Searches related to.
Yahoo Also Try Search Suggestions
At Yahoo you can find these additional keywords at the top and bottom of the SERP and it includes a link to additional terms.
Ask.com Narrow Your Search
At Ask you can find these terms in the left sidebar under the headings narrow your search and expand your search. This also includes a link to find more keywords related to your initial query.
Live Related Searches
Finally in MSN Live Search you can find these extra terms in the right sidebar under the heading Related Searches.
Use these functions to find targeted keywords for both SEO optimization for each engine as well as great keywords for your specific PPC campaigns on each search engine. Another important fact is that many users will actually click on the suggested terms and be taken directly to those search results. That means you will attract not only those searching for the keyword on their own but the engines will be directing users to these terms and your listings.
Some additional tools for up to the minute keywords
The aforementioned tools are great for doing generalized keyword research but sometimes you need to find out what the hottest terms are right now. Google and Ask offer excellent data on the hottest current search terms.
Ask offers their top searches or AskIQ feature.
AskIQ Top Searches
Google Trends lets you see what the hottest current keywords are as well as look at different keywords over time. So you not only get to see what keywords are hot now but you can also look at your top keywords and see how they performed historically. This data is great because it can help you craft campaigns around specific keywords based on their historical performance at different times of the year. It also shows how your keywords performed in different regions and cities so you can create specific campaigns for each region in which you are marketing.
Google Trends: Insurance
Learn all of these tools and become a better marketer
As always you should get to know all of these tools to learn what the data represents and how to utilize it but you should definitely be using them. They are all excellent resources that can help you enhance your SEO and PPC efforts by targeting specific keywords that users who are interested in your products are actually looking for.
Targeting highly competitive keywords can be difficult, expensive, and time consuming. While getting a great ranking on the big keyword like insurance may deliver huge amounts of traffic if you don’t target the more specific searches you will miss out on a lot of targeted traffic. You may also be missing out on keywords that convert much better than the high traffic but very generic terms that everyone is fighting over.
In conclusion I am not suggesting that you scrap your favorite keyword tool but to find all of the best keywords you should utilize everything that is available to you. The search engines all provide excellent functions that can assist you in your keyword research so make sure you take advantage of these tools to get the most out of your efforts.
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