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February 7, 2012

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The best way to lead the competition – dynamic keyword research

June 14, 2011 By admin 1 Comment

Now, when you look at Google’s keyword tool known as ‘Insights for Search’, it would appear simple, and you may think it is one semi-sophisticated tool that just updates you when search volume is either climbing up or declining for a group of keywords or just one keyword. What I mean is this, do you think that all it takes to getting the best keyword, is to take advantage of the many free keyword research tools?

The issue with your keyword research is its dormant nature – you get a number, make comparison with other numbers at a time, then that is all for perhaps 12 whole months. However, don’t forget that your industry is not static – new challenges are always springing up. So, you have to be smart and constantly stay in lead of the bunch of competitiors.

But, you need to have a good grasp of your industry’s online ecosystem at the moment, and to be informed of what is likely to be in the future. Although you may still find the keywords you optimized previously as useful, how do you know the right opportunity to implement them? Okay, here’s another query for you; are you capable of structuring content regarding searchers’ urgent question in such way that would boost brand awareness? You can only do this by examining the trend in keyword search interests, instead of looking at static numbers.  This is what I call dynamic keyword search – it is a different dimension to the ‘numbers’.

Also, dynamic keyword search requires looking out for popular keyword searches in your niche at the moment, that are possibly not included in your keyword list. If you find these keyword searches listed on your keyword list, are you achieving ranking for them? Is there similarity between the search interest and the search terms that you focused on before and now? Is there any change since the last time you embarked on keyword research? If yes, what’s the reason behind the change? Is the change global or just limited to a location? If there is increase in the search interest, are the visits to your site keeping pace or lagging behind? If yes, what are the reasons, and if no, why is it so?

When you are looking at trend volumes, it is necessary to examine it from geographical point of view as well. What revelation would you get as a result? For instance, you may discover that your most targeted phrase or keyword is widely sought-after in U.S but doing poorly in comparison to your close competitors in UK. So, how do you fix this? This is where the application of Google Search Insight comes in.  Start asking questions regarding the data, the kind of questions that your close competitors are not likely to ask – as you ask more questions, you will gain more insight on how to stay ahead of your competitors. This is why the tool is called ‘Insight’.

Staying on top always requires consistent effort in blending with the trends in your niche. The Google Insight tool is very helpful when you know how to use it effectively.

Filed Under: keyword research Tagged With:

Keyword research – The bedrock of a successful SEO campaign

August 9, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

There is no controversy about it; keywords are the basis of any search engine optimization campaign. They will either make or mar it.

If you choose keywords that are highly competitive, getting result will take an extended period of time, and that too, with much struggle. And if you opt for very generic phrases, just be sure of poor conversions. This is just what it is all about. Now, it is clear to you that extensive keyword research and choice of good keywords are very essential.

How can you carry out thorough keyword research?

Check the tips given below.

  • Begin with a thought-provoking session that will lead you into identifying and listing all the likely keywords and terms that web visitors are likely to enter to search for your offering.
  • Also in this brainstorming segment, it is important that you bring yourself to think just as what the potential customer would do.
  • Carry out further research to keep on building the keyword list.
  • It is also sensible to have idea of the keywords or terms that your competitors are using; so you need to research on your competitors.
  • Thoroughly examine your web stats and logs; this can offer you a valuable source of keyphrases and terms that visitors are already entering to look for you on the search tools of the search engines. Get those keywords and improve your rankings on them so that your chances for better traffic can be increased.
  • Another place to look within your website is the search tool/feature (if you have one). The logs on this feature will reveal to you what visitors are looking for when they come to your site. This will also give you an idea of what words and phrases to include in your keyword list.
  • Next, carry out an analysis on the keyword list you’ve built to find out the degree of traffic they can generate, and their rate of competition as well.
  • Now, it’s time to segment your keyword list. Bring out the longer-phrases keywords (low hanging fruit) that are less traffic prone.
    These keywords can serve as your starting point since they can rank easily, and reasonably swifter.

Then, bring forth the words or terms that are relatively competitive, more traffic-prone and will rank for a fairly longer time – this will be your second segment list. The segmentation process is worth it; while you await the relatively more competitive keywords to start yielding result, the low hanging fruit list must have started generating traffic for you already.

Remember, too generic and less-targeted keywords will take considerably prolonged period of time to rank; also, conversion of traffic is most likely not to happen. Using very specific key phrases would not generate you substantial traffic as well. So what do you do?

Employ a three-level technique;

  • Broad Based:
    It consists of single keywords and relatively short phrases, lots of traffic, generic to the industry, and relatively low conversions.
  • Focused Keywords:
    Here you will find phrases that are fairly shorter. The phrases are centred on your offering. Higher traffic numbers is also a feature of the ‘focused’ level.
  • The Long Tail Keywords – Laser Focused:
    This consists of more targeted and longer key phrases, higher conversion rates, and smaller traffic numbers.
Filed Under: keyword research, Rankinf Factors, Search Engine Optimisation Tagged With: , , , ,

How to sell more at lower costs on Google AdWords

July 26, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

Without adequate care, you can end up spending too much on Google AdWords and not get anything in return. However, your conversion rate can greatly be improved by effecting a few little changes.
A lot of people incur lots of expenses on their Google AdWords because of the wrong settings they employ in their campaigns.

Achieve better conversion with Long Tail Keywords – You can find many of them

Detailed studies have revealed that long tail keywords achieve quite high conversion rates when compared with single word keywords.
Long tail keywords refer to specific keywords consisting of 4 words or more.

The result of a recent Hitwise study shows that over 18% of searches have 5 keywords or more. Google also confirms that 20% of the queries they receive on a daily basis are ones that haven’t been tried in at least 3 months (90 days), and sometimes turn out to be first time keywords.

Using wrong Long Tail Keywords will cost you money

It may be a great idea to employ broad match for every keyword you use. Including all possible keywords manually in your campaigns is something that cannot be done and so, Google recommends that you employ broad match with your keywords.

Broad match is an excellent way to take advantage of those unanticipated but relevant keywords. When you incorporate a keyword as a broad match, your ad that follows will be qualified to appear next to queries with that precise spelling, in addition, it is also capable of capturing keyword expansions which include synonyms, applicable variation of your keywords, singular/plural forms, as well as phrases that contain your keywords.

However, it may not be as easy as it sounds, if you employ a broad match for every keyword of yours, it means your ads will be displayed for many irrelevant searches, and you will spend much money without having anything to show for it. For instance, the word “union” would be employed in carrying out searches about unions equipment, marriage union, trade union etc.

Because of this, it is necessary not to include the long tail keywords that are not relevant to your website.

Conversion Rate Increases with the Use of Negative Keywords

You can use negative keywords (as it is referred) in your Google AdWords campaigns. If one of your negative keywords is contained in a long tail keyword, your AdWords ads would not be displayed.

For instance, a case where you enter “-free” as a negative keyword, you won’t have your AdWord ad displayed when someone carries out a search for free things. The use of negative keywords is excellent for excluding web visitors searching for only free items.

You can employ a negative keyword when displaying the ad for a particular target group or audience.

When any of your keywords has two or more meanings as seen in the case of “union”, given above, a great way to exclude searches that are not related is to add negative keywords.

Broad match is a good way to garner more clients; however, you need to use this option with care. When you employ broad match with your keywords, remember to use negative keywords to avoid paying for needless traffic.

Filed Under: Google, keyword research Tagged With: , ,