Keyword research may not be as tough as you think. Just follow these 3 simple steps to your keyword research success.
Step 1 – Develop Initial Keyword List
For a start, you need to brainstorm and come up with a list of keywords. For example, if you are targeting a niche on photography, your initial keyword list may consist of keywords like photo, photographs, camera, lens, etc.
After listing down as many keywords as you can think of, you can use keyword tools to help you in getting more ideas. There are a number of keyword tools in the market. Some of them are free while there are a few better ones where you need to pay a small purchase fee.
Here is a list of keyword tools to help you develop your keyword list:
- Google Keyword Tool (Free) – http://www.FreeAdWordsTool.com
- Wordtracker (Free Trial) – http://www.FreeWordtrackerTool.com
- KeywordDiscovery (Free Trial) – http://www.FreeKeywordDiscoveryTool.com
- TheDowser Keyword Software (Free Edition) – http://www.TheDowser.com
What TheDowser Keyword Harvester does is that it allows you to harvest keywords from Meta Keyword Tags, HTML tags [e.g. Title Tag (the title of your site), H1 to H5 (the headings of your site) and Alt Tags (an alternative descriptive text when non text elements like pictures cannot be displayed)] and Website Content of Top 10 search results in Google.
To search, simply enter a single keyword or keyword phrase into the search field of the software and begin searching. By doing so, you are actually tapping into the research efforts of your best competitors!;
TheDowser Google Suggest helps you to quickly and easily discover more keywords for your niche or subject area. It taps on the excellent Google Suggest functionality from the search bar in the search engine. To search, simply enter a keyword to begin and the software will automatically suggest more specific search terms.
Step 2 – Expand Keyword List
When you have developed your initial keyword list, you need to expand the keyword list. You can perform the following steps to expand your keyword list by identifying more specific keywords, related keywords and keyword variations:
Research more specific keywords (contains root word)
- digital photography – digital photography tips
Research related keywords (synonyms)
- digital photography – digital SLR, digital photo
Add Keyword Variations
- Singular vs. Plural (photo vs. photos)
- Mis-spellings (photography vs. photogarphy)
- Split vs. Merged (photography vs. photo graphy)
- Hyphens (photo-graphy)
- Apostrophes (photos vs. photos’)
- Domain names www.digitalphotography.com)
- Abbreviation (single lens reflex vs. SLR)
- US vs. UK (digital optimization vs.digital optimisation)
- Country/City (Singapore, New York)
If you want to generate misspellings quickly and easily, consider using TheDowser Misspelling Generator to generate misspellings.
The last step in keyword research is to determine keyword profitablility and competition.
Step 3 – Determine Keyword Profitability and Competition
- Keyword Popularity (Demand)
- Keyword Competition In Google (AllInTitle:)
- Top 10 Competitors In Google
- Keyword Effectiveness Index (KEI)
- No. of Pay-Per-Click Advertisers (Use ‘&gl=us’ Google qualifier)
- Bid Price of PPC Ads