Keyword Research - Understanding the Mind of the Searcher
An Article By Hock Ng
For any internet marketer, pay-per-click (PPC) should be one of the avenues that you are using to drive traffic to your site. PPC traffic is extremely targeted if you know how to select the proper keywords that match your market.
There are many tools that are available either for free or as a paid download or service. One of the best keyword research tools is Google’s External Keyword Tool which you can use for free. Among the features that I like with this tool is the way it generates a list of keywords based on a single word or a short phrase that you enter.
Furthermore, you can sort the list of results according to search volume and competition. Granted the actual numbers are not revealed but even by just observing the trends you can get an idea of the popularity of the phrase. If you see many different permutations of the phrase, that means you have a larger set of audience to aim for.
For example, your base term could be “vacuum cleaner” and the tool will return results that include terms like “bagless vacuum cleaner”, “cordless vacuum cleaner”, “vacuum cleaner bags”, etc. This will help you brainstorm for new keywords that you might not have initially thought of.
Another aspect of keyword research is to understand the intention of the searcher. Ask yourself questions such as at what stage the searcher is in - looking for information, i.e. product comparison and reviews or ready to buy, i.e. price comparison. By looking at the various keywords that are searched, you can also find related products and keywords that you may need to filter out in your PPC campaign.
For example, if you are selling bagless vacuum cleaners, you would obviously not want to show your ad to someone who is searching for vacuum cleaner bags. Another example is if you are selling vacuum cleaners but not the replacement parts, you might want to include “parts” as a negative keyword.
Keyword research is also important for finding other search terms that you may not have thought of related to your product. One way to do this is to enter the search term in Google and look through some of the websites that are listed on the first page. You should be able to find the keywords and phrases that are commonly used in a particular niche.
Just to use internet marketing as an example, you may find related terms such as article marketing, autoresponders, contextual advertising, email marketing, and landing pages. These terms should be familiar to anyone who is working in the niche but if you are an affiliate expanding to a new market, you may not know all the terms that are used there.
In summary, if you are planning to use paid advertising to promote your product or an affiliate product be sure to perform diligent keyword research so that you are not wasting your money.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Hock_Ng
http://EzineArticles.com/?Keyword-Research—Understanding-the-Mind-of-the-Searcher&id=1232537
