Keyword Research and Analysis

by Bill Hartzer, 11/1/2005

Keyword research is one of the most important parts of online marketing. Sometimes we don't realize just how much of a difference it can make in the overall success of a search engine marketing campaign or even the success of an online business. In fact, it's my belief that the keyword phrase--the term that a searcher types into the search engine when they're searching--can make or break online business. Target the wrong keyword phrases and an online business is destined to fail.

Domain names by themselves are no longer the most valuable "location" on the internet--keywords are. If you buy a domain name and put up a website, visitors won't automatically flock to your website and buy your products. The popular phrase "if you build it they will come" is not true when it comes to online businesses. You must market your website online, and one of the best forms of ROI for an online business is through search engine marketing. All search engine marketing campaigns need to start with a set of keywords. It's those keywords that are an online business' location, just as a traditional brick and mortar store's location is a physical street address.

Location, Location, Location

If you're considering opening a gas station, one of the most important decisions related to the success of the gas station is going to be its location. Selling gas near a busy highway where there is a large traffic count would be ideal. So, it's logical to get the traffic count data for several locations before deciding where to purchase land and build your gas station. In the online marketing world, we have the opportunity to get traffic counts as well--the average number of searches per day for certain keyword phrases. By positioning your online business in the proper keyword "locations", your online business will thrive. Target the wrong keyword phrases and your online business won't get any search engine traffic, and no potential customers will visit your website.

If you're a brick and mortar business that sells power tools, proper keyword research can be a tremendous help--even before you set up your online business. Keyword research can tell you exactly which power tools are more popular online--which may be different than the best selling power tools in your retail store. Armed with this knowledge, you can focus on the more popular products that customers are looking for online. For example, did you know that more people search for portable generators online than any other type of power tool? Perhaps this is due to the recent weather-related disasters that have hit the United States or the pending winter weather, but focusing on selling portable generators online might be good for business. Keyword research using Wordtracker (www.wordtracker.com) gives us this valuable information--it can also give us the list of other power tools that are being searched for, which will be a good start for a list of keywords.

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Tell me what you do!

As soon as new site visitors arrive at your website the first thing they need to know, before anything else, is what you do. You can talk all you like about how great you are, but unless you spell out what you actually do, they won't even know what you're so great at! This oh-so-overlooked yet such basic of information can be communicated to your site visitors in a number of different ways. Read 'Tell me what you do!'.

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