Keyword Research is at the heart of proper SEO and PPC optimisation. Without the right keywords, how will you know which keywords to target in both your SEO and PPC campaigns? The answer is your wouldn’t know and you’ll simply be throwing mud on a wall.
Keyword Research for SEO
Keyword research should be conducted at the outset of any SEO campaign efforts. Keyword research should begin with a brainstorming process that uncovers all potential keywords associated with the industry. At this stage it is crucial not to rule out any keywords and to keep an open mind.
Resources for Keyword Research
Once the keyword brainstorm stage is done, its time to expand the list by using Keyword Research tools. There are many keyword research tools out there both free and commercial that can help you at this sage and for convenience, I’ve listed my favourite ones here:
Wordtracker - Subscription fee and fairly reasonable - the mother of keyword research tools
Keyword Discovery - Subscription based and very popular
NicheBOT- Simultaneously searches a variety of keyword research tools
WordZe - A pay for service with options like keyword difficulty and trends
Google Keyword Tool- Free from Google but PPC-based
Spy Fu- Free and paid options available with an interesting way to research competitor keyword ads and the CPC prices they’re paying
SeoDigger- Free and an interesting way to see what phrases your competitors are ranking for on Google.
Hitwise Search Intelligence - Very expensive keyword research tool but probably one of the best out there.
comScore qSearch - Even more expensive but well worth it!
AdGooRoo SEM Insight- A paid for service and very popular competitive research tool for PPC campaigns
SEO Book Keyword Tool - Free and offers lots of information maybe a bit more than you’ll ever need. You’re also able to take the source code of this tool and place it on your site.
Google Suggest Scraper- Free but based on PPC keywords.
Digital Point Keyword Suggestion Tool - Free but they accept donations.
adCenter Labs Keyword Tools - Free but, from my experience, not very good (good back-up).
Overture Keyword Selector- Free and alot of the other free keywrod research tools are based on it.
Now that you’re hopefully inspired, go off and research those keywords that will bribng you the traffic you deserve!
Heading to work today I was reading the Metro newspaper “aka the London Bible” and in it I read an article entitled Wikinomics.
