Free keyword Research the Simple way 4

To start today’s article off I thought I would focus on Keyword Research and why every webmaster and blogger should do this before they start an article. Personally I for one when I first started blogging would dread the very idea of keyword research as I though most of the tools out there were too expensive and it was too hard to understand but I found a better way and  that was to use Google Adwords as my free keyword Research tool and to make sure I was not wasting time targeting the wrong keywords thus optimizing each article and giving them a chance to be discovered.

What are Keywords?

Keywords are words or phrases that people type into a search engine such as Google when they are looking for information. For example “Technology” could be a keyword or “Technology Blog” and Google uses keywords to point its users in the direction of the information they are looking for. Keywords tell what an article is about and can potentially tell a users intent when they type it into a search engine. It is then up to the search engine to match the keyword or phrase a user types in to a website that has the correct information that they are looking for which is often times marked by containing said keywords the users searched for.

All the users that look for a keyword over a period of time globally make up the searches per month and there are many keywords and searches for particular keywords each day. Each Keyword also has a value which is determined by Advertisers who bid on these words due to its value to them in relation to their brand and the ability to generate potential customers.Please note you should never place unnecessary or unrelated keywords in your article or over do it as this is known as keyword stuffing and can get you into trouble with Google.

Why Keyword Research is a must?

Imagine that you decided to write an article about a “microsd card” vs the “best microsd card” how would you know which potential article could bring you more traffic if you were to craft an article surrounding this idea?, well for one you could go by instinct and just write as do many bloggers do, but a smart writer would do keyword research and see which key phrases could potentially bring him more traffic virtually by using the correct wording in the article.

But most bloggers give up on keyword research because they don’t intend to spend on an expensive services but guess what I can actually show you how to do keyword research for free and easily to boot.

How to do free Keyword Research?

All you need to do is:

1. Go to Google Ad words and sign in with your Google account or create one if you don’t already have it.

2. In the upper right of the screen after logging in go to Tools then keyword planner.

3. Under find new keywords click on the line that says: Search for new keywords using a phrase, website or category.

4.Now simply type your keyword into the first box and click get ideas.

5. When you are on the results page look carefully for a tab marked: Keyword ideas and click on it. There you will find the keyword you entered and the monthly searches plus alternative suggestions that may be better than the one you typed in earlier.

So lets see which of the two keywords:”microsd card” or “best microsd card” in terms of searches and potential traffic would be a better article to write about and get a lot of traffic from if you were to land on the first page of Google and rank well.

So clearly Micro SD card has more searches per month and would bring in more traffic if you could rank well for it so this would be a great keyword, the other is not really worth writing on or using as a focus keyword for traffic.

Notice the competition column it ranges from Low, medium to high. I usually go for keywords with medium to high competition as it indicates advertisers interest in the keyword for those with Adsense. Which brings us to the bid value usually anything at $1 dollar and above is great for a value keyword and coupled with a medium or high advertiser competition and you have a great keyword once traffic is to your liking. Be warned that if the Bid is high and competition is low the keyword will not ever earn the bid seen no matter how high.

Lastly before you decide you have a wining keyword you need to see how the competition stacks up with other bloggers who are writing on the same topic as if competition is too high it going to be really hard to rank for it. I personally would still write on a topic if I am passionate about whether competition is high or not but you may want to go for something manageable. To do your keyword competition research simply:

Go to Google and search:      allintitle:”microsd card”

The above produced: About 97,000 results (0.52 seconds)  which indicates that the competition is very high as many websites are competing for this keyword. I usually look for anything below 10,000 matches or so normally before deciding if it’s a good keyword, or simply go ahead if I like the keyword. Also look at the top three (3) websites in the results if they are big names or have a high Page rank then the competition is very high. If they are not high page rank or Pinterest or other such pages then go for it.

Remember you can add any keyword by searching: allintitle:”????”

What determines a Good Keyword?

A number of factors determine a good keyword and it depends on whether or not you are looking for traffic,the intent to buy  or the value to advertisers.Above I showed you that said keyword had a lot of traffic but the competition is high and it would be difficult to rank for, easier keywords to rank for usually gets you on the first page of Google easy and most users try to find those. The keyword best microSD card might not get you a lot of traffic but it shows the intent to buy and may be great for someone looking to get some sales. So you see it all depends on what you are looking for.

How to implement Keywords from Keyword research?

It’s always smart to write for humans or in a way another person can understand and then optimize for Search engines (SEO) when you find a keyword make sure to use it at least 3 to 4 times in an article naturally and do not over do it. Also if there are alternative words or phrases that you find from keyword research make sure to use them as well at least once. You can also use your main keyword in the title of the article. Do these basic things and it can enhance your articles and help those who are searching for the information find you easily which is the basic of search engine optimization or SEO.

So what do you think of my free Keyword research method? Please share your views in the comments this is something I use often when brainstorming a new article to find the right words to help potential users of the website find my content but at the fore front I try my best to write as clearly as possible for humans to understand.