In this post we’re going to discuss some keyword research resources that can benefit your online efforts tremendously.
Instead of focusing on 10 or 20, I’m going to whittle it down to 3 great keyword research resources.
SEO and Internet marketing, for a large part, is all about keyword research. I know that there are other ways to generate tons of targeted great traffic like social networking, PPC, list building, media buying etc….
But when it comes to classic Internet marketing it’s all about the keyword research. Your keyword research is the bedrock and the foundation for the website you build and the articles you write.
And more importantly, your sales funnel!
There are many great paid keyword research tools that you can use such as word tracker and market samurai; but many people default to the free Google keywords search tool.
I use GKT all the time but as of late I’ve been using other free Google resources to generate keywords that are proving to be ,dare I say it, more effective.
3 Keyword Research Resources
Google’s Webmaster tools for keywords
If you’re serious or about your website you should register your website or blog with the free Google Webmaster tools service. After about a week to a month this handy little tool will tell you what keywords your ranking for and more importantly; keywords that you’re close to ranking high on.
I like to take the keywords that I’m close to ranking high on and devoting a whole article targeted for that keyword. This helps me get to the top real quick.
Google’s auto-suggestion search bar
Talk about hidden keyword research resources? This is the mother of them all that many Internet marketers overlook. What am I talking about?
Well, you will notice that when you type in some words into the Google search bar that it will automatically suggest a phrase.
These keyword phrases are the result of commonly used search queries by other people. Use these phrases to target your audience next time you create an article or a post.
Google Insights for keyword ideas
This is more like a last step than a resource. Whatever suggestions you got from Google’s Webmaster tools or from Google’s autosuggestion you should run on Google insights to see the numbers that are being generated.
If the keywords I find from the first two ideas yield a high traffic volume with Google insights then I will commit a whole article to that keyword phrase.
Where else are those keywords?
I was going to mention Google Trends as well but I decided not to because I don’t have much experience looking for keywords with that free service.
I thought it might be unethical to talk about something I haven’t used myself but I will be using that more often as well in the coming months to generate my keywords.
Please feel free to share in the comments section below and express your thoughts and opinions about the best keyword research resources that you use.
Thank you and happy marketing.
