Keyword research is arguably the most important part of the entire SEO process. And when trying to identify what keywords you can rank quickly for, finding those low competition spaces to move into is key. Keyword tools are a good starting point, but too many people stop there and rely just on the information the tools suggest, which is the biggest mistake we can make. Once you've got your eye on a particular keyword, following these next few steps will give you a much stronger sense as to whether there's real potential for ranking for that keyword, or if you should just abandon it and continue searching. 1) Search the keyword in Google, and look at the top results. If any of them have the keyword in the TITLE, URL, or DESCRIPTION, it's too competitive and you should find another keyword. 2) Go to MajesticSEO.com or Ahrefs.com, search the top sites and then look at their anchor text in the back links. If the anchor text is optimized on most of the back links, they have an SEO working on their site and will be tough to beat. Another good sign you should look for a new keyword. 3) Go to Namecheap.com or any other domain provider, search the exact match keyword and if the 3 main extensions (.com, .net, and .org) are all taken...the keyword is too competitive and you should keep searching. The above may seem like a lot of hurdles to clear, especially early on in the process, but it's well worth it. If you can find a keyword phrase that clears all of the above, you know you have a keyword that can definitely rank high in Google and your time on it will be well spent. If it doesn't pass the above criteria, you may be in for a very long and expensive battle before seeing any kind of worthwhile results...if ever at all.
How will you know if its a profitable keyword just by looking at the search results in Google and ahref/majestic seo? I think they only show stats for the keyword like competition but not how much you will be earning from the keyword.
Great info ChrisBenson. I am a content writer and would like to know whether the same process can be followed to optimize/SEO content/articles. I often use the Google Keyword Planner Tool to obtain keywords. Any other/better way I can follow? Apart from the intensity of competition, what other features of a particular keyword should you take into account to find out whether it is worthy of inclusion in your content? Any tools other than Google Keyword Planner Tool you would like to suggest for obtaining keywords?
To get an idea, what a lot of people do is look at the "suggested bid" price in the Google Keyword Planner. The higher the suggested bid is, the more profitable the keyword is thought to be. But the accuracy of Google's tools has been in question for some time now, as they seem more and more to provide select information on what's better for them, rather than you. So the solution is to just use our brains a little. Instead of relying on a tool that may or may not be right, just ask yourself if most people searching that keyword would be likely to buy something, or is it the kind of keyword that's used more for just obtaining information.
Keyword research isn't the only thing that matters, but it's the first and most important stage. The better keyword choices you make, the easier it's going to be to rank them. So yes, this ties directly into creating content. From there, there's still more involved like on page SEO and back linking (which I don't care how many people argue otherwise, back linking IS still VERY important.) So you follow the other steps listed above. Check top results in the Google SERPs to see if they optimized their pages well. And then plug those same sites into MajesticSEO to see how many back links they have, if those back links are even any good, and if you think you have a reasonable shot at obtaining better ones for your own site. Than you make a decision and don't look back. Suggested keyword tool...Long Tail Pro. The majority of SEOs will already tell you that this one of, if not the, best one out there. But with Google's Hummingbird update, they are now ranking our content for far more keywords than what we're even targeting. "Searcher intent" is what they're calling it. Having a good long tail to start with opens up the door for many more related keywords to be associated with your page.
Nice. Thanks for this. Here's some good info on content that's Hummingbird-friendly: http://www.searchenginejournal.com/google-hummingbird-friendly-content-marketing-tips/79111/.
what is the cycle of monthly search volume of a keyword??? keyword search volume differs once in a month?
For Long tail keyword minimum of 100 is enough, if its short tail or generic keywords 1000+ is good enough..
How can we get the actual competition for a particular keyword? The competition which shows in Google keyword planner is for ad competition, we can get an idea from there. But it will not effective in SEO. Which competition we should consider to find out the ROI?
With Hummingbird update Google is evaluating long tail keywords. Are there any automatic tools to generate them?