How to Research Keywords for SEO.
I find that when I consult with clients a big part of the conversation assumes they know two really important things.
- that they know where to go to research keywords to optimize on their site.
- that they know what to research
I might say something like, “Just look into that keyword and see if it gets many searches or has a lot of competition.” And then go on my merry way in the conversation.
I’m going to explain those two things today in a bit more detail.
WHERE TO RESEARCH KEYWORDS
If you do not have a Google account, go to this link to access Google’s amazing keyword research tool: https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal
Type in the keyword or phrase that you would like to optimize. Or, for practice, type in “dog collars”. Enter the captcha code and hit “search”. Search results will appear that tell you three very important things:
- The competition the keyword or phrase has. This shows you how many people are optimizing the word basically. The higher the competition for a keyword or phrase, the harder it’s going to be to get on the first page of Google’s search results with that phrase.
- Global Monthly Searches: The average monthly searches over a period of 12 months for a keyword entered from anywhere in the world but on the google.co.uk website
- Local monthly searches: The average monthly searches over a period of 12 months for a keyword entered on google.co.uk for the countries specified within the adword campaign settings
To Change the “Local” monthly search results, you can open the “Advanced Options and Filters” located just below the “Find Keywords” box. It will allow you to change the Location or languages you are researching.
(Source: howtoresearchkeywords)
