Wordtracker Wisdom: Common Keyword Questions and Answers

One of my favorite subjects to teach on at our live SEO Mastery Workshops is that of keyword research and the behavior of a specific target audience using my all time favorite research tool, Wordtracker.

For those who have not heard of, Wordtracker it is a Web based service that will help you discover which keywords and phrases will be most effective for attracting the right audience to your Web site. Not only that, but the service also tells you how competitive your keywords are (or how many other competing Web pages have been optimized with those keywords in mind) plus how many people have actually searched for those keywords in the past within the last 60 days on the major search engines.

Wordtracker can be used for even more powerful things than just "researching keywords." I'll be revealing much more in the future about the impact of researching "visitor behavior" vs. keywords

QUESTION:

What is one of the more common mistakes made by new SEO students who are just learning how to research keywords?

ANSWER:

One common error that some people make (both new and experienced) when researching keywords, is they tend to have a lot of preconceived keyword phrases in their minds. While this may not seem like a bad idea, the fact is that people sometimes spend hours, days, and even weeks researching hundreds of keywords only to be disappointed in the end when many of the keywords they've chosen, turn out to not have any real pulling power to attract the right traffic. There are many keywords which are just too competitive or worse, some words are not even being searched for. For success you want a keyword phrase that is at least being used by your target audience and ideally, it'll be a phrase with low competition.

Wordtracker has tremendous ability to deliver up extraordinary niche keyword phrases which are in high use by a given target audience and sometimes even with zero competition. I'll be sharing much more about exactly how you can tap into these ideal phrases and how you can do it nearly instantly without spending hours or weeks of research.

QUESTION:

What do you mean by the term researching the target audience's "behavior?" Is that not what Web analytics software like Webtrends does?

ANSWER:

No, Web analysis software generally tells you about the behavior of visitors within your Web site after they have found you. I am talking about the importance of researching your ideal target audiences behavior long before they ever find your Web site. Wordtracker has tremendous potential to reveal clues as to what your target audience *really* wants or what they might be looking for.

QUESTION:

I have searched Wordtracker's report of "most searched for phrases" but I can only find one appropriate keyword phrase? I want more. How do I get more good phrases?

ANSWER:

Here are just a few quick tips:

1. Take the one phrase or keyword you found and enter it into "Comprehensive Research" and click Proceed. That should bring out a variety of phrases that are related to the same subject. (I'll be sharing much more on this in the future)

2. Apply a little more lateral thinking about who your target audience is and research a little more about how they may be searching. Thinking "outside the box" mixed with Wordtracker's comprehensive search can be powerful.

3. If you can't find enough gold in the top 1000 "most searched for" phrases you are not thinking laterally enough. It is there, we just need practice learning how to tap into it. But for the sake of argument, if you could not find ANY keywords within the top 1000, did you know that you can actually purchase a killer list of the top 20,000 keywords or the top 100,000 keywords.

QUESTION:

I have done well with my keyword research and Wordtracker has helped me to build some great high performance strategies. However, I want to add more great ideas for content (and sell even more product), but I feel like I have really hit a dead end? I think I've already chosen the best keywords.

ANSWER:

If at any time you feel that you've hit a dead end, then it's time to stop thinking about your product or service and start using Wordtracker's powerful database to help reveal a new strategy which you could employ. Your focus must be on your target audience's "behavior." Stop thinking in terms of how bad you want to sell the product and start examining how people might be searching for the product. Often you will discover that there can be "multiple target audiences" perfect for your product. You just have not realized it before. I'll guarantee there are many, many, more powerful niche phrases in Wordtracker's database of over 380,000,000 million queries within the last 60 days. To many Webmasters, those powerful killer phrases remain hidden and elusive.

QUESTION:

Wordtracker has a feature to help me identify the most common spelling errors. How many misspelled words should I include in my keyword Metatag?

ANSWER:

The best thing here, is not to go wild with misspelled words. The keyword Meta Tag has always been a great place to include 2 or 3 misspelled words. As you may know, the keyword Meta tag is not even that influential anymore, but a couple of researched misspells will not hurt things.

TIP: A much more powerful use for an important keyword that you identifyas commonly misspelled, is to try using it in your Google Adwords campaign, if you are running one.

QUESTION: Sometimes I just want to check the validity of one keyword phrase without looking at hundreds of other suggestions returned in Wordtracker's results. Is there any way to do this easily?

ANSWER:

Sure. On the main menu under Item 5. Multiple search, choose the second option down called Exact/Precise Search. Using this option will return details on just the specific keyword phrase you are looking for.

QUESTION:

I would like to know how Wordtracker is for accuracy?

ANSWER:

Wordtracker uses results which are extracted from the Meta search engines so they are actually very pure. In other words, these are numbers which are not skewed by the use of automated querying software.

QUESTION:

Which of the major search engines are best to focus on when doing research. I am assuming it is best to spend time studying Google.

ANSWER:

I guess it depends on which type of research you are doing. Certainly one of the best search engines to explore for keyword research is MSN. This is not only because a lot of folks are shopping on MSN but because MSN can still be influenced fairly quickly. (Secondary results are coming from Inktomi and for longer 3 or 4 word phrases and you can get real quick exposure by optimizing for results researched in MSN if you use paid inclusion.

On the other hand, if you are researching human behavior more than just keywords, I would stay focused on Google simply because you can discover great opportunities in Wordtracker for "behaviorally related" phrases. Let's face it, most folks (including your target audience) are searching on Google right now so it's still one of the "most revealing" places to help you understand what people are doing online.

About The Author

John Alexander is the Co-Director of Training of Search Engine Workshops http://www.searchengineworkshops.com with Robin Nobles. Together, they teach 2-day beginner, 3-day advanced, and 5-day all-inclusive "hands on" search engine marketing workshops in locations across the globe. John also teaches online search engine marketing courses through http://www.onlinewebtraining.com, and he's a member of Wordtracker's official question support team.

john@searchengineworkshops.com

---

Tools of the Trade, the SEO Must Have Utilities

Search Engine traffic accounts for nearly 80% of the Internet... Read More

Opinion ? Search Engine Success

This article is actually the summary to a book soon... Read More

Google Ban - How Not To Get Banned By Google!

Given that Google now provides over 75% of all Internet... Read More

Search Engine Optimization - A Beginners Guide

Getting your site listed in the top search engines, such... Read More

10 Basic Rules for Where to Place Your Keywords

First of all, Google and most other search engines do... Read More

Do-It-Yourself Search Engine Optimization

Search engine optimization, or SEO, is big business. If you... Read More

Branding Versus SEO

Branding versus search engine optimization is a marketing dilemma that... Read More

Understanding Google - What You Need To Know To Conquer This Search Engine Giant

Use a keyword density of about 1 to 2%. Use... Read More

KEI Concerns and CID Alternative

Like many folks, I have been using KEI for some... Read More

Five Simple Steps to Getting Links to Your Site

Today if you want your site to survive in the... Read More

Basics to Search Engine Optimization

Search Engine Optimization popularly known as SEO.SEO is the process... Read More

Search Engine Submission - What to Look for when Selecting an Australian SEO Company

Every business owner I've met has been encouraged at some... Read More

Playing By Googles Rules

As the undisputable leader in search engines, Google places a... Read More

Marketing Articles: Getting A Better Search Engine Rank For All Of Your Pages!

In one of my articles, I discussed how to market... Read More

SEO for CEOs ? Search Engine Optimization Unmasked for CEOs

If you're like most other CEOs, the term "search engine... Read More

3.5 Tips To Help You Avoid Becoming The Next Search Engine Outlaw

Want to avoid being blacklisted by the search engines and... Read More

How To Write Effective And Unique Articles That Are Optimized for the Search Engines

It is a well known fact that writing, distributing and... Read More

Top 10 Little Used SEO Strategies

There are millions of web sites trying to get listed... Read More

How To Measure Search Engine Marketing ROI

According to the Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization (SEMPO), advertisers... Read More

Google Rankings -- Achieve Top 10 Rankings with Free Tools

In order to get a top 10 google ranking it... Read More

Content Management Systems Eyeball SEOs

Content Management Systems and search engine optimization (SEO) used to... Read More

What is Your Sales Message?

So you built a website, you have a product, but... Read More

List Building vs. Search Engine Optimization

It seems the excitement about search engine optimization fades in... Read More

How To Soar In Your Search Engine Marketing, In The Post Google Era Part 2

'Are Google's Days in the Dominant Position in Search Technology... Read More

SEO Expert Guide - Ongoing Monitoring of Results (part 9/10)

In the Guide, you have, so far, learnt how to... Read More

Search Wars! - MSNs Opening Salvo

With all the recent publicity given to Google as the... Read More

Get Better Search Engine Rankings with RSS

RSS is the latest craze in online publishing. But what... Read More

Search Engine Traffic: Winning With Content

Targeted traffic is the lifeblood of any online business. The... Read More

Basic Search Engine Optimization For Dummies

OK, you published your site, now you just sit by... Read More

Get Personal With Google

Anyone who's been on the net any time at all... Read More

Top Search Engine Ranks, Part 2- Mastering the Secret- Explained

In the first part of this series on ranking at... Read More

Link Building: To Link, or Not to Link, That is the Question

Lately, there have been a lot of heated discussions regarding... Read More

High Search Engine Rankings - A Long Term Strategy

The last 1.5 years have shown major changes in search... Read More