There are lots of people out there who think keyword research is an exact science that can be easily calculated, formulated and measured. While some marketers would like it if you believed this, it simply is not the case. Keyword selection is really more of an evolving art form than a science.
Science or not, keyword selection can be absolutely vital for a site's success. Considering this, it is important to choose good ones. There are some very common pitfalls webmasters run into when selecting words. Understanding what they are can help you avoid making them, too.
One of the biggest mistakes publishers make is not using keywords at all. These are some of the most valuable online marketing tools. Keywords help you tap into potential incoming traffic. They can also assist in targeting the focus of a site. It's certainly not necessary to hire a company to help you out. A little personal research and proper application can go a very long way in helping sites gain traffic.
The research process itself tends to stymie some. The biggest pitfall here is incorrect use of keyword research tools. For example, many believe keyword counts revealed by these tools are accurate. The truth is they are just estimates. Tools that can help you see these estimates are useful, but they don't reflect the total number of searches from all major search engines. It is possible to compensate by using several tools for research. Programs like Ad Word Analyzer, and Wordtracker are both great. And you will find unique keywords with each, so your list will be more complete.
Using no keywords isn't a good idea, but neither is using only a single word or phrase. The best strategy is to pick a theme and then choose words and phrases that build on that theme. This enables sites to work better with latent semantic indexing. WordNet can be very useful for selecting the right niche phrases to build a site around.
Relying solely on the Keyword Effectiveness Index, or KEI, is also not a great idea. This is the ratio of the number of times a keyword gets searched to the number of sites that rank for the word. This is used to gauge how much competition exists in a particular area. KEI is useful, but you also want to find out how SEO strong the top few sites in a niche happen to be. There are other tools that you can use for checking out competition levels. SEO for Firefox or SeoQuake are good ones to test out.
Sometimes webmasters get into keyword research too much. These folks can make the mistake of not using keyword management tools. Although they have keywords, and likely a lot of them, these webmasters don't have the ability to easily filter, sort and refine their keyword lists. Ad Word Analyzer is a fantastic tool to help with this.
Another pitfall is poorly timed research. If, for example, keywords are desired for a seasonal promotion, it's wise to choose them closer to the season. Programs like Wordtracker only store date for 90 days. This means research won't be reflective of the terms that are needed if the "season" in question has passed.
The last two things to watch out for are greed and waste. Many publishers go after keywords that pay out well. This can be great, but the truth is lower paying niche keywords can bring in more earnings over the long haul. They tend to have less competition. Waste comes into play when webmasters get over excited about research. Often, they will create list after list of targeted, niche keywords and never put them into action. It's smart to focus on a single niche, implement the project and then move onto the next.
The art of keyword selection is one that is important to a site's overall chances for success. Finding the most effective keywords does take time and patience, but it isn't an exact science.
Article Source: http://www.artsymmetry.com
About the author: Jeff Alderson specializes in boosting traffic and sales. He is also the developer of numerous PPC and SEO software. Jeff suggests using a keyword generator like Ad Word Analyzer to find keywords for your site.
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