4 replies to this topic

[Robyn]

Hi there
I'm a total SEO green-horn.

I've recently been trying (operative word: trying) to use Google Adwords to search for keywords for some travel articles I've been comissioned to write. The topics are very specific to South Africa (obscure small town festivals and the like), so that when I plug the name of the festival or event into Adwords I often get a 'not enough data', for both local and global volumes. My search is set to English, South Africa.

Even after trying (guessing) 4-5 variations on the main theme (including trying to misspell the word), I either get no results, or results that are totally irrelevant. Further, I can't make the search too broad (this returns even fewer relevant results), nor am I allowed to use search terms that are too competitive or too generic (client stipulation).

So my query is twofold:
1. How do you get relevant keywords for a topic that possibly very few users are searching for?
2. What is Plan B, if a search returns, 'not enough data' after a couple of attempts? How far do you deviate from the main topic and still achieve keywords that are relevant.

Hope this post makes sense?

[SERPico]

So my query is twofold:
1. How do you get relevant keywords for a topic that possibly very few users are searching for?

When tools fails to offer any insight, what left is your imagination. What would someone type in a search engine to find information you're writing about?
Look into other places on the web and see what people are saying and asking, like forums, etc.

2. What is Plan B, if a search returns, 'not enough data' after a couple of attempts? How far do you deviate from the main topic and still achieve keywords that are relevant.

Same answer as above.

[Jill]

I'm thinking that you need to do more marketing, in general, to increase awareness about the sort of product you have.

[RayWrites]

Try some grass-roots marketing: ask as many people as you can how they would search online for the event/festival. If you ask enough people, you should start to see a pattern and formulate a set of workable keywords and phrases.

[Robyn]

Try some grass-roots marketing: ask as many people as you can how they would search online for the event/festival. If you ask enough people, you should start to see a pattern and formulate a set of workable keywords and phrases.

Thanks Ray, this is a good suggestion for future.
Robyn