Choosing Keywords / Phrases, How do you do it? Options

[1dmf]

Hi,

I've read the pinned threads and a few other post, and I appreciate the 'intitle' method for researching competition. But this only works once you've decided what keywords/phrases to go for.

How do you decide what keywords to go for in the first place.

What I might type, because i'm in the industry , I find time and time again is not what is actually typed into a search engine (well I get this feeling, otherwise i'd have more traffic as i'm no.1 for my main keyphrase).

So as we all know, being No.1 in Google is not the be all and end all if no-one is using that phrase.

I've searched and cannot find anywhere that supplies acurate and relevant info breaking down searches by category.

How do you find out what people are actually typing and how many for a given field / area of a market?

[chrishirst]

the only reliable source would be an adwords campaign and your site logs. Keyword tools are only as good as the (limited) information they have.

They are not deadly accurate, use them as a seed and extrapolate from there on.

[1dmf]

So there is no way of me truely knowing what people type into search engines.

Doesn't make keyword selection very easy does it.

Also how does that cable TV show 'Google Current' make claims on keyword usage if there is no accurate data to base it on?

[chrishirst]

So there is no way of me truely knowing what people type into search engines

Doesn't make keyword selection very easy does it

Nope & Nope

Also how does that cable TV show 'Google Current' make claims on keyword usage if there is no accurate data to base it on

No idea, never seen it.

[1dmf]

You're not helping much are you...

"It's in the sand"

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/hysterical.gif)

[torka]

Also how does that cable TV show 'Google Current' make claims on keyword usage if there is no accurate data to base it on?

You can find out what the most popular keywords being typed in to Google are in general: Google Trends.

I'm guessing that's the kind of thing the TV show is talking about (just a guess, though, as I've never seen it myself, either).

The problem is, this doesn't help you determine the keywords most used in your industry by customers who are looking to buy the products or services you sell. That's a very different kettle of fish.

As Chris said, using your own industry knowledge, possibly some customer research and the keyword tools available as a "seed" and running some AdWords campaigns based off the terms you identify -- while not necessarily ideal -- is about the best you're going to get.

This is why keyword selection (like so much else in SEO) is as much an art as a science. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/artist.gif)

--Torka (IMG:style_emoticons/default/mf_prop.gif)

[Ignoramus]

How do you decide what keywords to go for in the first place.

What I might type, because i'm in the industry , I find time and time again is not what is actually typed into a search engine (well I get this feeling, otherwise i'd have more traffic as i'm no.1 for my main keyphrase).

You could try viewing the source code of competitor pages and see what's in the keywords meta tag and description tag (if anything). Might help. Might not. Doesn't mean they know any better than you.

If you use broad match/phrase match terms in your Adwords campaign the search query report can be useful.

[torka]

If you have people in your company (or at some of those potential affiliates you're getting ready to recruit) you can talk to who interface directly with customers, it might also be helpful to ask them what terminology the public uses to refer to your products/services. Or if you can, survey members of the public directly. (Ask family members and friends, maybe?)

And, of course, if you have site search stats, a review of the terms your actual visitors use whilst trying to find information on your site is nearly always instructive.

This might uncover some additional "seed terms" to research further.

--Torka (IMG:style_emoticons/default/mf_prop.gif)

[redstarweb]

I used to have a special question in my contact forms where visitors where asked to fill in "how they found us" by selecting a search engine or directory (or direct entry from a link on a other site) and they were requested to tye the (search) phrase/words they used. The result often was that the keywords they used (and found my site) weren't even the keywords I optimized in my site.

Today I use a mix of methods and available tools.
I often use the method Torka is explaining, just ask around to real people what they would use to find a product or service you have. I also read a lot of 'paper' ads in magazines (specific articles), news papers and flyers and take over the keywords (and phrases) they use in these kind of ads (this is very useful and cheap, because this kind of ads or articles are created by expensive proff's).
Then of course Google's sitemap and Analytics give a lot of keyword info too and finaly I use my own statistical tool I use for my website. And do not forget this one: place yourself as a potential customer of your industry and search by yourself. Look what sites are coming up and analyse them.

Unfortunately there is not a single tool that will tell you exactly what you need to know. Use all the methods there are (including the non-digital ads) and find a good mix. I know, it's a very time consuming job, but for me, it works pretty fine.

[1dmf]

Thanks for the replies, I'll give em a whirl, well apart from the Adwords, I don't have the budget.

It's also difficult to use your own webstats / analytics if you don't have any visitor data to analyse!

This post has been edited by 1dmf: Oct 29 2007, 05:33 AM