All bloggers and web marketers know that keyword research is important for success of the blog or website. However many people new to internet marketing (even some veterans) make the mistake of assuming that process of keyword research is the same for all websites.
In this article I shall explain the different types of keyword research that can be used, the tools that may be utilized for the purpose, advantages and disadvntages of each method and how to select a method for your own website. I shall be explaining the concepts using examples from the second hand goods market as I have been working extensively on that domain for quite sometime now.
Based on my experience, keyword research is of 3 types viz
1. Finding keywords that have been popular for quite sometime
2. Finding keywords that are popular right now
3. Finding keywords that will become popular in future
1. Finding keywords that have been popular for quite sometime
This is the most popular way of doing keyword research and most of the time when people talk about keyword research, they are talking about this particular method. In this method we shall be looking for keywords that people have been using for quite sometime. Let us say, we want to figure out whether enough people are interested in second hand cars or not. We shall be using Google Adwords Keyword Tool for this purpose. We start with the keyword car. The tool will show popular keywords related to cars that are used by users. A quick glance at the result will tell us that people use keywords like “second hand cars”, “used cars” and “cars for sale” to search.
If people have been interested in these keywords for quite sometime, there is a really good chance that they will continue to be interested in them in future as well. Hence if I am planning to build a website about second hand cars, I can be fairly confident that there are enough people who are looking for it. However a quick search for “second hand cars” on google will reveal that websites that are present in the top 10 are quite strong ones and it is going to be extremely difficult for me to get into the top 10.
2. Finding keywords that are popular right now
Mostly these are keywords in the news. Result of some cricket or football match, any controversy, Oscar awards 2010 etc will fall into this category. These keywords get a lot of traffic for a short span of time which then dies down. Since the keyword did not exist till yesterday there are no existing web pages for it and the first ones to write about it can rank quite high on Google. Google Trends and Trending topics on Twitter are some of the best places to find recently popular keywords. Write them fast and write regularly and you shall be surprised by the result.
Only problem with this method is you need to keep writing regularly to keep getting traffic. And since the keyword did not exist till yesterday, it is unlikely that anyone has setup an Adsense campaign for it. So monetizing the traffic is difficult.
3. Finding keywords that will become popular in future
I think this is one of the best methods to use for anyone who is serious about building an e-business. For example there are lot less people looking for second hand bikes on Google right now. However I am confident that the number will go up in future. That is why I am working on developing a website forsecond hand bikesin India. The traffic will take time to buildup. But by the time it does, my website will be an authority website for this term.
The trick lies in finding keywords that are popular right now, using tools mentioned in 1 above. Then apply your knowledge to find out keywords that are going to be popular in near future. Let us say keyword research shows that browser extensions are popular for Firefox. When the discussion about Google Chrome started, using this method you could have created content about Google Chrome extensions. As soon as Chrome got released, your site would have become exceptionally popular.
To conclude …
- Use method 1 i.e finding already popular keywords if you have a really strong website say like QOT.
- Use method 2 if you have a website that is at least 1 year old with some backlinks. It is going to be really easy to rank for news items if you do on-page optimization right.
- The last method is my favorite one. This is how businesses were supposed to be built and this is your best chance at becoming really successful.
Let me know your views in the comments below.
Guest author Pradeep is a blogger with more than 4 years of experience of developing web businesses in India and advises other bloggers about increasing traffic and earning from their blogs. You can also write a guest article and share your tips and tricks.