Keyword Research can be the most frustrating task when starting to build a real website on line.
There are so many different options. Do you target general keywords or long tail variations? Are you best off selecting “exact match” or ‘broad?’
A major question that confronts all marketing newcomers… are keyword research tools a worthwhile investment?
What I’m going to tell you on this page is going to surprise the heck out of you. I HATE almost all keyword research tools.
- Market Samurai
- Niche Finder
- Long Tail Pro
- Word Tracker
- Seo Scout
All of the above tools just pull data from Google Adwords Keyword Tool (GAKT). Which is completely free to use for anyone.
The way I do keyword research is considerably more effective than about 99.9% of internet marketers. I don’t say that to brag, it’s just a plain fact. I haven’t gone for anything flashy like Market Samurai. I simply download a bunch of Keyword reports directly from GAKT and then combine them to get a GIGANTIC list of possible keywords.
If you want to learn how to do keyword research the correct way, then you need to subscribe to my 7 step action guide
In about 10 minutes of research I can gather about 30,000 separate keywords that I can use for my niche sites. That’s an effectiveness that blows all keyword tools out of the water.
But if there was one keyword research tool I would recommend (other than GAKT) it would be UberSuggest
This website is designed to display a bunch of long tail keywords that are related to the root keyword you input. It’s awesomely effective, and has led me to select some really killer keywords that are largely uncompetitive.
General Keywords vs Long Tail Keywords
I am a HUGE believer in the Long Tail for a number of reasons.
Long Tail Benefits include
- higher conversion rate
- less competitive
- unknown keyword traffic
First off, studies show that Long Tail keywords have a significantly higher conversion rate than general keywords. And it just makes sense. If someone types a specific long tail keyword, they have a specific solution in mind. Whereas someone looking up a broad keyword could simply be looking for a general overview. In that case, they could hit the back button on your web page before you even get a chance to offer a solution. They may not even have a problem in the first place.
Long Tail keywords are also way less competitive. And this really goes without saying. It makes sense that less people would target a keyword that is incredibly uncommon. Everyone and their dog will target an “acne cure” or “acne treatment” type keyword at one point in their life. But not many will target “Saloris Acne Cream for type B Acne Disorder.” Therefore, you can easily be the winner.
But perhaps the main advantage of the Long Tail is the ability to capture unknown traffic. Google has stated that approximately 24% of searches are completely unknown or “brand new.” What that means is that the keyword does not exist until someone types it in for the first time. That’s a scary truth that should encourage anyone to develop longer tail variations.
You don’t need to target competitive keywords. Creating posts that are similar but different than common keywords can lead you to loads of unexpected traffic.
