13-Dec-2006 Marty Weintraub
Keyword Research 101 |
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| A top search engine listing, whether by organic prominence (simply found by the search engines) or paid, begins with a detailed analysis of each product’s or services niche “space.” This is called a keyword research project and is fundamental. The question is asked “who is searching for what on the Internet, in what frequency, and what do we assume they are looking for. We use analytical tools which disclose this information in the form of annual search frequency (search inventory). An SEO company subscribes to various data base API's to access and query search frequency data. |
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Authoritative keyword research is fundamentally the cornerstone of modern marketing. Never before in the history of marketing have such detailed metrics regarding customer behavior been available.
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aimClear • 525 South Lake Avenue
Duluth, Minnesota • 312 Washington Ave. North • Minneapolis, MN 55401 • 218-310-2244
AimClear is a search engine optimization (SEO) Internet marketing firm in Minneapolis and Duluth offering Website Promotion and Minnesota Internet marketing strategy nationally.
Each subcategory features keyword-permutations with the data sorted by search frequency. The data is available down to the single-search level and can include hundreds or thousands of words and phrases.
| Search Term | Annual Searches |
| financial advisor | 225160 |
| advisor financial | 27269 |
| independent financial advisor | 19565 |
| certified financial advisor | 8997 |
| personal financial advisor | 5210 |
| financial advisor search | 1371 |
| fee only financial advisor | 1168 |
| advisor financial independent | 1078 |
After each subcategory and keyword permutation is identified we use the newfound clarity (keyword universe) to inform us as we decide what tactics to implement. Then we factor cost, desired prominence, key performance indicators (KPI) and objectives. Setting realistic goals we create strategic and tactical programs to achieve higher search engine rankings.
Many websites market to customers within a specific geographic area. After we establish the global search universe we seek to unmask permutations of the each keyword containing geo-specific prefixes and suffixes. For a company locally in our geographic area we test for Minnesota, MN, Duluth, Minneapolis, Saint Paul, etc ...Often geo-specific permutations are statistically significant. usually locally tagged words are an opportunity for a local company. Customers are targeting a specific product in a particular region and are likely susceptible to the right sales pitch.
| advisor financial minnesota | 437 |
| minneapolis financial advisors | 270 |
| minnesota financial advisors | 111 |
| catholic church financial advisors minneapolis | 16 |
| minneapolis mn financial advisors | 9 |
| albert lea mn financial advisors | 5 |
| financial advisor tower minnesota | 5 |
| mn financial advisor | 5 |
Brand New
Sometimes the creative folks charged with shepherding a product's brand, after receiving keyword research, report back to us that somehow the reality of the keyword universe we've unmasked conflicts with the brand. Our response is that, given the depth of Internet penetration amongst global consumers, the brand should be informed and evolve based on the research. We make recommendations based on metric data not speculation or our own perceptions of who we expect should be looking for what we're marketing.
Keyword Tools
It is important to fully understand keyword research tools and the data each tool reveals. One research tool we use (Trellian™) samples tens of billion of searches, over 12 months, broken out by season, and harvested from the search logs of 180 major search engines including Google™, MSN™, Yahoo®, Ask® and Ebay®. The logs are either purchased or scraped.
Keep in mind that a keyword's search frequency metrics from sources like Trellian and Overture is overstated. Here's why: When you test Yahoo to see if your website is ranked for a keyword, it counts as one search to Yahoo. When SEO professionals run automated reports on multiple search engines to determine a website's organic search listing for a specific keyword or phrase, the search engines perceive each test as more searches. With hundreds of SEO companies running these reports and dozens of programs designed to do so, over reporting and skew is inevitable.
Purer data is available. The WordTracker database samples 32 million searches (much smaller sampling) which were queried over the last 90 days on Dogpile. Dogpile is a meta-search engine which aggregates the results from other search engines including Google™, MSN™, and Yahoo®. SEO analysts do not query meta search engines for rankings because all information available is harvested at the individual search engine level. Thus while WordTracker's database is much smaller it is also relatively pure. Trellian also offers a database product (Premium DB) which is purported to be less skewed, again with a much smaller sampling of searches. Trellian seasonal search frequency data seems to be more accurate from the premium database as well.
By conventional wisdom search patterns in the virtual world translate with accuracy to the physical world. Internet shoppers are the same folks who drive to the mall (or used to) and buy things. One client I have literally laminated the keyword research summary sheet and passed it out to her employees, PR, advertising, and outdoor poster agencies. At aimClear our work is often reflected in billboard copy, radio/video scripts, table placards, and other collateral media. I am asked to help prospective businesses craft their marketing plan as part of the business plan process.
An investment in authoritative keyword research with a measured understanding of the data's source, creativity in the process, and a willingness to face the reality of what customers' actually search for is the cornerstone of modern marketing.
