I'm trying to find a way to find legitimate search terms people are actually using to find websites like mine. Any idea where I can look? Google Adwords, webmaster tools? Anything?
— Drew Hitt, Situation Solutions LLC
Good to hear you want keywords your customers are using; that is important to finding the right keywords. You'll need to look at the keywords people use to find your site and other websites in your industry.
Free and Low-Cost Keyword Tools for Search Engine Optimization
Many valuable tools are available both for free and for a fee. These tools help you focus on finding terms relevant to your particular customer. Here's the shortlist:
- Keyword Spy — Research any keyword publishers or affiliates use to turn visitors into sales.
- Wordtracker Free Keywords — Find the keywords you need to succeed online, plus other research tools to improve keyword targeting.
- SEO Book Keyword Tools — Free search engine optimization tools and plug-in for Firefox, including keyword suggestion tool.
- WebCEO Software — A powerful all-in-one suite of SEO tools, including keyword analysis and suggestions. My personal favorite.
- NicheBot Classic (Now SEO Scout) — Finds precisely what people search for so you can target the right keyword for better search engine placement.
HitTail — Extracting long-tail keywords from your website is the easiest way to drive more qualified traffic.- Keyword Country — Use keyword research to improve the quality of your visitors and AdSense earnings.
(RELATED: Up-to-date SEO and keyword research tool recommendations.)
There is a problem you need to be aware of; most of these keywords are seeded. This means popular keywords are omitted, random keywords are added, and counts are randomized. How do I know this is the case?
I know the keywords these tools give you are only representational of samples available because the tools tell you this. My team has tested for seeded keywords, and each will return different suggestions for the same terms.
Why Internet Marketing Requires More Than Keyword Research To Profit From Pay-Per-Click
Your best results will come from building a library of terms with each source, then testing your assumptions with content, pay-per-click, and observation.
You'll need to use all the tools available, build a keyword matrix, and test your assumptions. This takes time, content, and landing page conversion tests.
However, it will give you a strong understanding of your visitor's interests which can mean more traffic to your website.
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