You’ve found a niche you’re interested in. You’ve checked and made sure that your niche has enough profit potential. Fantastic!
What’s the next step?
You must find keywords and keyword phrases that people are searching for to find information about your niche.
These keywords will be your site’s future pages. For example, if many people are typing “porcupine mating habits” into Google, and you have a site about porcupines, you should create a page dedicated to a bunch of information about the mating habits of porcupines.
This way, when someone types this keyword (porcupine mating habits) into Google, Google will send this visitor to your page about the topic. Your visitor will be happy to find the information he/she was looking for, and you’ll be happy to receive a new potential customer as well.
That’s why it’s so important to find keywords that are relevant to your niche. But how can you find them? Do you need a crystal ball to see what your future visitors will ask Google?
Fortunately, a crystal ball is not necessary. (Although today’s technology almost beats every crystal ball.)
You need a keyword research tool to tell you what the most common search terms (i.e. keywords) are in your niche.
There are many types of keyword research tools on the market. There are both free and paid versions. The Google keyword research tool is a free program for example.
RECOMMENDED: Typically, free programs usually lack some vital features. The Google keyword generator is no different, so I highly recommend you get yourself an all-inclusive, high-quality keyword research tool.
I suggest Market Samurai (MS) as the best option. More than 400.000 satisfied users would agree with me. It’s only a low, one-time investment and can save you hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars in the future.
How to Use the Google Keyword Research Tool Step by Step?
Now let’s deal with Google’s free keyword research tool. In my opinion, this is the best free option out there. Let’s examine step-by-step, screenshot-by-screenshot how to use it to find a bunch of high quality, relevant keywords in your niche.
I’m going to use scuba diving as a keyword to help you along with an example. This is actually a topic I'm very interested in.
Step 1
Sign in with your Google AdWords account or create one for free.
You should see a screen like this:
Step 2
Type your main keyword into the "Word or phrase" section and select "Exact" from the "Match Type" menu on the left. Then hit Search. (You can leave "Website" and "Category" empty.) This will set the Google keyword research tool into "database mining" mode.
Soon, you should see a screen like this:
You’ll be presented with a bunch of keywords related to your main search term. You’ll see that some of these keywords consist of 3 or even more parts.
Note: At this point it’s very important to mention that a keyword is NOT always only one word. A keyword is usually a keyphrase. It may consist of several words as well. Usually, the more words a keyword has, the less competitive it is and the easier it is for you to get traffic for that term. But I digress...
Let’s talk about the different columns and what they mean. Although Google gives a good explanation for each of them, here’s a short recap:
Keyword: Pretty self-explanatory. The search term people type into Google to find info on something. This is the data the Google keyword research tool uses
Competition: How many sites are competing for that keyword’s traffic. The higher the competition is, the harder it will be to rank well for this keyword, receive traffic and make money.
Global Monthly Searches: Again, pretty self explanatory. It shows how many people type this keyword into Google a month. The higher this number is, the more traffic a certain keyword can deliver.
Local Monthly Searches: The same as above. However, it lists only local searches. You can usually ignore this number if you plan to build an international website. (We are talking about the World Wide Web, after all.)
Ad Share/Search Share/Google Search Network: You can ignore these columns now.
Approximate CPC (Cost Per Click): You probably used this column in the previous step to determine the profitability of your niche. Now, it doesn’t matter so much.
Local Search Trend: The Google keyword research tool shows how the search volume varies over a year for a particular keyword. It’s a great way to determine the seasonality of a keyword. For example, the word „Christmas gifts” is probably the most popular around November and December, when people are searching for Christmas gifts for their loved ones.
However, probably not many people type „Christmas gifts” into Google in the summer, so then its search volume is probably low.
Step 3
As you examine the list of keywords delivered by Google, you may spot a few ones that aren’t related to your theme or that you don’t want to include in your site.
For example, I can see the following keywords returned for scuba diving:
Since I don’t want my visitors to be freebie seekers (they wouldn’t become paying customers ever) I may decide to exclude all keywords from my list that contain the word “free”.
In order to do so, I have to type “free” into the "Exclude terms" panel on the left hand side of the screen and click the + button.
This way, you can get rid of all the keywords that aren’t relevant to your topic, or that you simply don’t want to create content about.
Similarly to the "Exclude terms" option, there’s an "Include terms" tab as well. You can use this feature if you want Google to return only those keywords that contain a specific word or phrase.
For example, "Padi" is one of the most famous scuba diving institutions in the world. If I want to find all the keywords that contain this term, all I have to do is enter Padi into the "Include terms" box, and click the + sign.
This way, Google will get rid of all the keywords that do not contain Padi. Here’s what my keyword list will look like after using the "Include terms" panel.
You can play around with these features as long as all your keywords are up to your desires.
It’s a great way to get a clean, quality keyword list relevant to your website’s niche.
Step 4
Now you should sort all your keywords by "Global Monthly Searches". You can do so by clicking on "Global Monthly Searches" once. This will order your keyword by putting the most popular ones at the top.
For „scuba diving”, these are the results:
Step 5
The main goal of keyword research is to find keywords with high demand and low supply. You want to find keywords that many people search for, but only a few sites provide.
This will make it a lot easier to rank high for a keyword at Google and receive the keyword’s traffic.
The best way to do this is to compare your keywords’ "Global Monthly Searches" number and"Competition".
RECOMMENDED: This is where a paid keyword research tool comes very handy.
As you can see, the Google keyword research tool doesn’t provide exact Competition numbers. We can only guess what "Low", "Medium" or "High" stand for.
Besides, free tools' data is nowhere near as accurate as a paid tool’s database. If you’re not careful or lucky enough, you may stumble into keywords that have "Low competition" and "High Search Volume" according to Google, but are in reality extremely competitive.
It’s a bit like Russian roulette. You can end up building your whole business on quicksand.
Again, it’s another reason why you should invest into Market Samurai (or your favorite keyword research tool).
Personally, I’d drop all the keywords that have less than 100 "Global Monthly Searches". They’re probably not worth competing for. They wouldn’t bring in sufficient traffic.
Also, I’d carefully examine all my keywords with High Competition.
Usually, it’s very hard to find keywords with "Low" or "Medium" competition, but you should at least aim for them. I’d only target a keyword with High competition if it had sufficient "Global Monthly Searches" (above 250).
Note: Of course these numbers may vary according to your situation. Human judgment rules.
If the Google keyword research tool says a keyword has "High" competition and only 150 "Global Monthly Searches", but you know it would be worth it to build a page for, then go for it! These numbers are only general guidelines. Don’t let them determine everything you do.
Step 6
Go through all your keywords, examine their meaning, "Global Monthly Searches" number and "Competition" data to determine whether you want to include them in your site or not. Keep repeating this process using the Google keyword research tool until you have at least 100-150 relevant, high quality keywords that you could create pages about on your site.
Step 7
Once you’re satisfied with all the keywords in your Google keyword research tool list, you have to download them to your computer. You don’t want all your hard work to be lost.
Note: If you can’t find any relevant keywords with great "Competition" and "Global Monthly Searches" numbers, I suggest you try Market Samurai to get better results or drop your niche idea entirely. The whole point of keyword research is to avoid building your business on unstable foundation. If your keyword research suggests there aren’t enough people interested in your topic, or that your competition is way too strong, start anew with another niche market.
To download your keyword list into an Excel table, simply click on the "Download" tab on top of your keyword results. Then click on "All search results", choose a format and download.
There you go! You already have 100-150 high quality, relevant keywords. Now all you have to do is organize them into logical groups and start creating pages about them.
TIP: In case you don’t know, keywords serve another important purpose. Each of them will be a future page on your website. The more keywords you have, the more pages your site will consist of. Once, the more pages you have to build, the more work you’ll have to put into your site. On the other hand, the more content you have, the more money you’ll make both short- and long-term.
That’s why you should have a look at the content potential of your niche. The more relevant „golden nugget” keywords you uncover, the bigger your niche’s content potential, and the more profitable it will be in the long run.
If you’re really passionate about your topic, I can imagine how excited you are by now. It’s such a great feeling to witness the birth of your website!
And trust me, being the proud owner of a great website feels even better!
Conclusion on the Google Keyword Research Tool
Again, keep in mind that these results are a bit biased. The Google keyword research tool doesn’t provide very accurate data. No free keyword research tool does.
However, for a low one-time cost, Market Samurai can give you everything you need.
Type your main keyword into the "Word or phrase" section and select "Exact" from the "Match Type" menu on the left. Then hit Search. (You can leave "Website" and "Category" empty.) This will set the Google keyword research tool into "database mining" mode.
Soon, you should see a screen like this:
You’ll be presented with a bunch of keywords related to your main search term. You’ll see that some of these keywords consist of 3 or even more parts.
Note: At this point it’s very important to mention that a keyword is NOT always only one word. A keyword is usually a keyphrase. It may consist of several words as well. Usually, the more words a keyword has, the less competitive it is and the easier it is for you to get traffic for that term. But I digress...
*Explanation Side Bar for the Google Keyword Research Tool*
Keyword: Pretty self-explanatory. The search term people type into Google to find info on something. This is the data the Google keyword research tool uses
Competition: How many sites are competing for that keyword’s traffic. The higher the competition is, the harder it will be to rank well for this keyword, receive traffic and make money.
Global Monthly Searches: Again, pretty self explanatory. It shows how many people type this keyword into Google a month. The higher this number is, the more traffic a certain keyword can deliver.
Local Monthly Searches: The same as above. However, it lists only local searches. You can usually ignore this number if you plan to build an international website. (We are talking about the World Wide Web, after all.)
Ad Share/Search Share/Google Search Network: You can ignore these columns now.
Approximate CPC (Cost Per Click): You probably used this column in the previous step to determine the profitability of your niche. Now, it doesn’t matter so much.
Local Search Trend: The Google keyword research tool shows how the search volume varies over a year for a particular keyword. It’s a great way to determine the seasonality of a keyword. For example, the word „Christmas gifts” is probably the most popular around November and December, when people are searching for Christmas gifts for their loved ones.
However, probably not many people type „Christmas gifts” into Google in the summer, so then its search volume is probably low.
Step 3
As you examine the list of keywords delivered by Google, you may spot a few ones that aren’t related to your theme or that you don’t want to include in your site.
For example, I can see the following keywords returned for scuba diving:
Since I don’t want my visitors to be freebie seekers (they wouldn’t become paying customers ever) I may decide to exclude all keywords from my list that contain the word “free”.
In order to do so, I have to type “free” into the "Exclude terms" panel on the left hand side of the screen and click the + button.
This way, you can get rid of all the keywords that aren’t relevant to your topic, or that you simply don’t want to create content about.
Similarly to the "Exclude terms" option, there’s an "Include terms" tab as well. You can use this feature if you want Google to return only those keywords that contain a specific word or phrase.
For example, "Padi" is one of the most famous scuba diving institutions in the world. If I want to find all the keywords that contain this term, all I have to do is enter Padi into the "Include terms" box, and click the + sign.
This way, Google will get rid of all the keywords that do not contain Padi. Here’s what my keyword list will look like after using the "Include terms" panel.
You can play around with these features as long as all your keywords are up to your desires.
It’s a great way to get a clean, quality keyword list relevant to your website’s niche.
Step 4
Now you should sort all your keywords by "Global Monthly Searches". You can do so by clicking on "Global Monthly Searches" once. This will order your keyword by putting the most popular ones at the top.
For „scuba diving”, these are the results:
Step 5
The main goal of keyword research is to find keywords with high demand and low supply. You want to find keywords that many people search for, but only a few sites provide.
This will make it a lot easier to rank high for a keyword at Google and receive the keyword’s traffic.
The best way to do this is to compare your keywords’ "Global Monthly Searches" number and"Competition".
RECOMMENDED: This is where a paid keyword research tool comes very handy.
As you can see, the Google keyword research tool doesn’t provide exact Competition numbers. We can only guess what "Low", "Medium" or "High" stand for.
Besides, free tools' data is nowhere near as accurate as a paid tool’s database. If you’re not careful or lucky enough, you may stumble into keywords that have "Low competition" and "High Search Volume" according to Google, but are in reality extremely competitive.
It’s a bit like Russian roulette. You can end up building your whole business on quicksand.
Again, it’s another reason why you should invest into Market Samurai (or your favorite keyword research tool).
Personally, I’d drop all the keywords that have less than 100 "Global Monthly Searches". They’re probably not worth competing for. They wouldn’t bring in sufficient traffic.
Also, I’d carefully examine all my keywords with High Competition.
Usually, it’s very hard to find keywords with "Low" or "Medium" competition, but you should at least aim for them. I’d only target a keyword with High competition if it had sufficient "Global Monthly Searches" (above 250).
Note: Of course these numbers may vary according to your situation. Human judgment rules.
If the Google keyword research tool says a keyword has "High" competition and only 150 "Global Monthly Searches", but you know it would be worth it to build a page for, then go for it! These numbers are only general guidelines. Don’t let them determine everything you do.
Step 6
Go through all your keywords, examine their meaning, "Global Monthly Searches" number and "Competition" data to determine whether you want to include them in your site or not. Keep repeating this process using the Google keyword research tool until you have at least 100-150 relevant, high quality keywords that you could create pages about on your site.
Step 7
Once you’re satisfied with all the keywords in your Google keyword research tool list, you have to download them to your computer. You don’t want all your hard work to be lost.
Note: If you can’t find any relevant keywords with great "Competition" and "Global Monthly Searches" numbers, I suggest you try Market Samurai to get better results or drop your niche idea entirely. The whole point of keyword research is to avoid building your business on unstable foundation. If your keyword research suggests there aren’t enough people interested in your topic, or that your competition is way too strong, start anew with another niche market.
To download your keyword list into an Excel table, simply click on the "Download" tab on top of your keyword results. Then click on "All search results", choose a format and download.
There you go! You already have 100-150 high quality, relevant keywords. Now all you have to do is organize them into logical groups and start creating pages about them.
TIP: In case you don’t know, keywords serve another important purpose. Each of them will be a future page on your website. The more keywords you have, the more pages your site will consist of. Once, the more pages you have to build, the more work you’ll have to put into your site. On the other hand, the more content you have, the more money you’ll make both short- and long-term.
That’s why you should have a look at the content potential of your niche. The more relevant „golden nugget” keywords you uncover, the bigger your niche’s content potential, and the more profitable it will be in the long run.
If you’re really passionate about your topic, I can imagine how excited you are by now. It’s such a great feeling to witness the birth of your website!
And trust me, being the proud owner of a great website feels even better!
Conclusion on the Google Keyword Research Tool
Again, keep in mind that these results are a bit biased. The Google keyword research tool doesn’t provide very accurate data. No free keyword research tool does.
However, for a low one-time cost, Market Samurai can give you everything you need.
No comments:
Post a Comment