Keyword Research ToolsKeyword research for pay per click campaigns and/or natural search engine optimisation is fundamental. Lets face it if you aren’t targeting the real phrases your potential purchasers are using then you are at a real disadvantage. But it’s good to use a variety of tools as each get their data from different sources and so give you slightly different information. FREE TOOLSThis returns keywords offers 2 options: One based on the original keyword you type in, synonyms and other related words. The other way allows you to get “site-related” keywords, so you can build a keyword list based on a website. (Hint - this can but doesn’t have to be your own!). Just simply enter a URL and a keyword list is generated. You can build a keyword list literally as you do your research by saving the keywords you select by downloading to text or .csv file, or even (if your logged in) directly into your Google AdWords Account). There are two versions of this Google keyword tool, one is for Adwords customers who are logged in, and the other is accessible by anyone.
External tool Internal tool (must be logged in) Wordtracker provides a free keyword research tool that gives estimated daily traffic numbers for up to 100 keywords unfortunately for us in the UK the free version uses US data This tool now only shows limited wordtracker data for United States even though it still says you get information from Overture!? (Now Yahoo!) It may be obvious but another really fantastic source of keywords is a dictionary This tool is a great place to start. It has wordtracker counts, google, yahoo and msn daily counts (be wary just use for comparison of totals). You can do detailed research, and by revising the languages and countries in the Google Traffic Estimator Tool you can even access the data that Google normally makes you sign into your account for(Internal tool – see above). There are also ways of getting synonyms and semantically linked words through quintura. In addition there is also links to the phrase for the major social networks and blogs. A Great Tool. This tool scrapes results to show you suggestions for your search in real time with the corresponding results. PAID TOOLSWordtracker has a database containing hundreds of millions of keywords collected by various metacrawlers. It’s really good for advanced stages of keyword research it also has a specific UK Database allowing competitive KEI (Keyword Effectiveness Index). KeyCompete is a tool for finding which keywords competitors are bidding on. It’s not always 100% reliable but you get a general idea - plus it gives you lists of advertisers for any keyword phrase. Full version costs $39 / month People predominantly use KeywordSpy to find which keywords your competitors are bidding on. It’s quite similar to KeyCompete, in that it allows you enter a domain name and see lists of their keywords. They have a free trial of their service, but full version is $89.95/month Keyword Discovery gets data from search engines around the world and is supposedly one of the better keyword tools around. I own the paid version and I don’t think it is particularly easy to work your way around. Free trial is available but full version is $69.95 / month. RapidKeyword says it can find profitable keywords for your niche. RapidKeyword has Overture keyword suggestion tool, a tool that finds potential keywords on web pages, Yahoo related keywords, Google keyword external tool and a typo generator built in. It offers a full feature free trial download but it costs $69.99 to buy.
Check your Link PopularityTo check your link popularity (how many incoming links are there to your site) in the major search engines: GoogleSimply type link: and then your website address into the google search box. For example, to check the link popularity of www.nike.com you would type link:www.nike.com. Other search engines work slightly differently. Yahoo, MSN and HotBotJust type linkdomain: and then the web address into the appropriate search box Search. So, checking the link popularity of the Nike website would be linkdomain:www.nike.com Then try this with your major competitors. You’ll find how well you stack up against them. If the figures you find are worrying you might need help link building. It’s quite a task even with the specialist software we have, but without it, it can be a nightmare! Just call Ian on 07989 077778 or email ian.b@webviz.co.uk with the details, he’ll be in touch. Check if you’re in the search enginesTo check whether the search engines even know you exist: Google, Yahoo, MSN and HotBotJust type site: and then the web address into the appropriate search box. So, checking the inclusion of the nike website would be site:www.nike.com Then try this with your major competitors. You’ll find out if their included and you’re not. If this is the case you might need help with search engine submission and directories. It’s not tricky but can be expensive and very time consuming if you don’t know the best order and process for each of the important engines. For help just call Ian on 07989 077778 or email ian.b@webviz.co.uk with the details, he’ll be in touch. Check your PageRankPageRank is Google’s indication of a page’s importance. It is one of many factors that google uses to determine a site’s position is search results. To check your PageRank you need to download the Google Toolbar.
NB/only available to Internet Explorer browsers. Once downloaded and installed the toolbar from http://toolbar.google.com/ - You should now see a small bar on the toolbar labelled PageRank.
- Search for your site in google.
- The small green box will appear with a score out of 10.
- This is your site’s PageRank. A higher number is better.
Then try this with your major competitors. You’ll find how well you stack up against them.
If the figures you find are worrying you might need help link building. Building PageRank is a long job involving generating site content, Online PR and link building. If you want a hand with anything to get your site higher in the search engine for the real phrases your potential customers use just call Ian on 07989 077778 or email ian.b@webviz.co.uk with the details, he’ll be in touch. Other resourcesSubmit URLSubmit URL to our human-edited web directory. Add your link today.Arakne-Links Directory Internet Marketing Resources E Commerce Web Ecommerce Web Site
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