Keyword Demand
Continuation of Lesson 5 from You Can Make Money
Writing
To understand the basics of keyword demand and supply, I start
this part with a look at how keywords are usually chosen. Then
I'll introduce you to a better way. The "demand" part
is in part just a matter of how many people search using a given
phrase. You need decent demand or you might be writing stuff
that nobody finds. Total demand is just one thing to consider,
though, so let's look at some other factors...
1. Keyword Demand/Supply Ratio
I just checked and found that there were 284,000 searches
for "fishing" last month. That's is great, but could
you compete against the 34 million results on a Google search
using that phrase? Perhaps the term "bass fishing tips,"
with 3,760 searches, and just 30,500 results would be easier
to compete for.
SEO experts used to advise (many still do) that you just choose
keywords that have the best demand/supply ratio, using this basic
formula:
A. Get the monthly "count" (traffic) for various
potential keywords.
B. Enter each into a search engine (Google usually) to see
how many results pages there are.
C. Divide the first number by the second - the higher the
result, the better. So "fishing" has a ratio of .008,
(284,000/34,000,000). The ratio for "bass fishing tips"
is .12 (3,700/31,500). That's better (higher), and if you ever
get close to a ratio of "1" you've hit the jackpot.
But you also have to consider...
2. Total Supply
For the search term "dirtbagging," Google shows
240 results, and there may be 10 searches monthly for the term.
My backpacking site gets half of them, and it was easy to get
on the first page of results. But even though a keyword with
a demand of a million, and a million search results has a better
ratio, could you get in the first few pages of results? Not likely.
You see, regardless of the ratio, you have to be able to compete
against all the other pages out there. If a million pages out
there target a particular keyword, a few dozen or hundred of
them will almost certainly do better than yours in the results.
And by the way, if you are on the tenth page of results, virtually
nobody will find you - ever. Do you search ten pages deep when
looking for something online?
3. The Keyword Type
Good search engine placement is nice, but what type of visitor
are you getting for a given keyword? Who's more likely to buy
something from your online fishing equipment store, or click
on your affiliate product links; a searcher for "fishing
stories," or "fishing tackle?" You would be happier
with half as much traffic for the second term as the first, because
the second indicates a buyer.
Actually, I would target both, but if I had to write just
one article or page today, I would start with the term that is
more likely to produce "high value visitors." The other
term is still good for some traffic, but if there was enough
keywords for high-quality traffic, I might never get to the others.
How do you know which keywords produce high quality traffic
or high value visitors? One way to determine this would be to
open a pay-per-click advertising account to see the bids for
different keywords. You don't have to actually use the account
to advertise. You just want to see what advertisers are paying.
If they pay 60 cents-per-click for "french course"
and only 20 cents for "learn french online," for example,
you can assume that the former delivers more valuable visitors,
because advertisers don't keep bidding up those keywords that
don't deliver profitable traffic.
Common sense works well too. You can reasonably assume that
searchers for "scrapbook supplies" are more likely
to be buyers than those searching "scrapbook ideas,"
right? A searcher for "best luggage" is more likely
to click on affiliate ads for suitcases than someone looking
for "packing tips."
4. "Odd" Keywords
After I optimized IncreaseBrainpower.com for "brain power,"
I found there was even more traffic for "brainpower,"
so I used that on the pages as well. I think the trend has reversed
now - a lesson on the value of periodically rechecking the keywords
being used. Both are in the dictionary by the way.
Odd search phrases are fine, but be careful optimizing for
misspellings and bad-grammar keywords as some webmasters do.
This can hurt the reputation of your site, and if done in an
article, some directories may reject it.
5. Value of PPC Advertisements
If you rely on Google AdSense or any similar pay-per-click
(PPC) programs, you may want to consider what kind of ads will
be displayed on your pages for a given keyword. Different ad
types will generate different amounts per click. Ads on poetry
pages will get you pennies per click, while pages about surveillance
cameras can get you dollars per click. Content based PPC programs
specifically target the ads according to content on each page,
so with wise keyword selection you can create higher-revenue
pages - ones that bring in those high value visitors.
6. Your Interest and Knowledge
When checking out keyword demand don't ignore your own interest
in the topic suggested by each phrase. Also consider whether
you have something worth saying about it. Can you deliver what
a searcher of that term is looking for, and do you want to write
about this subject? Ultimately you'll do best if you offer real
value to readers while writing on topics that sustain your interest
and motivate you to write well and frequently, so take those
factors into account.
Optimizing Articles versus Web Pages
This lesson is mostly about doing keyword research for web
pages, but almost everything here is applicable to optimizing
your articles as well. There is an important difference with
articles; each directory you submit to, and not your own website,
will compete for traffic to your articles. This means you might
go ahead and try targeting "tough" keywords more often.
There are keywords I can't compete for on my own site, for
example, yet my articles show up in the search results for those
same keywords - in the directories. Some article directories
are better than I am at getting their pages found in those search
results. The resulting indirect traffic - the searcher finds
the article in the directory, reads it and clicks through to
my site - is better than nothing.
This lesson continues with more on keyword demand and a better
way to do the research here... How
to Do Keyword Research
Note: This is part of the book, You Can Make Money
Writing. There are links to all the all the lessons/chapters
on the home page.
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