subject: Keyword Research - The Core Of Search Engine Optimization Tips [print this page] There really are no hard and fast search engine optimization tips when it comes to keyword research for any online business. You will just get better at it over time. It varies from market to market. Consider comparing the mortgage industry to mating habits of mosquitoes in Ethiopia. They are worlds apart obviously. You cannot go for the same volume of keywords in that very small niche compared to something big like the mortgages.
As a general rule of thumb, depending on who my SEO company is working with, for my first primary keyword, the keyword right up at the top, I like to see about 5000 plus searches in the Google free keyword search tool.
These aren't magic numbers, they are just guides. That's not so much competition, that's how many searches. I usually do the broad terms. I only do the phrases when I'm looking at the competition. Depending on what the keywords are, sometimes you'll pick up variations. For example I'll go after band merch and sometimes I'll get merch and band as well. It's probably not a good example of swapping it around, but there are a lot of keywords where it doesn't really matter if you swap that syntax or that order around. It's going to be useful searches.
In the second tier, the categories, you need 2000 plus searches, but I will go for keywords that are as competitive if not more competitive than that primary money phrase. The primary money phrase is looking for that balance between, yes, I think it is going to convert really highly, and yes there is also large volume of searches. For that second tier, that is why I don't mind going higher. Look for variance as well. Depending on the client we are working for, we will go for some lower hanging fruit and we will go for some more competitive things. This is one of my search engine optimization tips - get some quick easy wins. That can get some momentum going. That money can then fund more SEO services like link building and so on.
For the third tier, the longer tail things, usually I like to see some searches there, maybe around fifty. Depending on, if you're going for local markets or Google places, sometimes you would not even find a match, it will come back with no information. I mean if you're going for dentist South Yarra or dentists Greensborough, dentist Greensborough is probably not going to come up with many searches. That is not to say I don't go after it. In the local market a few extra users or a bit of extra traffic is going to convert at a much higher rate.
When we work with the dentist, following the search engine optimization tips shared we might have doubled his traffic even his numbers are quite low. An increase of twenty or thirty people a day for a local business is quite high because of the rate at which they convert. That is the whole buying phrase versus broad match.
