Keywords are the vital part of Search Engine Optimization. The relevant keywords and proper placement of them decides the visibility of your website on search engines. Relevant keywords help you get better traffic and reach potential buyers. Hence it is very important to expand your keyword list, to expand quality traffic on your site.
There are various free tools online to start with your keyword research. Google's Keyword Tool is one of the famous tools available online. The other free tools include: Related Pages, SEO Book Keyword Suggestion Tool, Good Keywords and Digital Point Keyword Research Tool. There are other fee based keyword research tools availble. Among them WordTracker is a popular one. They also provide 7 days trial version. Your keyword research should include:
1. Long tail keywords:
Long tail keywords are the words you use with your primary keyword which gives you the depth of the keyword. For Example: Sweaters could be your main keyword and you can bucket this term depending on its other features like Short-sleeved sweaters, hand knit sweaters, cashmere sweaters, sleeveless sweaters, round neck sweaters etc.
2. Synonyms and Acronyms:
You can categorize your keywords with their synonyms and acronyms. A synonym is a word having same or similar meaning. For Example: Along with sweaters you can use other terms like cardigan, turtle neck, pullovers, jumper or jersey. An acronym is a word formed from initial letters of a name. For example: SEO is the acronym for Search Engine Optimization.
3. Word Stemming and Variations:
When we Google a term, it returns not only the sites containing those terms but also its derivations. For example the search for swim shows results for swimming, swimming pool etc. Hence it is important to include word variation in your keyword list.
4. Competitor Terms:
World Wide Web could get pretty competitive, specially when you are aiming for a certain keyword which is the bulls eye for other one million websites. It is very important you know who your competitors are. If you are wondering how to find your competitors, well here's what you can do: simply type your primary keyword on the search box and the results on the first page are your competitors (if you are aiming for the first page rank on search engines). You can use tools like IBP which provides you the list of competitors and their keywords. You can also check their title tag and meta keyword tag to check on their list of keywords along with how they have used it in their content.
5. Misspellings:
Humans make mistakes, which is an universal truth and they make mistakes while typing in the search box. Though misspellings are not very important but misspelled words could give you the chance to be on top pages. You'll be amazed by the results misspelled words give. If you think they are worth it, well you can add it on your keyword list.
6. Benefits and Features:
The benefits and features of your product could be a very important reason and path for your prospects to reach to you. People are interested in what they get from using a particular product. Sometimes they might not know the name of the product but the usage of it. For example: They might search : cure for headache instead of the medicine name, so it is important you list the benefits and features of your product or services in your keyword list.
After your keyword research you can start keyword bucketing. Keyword bucketing simply means to categorize the list of keywords based on the search results. The higher searched terms can go together, the less competitive ones could be teamed together and so on (Categorizing your keywords totally depends upon your preference). This will help you know the popularity of the keywords. If you are new to the World Wide Web, it is advisable not to aim for the most competitive keywords. As a start you can use less competitive keywords and try out various keyword combination.
