Where can I find this tool?
http://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal
Or search for Google Keyword Tool
What is Google Keyword tool?
Google Keyword Tool provides keyword ideas for your website Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) based on actual Google search queries (both locally in your own country and also worldwide!). The tool is also used along with Google Adwords to identify keywords for your online advertising campaign with Google. In this article we will not be discussing Adwords but instead will focus on how Google Keyword Tool can help with you website SEO.
The keyword tool can show you keyword ideas that you may not have considered before, for example it can show you keywords with alternative spellings, synonyms and other popular related keywords that may be relevant to your initial search term.
How can it improve my website in the search engines?
By adding the new keyword ideas to your web pages you will broaden the overall range of keywords that best describe your business and increase the likelihood of being found in the search results for these new keywords!
For example, your business might be an Outdoor Activity Centre but some people might use different terms in attempt to find you (e.g. Outdoor Adventure Centre, Outdoor Pursuits Centre, Activity Holiday Centre…etc.)
Keyword Research to Generate Traffic.
Using the right keyword is the cornerstone of successful SEO
Keywords are the words that web surfers enter in search engines to find web sites. It is important that your web site has good search engine rankings for popular keywords that are related to the theme of your web site.
It’s pointless to optimise your web pages for keywords that nobody uses in the search engines. In addition, in order to get targeted visitors, the keywords must not be too broad or too general.
Which keywords are the right keywords for your web site?
Use focused and targeted keyword phrases that are common enough so the web searcher will use them, but selective enough that they don’t return millions of matches. Very specific keywords generate highly qualified, targeted traffic that increases your sales.
The keywords you use should be relevant for your web site and web surfers should be searching for your keywords. Most people use a two to four word phrase in a search, so phrases are very effective.
Internet users who use four-word searches are more likely to purchase goods or services than those using fewer words (source: Oneupweb Research).
If you want to be successful in Website promotion, it’s absolutely CRITICAL that you base your SEO campaign on foundation of well researched keywords/key phrases.
In brief :
1. Identify your Unique Selling Points (USP) and express them as simple keyword phrases.
2. Avoid single word keywords. They are too broad and don’t convert into sales.
3. 2. Select key phrases consisting of two to four words.
4. 3. Focus on keywords that will bring you targeted traffic.
5. 4. Optimize each page for one or maximum two keywords.
6. 5. If your site is brand new, then start your campaign with moderately competitive keywords first.
If website optimisation is building a house, then keyword research is the FOUNDATION of it.
Next: How do I use Google Keyword Tool?
How do I use Google Keyword Tool?
Go to Google Keyword Tool:
http://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal
Or search for Google Keyword Tool
1. Select Your Countries
Typically by default the search results are tailored to “English, United Kingdom”.
You can change this to another country by pressing “edit”.
If you sell to multiple countries (e.g. Ireland and United Kingdom) from one website, or if you target multiple countries, you can select more than one country by doing a “Control + Click” (on a PC) or “Command + Click” (if you’re using a Mac).
2. Generate Keywords
There are a couple options for generating keywords – you can enter your own keywords, or use an existing URL. In the second option, Google will extract keywords off the page and generate related keywords.
Option 1: Keywords
Type in a few of your main keywords, in this case, if you’re an Outdoor Activity Centre – enter this as your keyword (you can enter multiple keywords / phrases)
Choose to use synonyms or not. I’d use synonyms the first time, and if the results are irrelevant, go back and uncheck the box, and redo the search.
Option 2: URL
Here’s a trick – don’t use your own website URL. If you are “Outdoor Activity Centre” – choose the website listed in the top search result for “Outdoor Activity Centre” in Google and let Google extract related keywords off that page. This allows you to see some keyword ideas from your competitors! Just be sure to ignore keywords that are not relevant to your site.
After about a minute a table will appear with 4 columns: Keyword, Advertiser Competition, Local Search Volume for the last month, and Global Search Volume. If there are a lot of keywords it will be a long scrolling list, grouped into subcategories. But the important thing to note is that Google has just done all the hard work for you, and selected relevant keywords based on your content!
Now all you have to do is pick and choose which ones you want to target and optimise on your web page. Note that in each column are some green bar graphs, these represent the volume of each search term; Google doesn’t actually disclose how many searches are being performed, just a relative amount.
3. How to sort the results generated.
Next, a good approach is sort the list by Local Search Volume (or Global Search Volume) by clicking on the column title. This will display each group of keywords (if you have more than one) in order of descending search volume. This will show the most popular keywords, averaged over the last 12 months, which are getting the most queries by volume. It’s also important to look at the Search Volume for the last month column, because if it’s much lower than the average search volume than your keyword’s popularity may be on a downward trend.
Local Search Volume Vs Global Search Volume
Local Search Volume relates to the volume of search keywords in your country, which is Ireland or Google Ireland in this example (Google.ie, using the option to show “pages from Ireland”). Global Search Volume relates to the volume of search keywords in Google for the rest of the world combined.
How might this apply to you? If your business is located in Ireland and your target audience is predominantly people living in Ireland then the Local Search Volume will be more relevant to your research. However, if your business also targets an audience outside Ireland then you will want to pay attention to Global Search Volume indicators also. You can also select multiple specific countries and real get targeted results.
The next column I want to look at is the Advertiser Competition. This specifically displays the number of advertisers bidding on each keyword relative to all keywords across Google. We’re not too concerned with Adwords right now, but you can bet if a lot of people are bidding on a keyword, than there is also going to be some heavy competition to rank for that keyword in search results.
So what you want to look for are keywords with relatively high average search volume, but relatively low competition. You should find plenty of 2 and 3 word phrases as keywords which have a good search volume but lower competition. Target those, and compile a list of about a dozen or so.
4. Create / Download a list of your new keywords
As you discover new keywords you can create a list in Google Keyword Tool and download them when you are finished. To add a keyword and create a list, simply click on “Add” beside your chosen keyword – your keyword will be added to a new list on the right hand side of the page.
At the bottom of the list you have the option to download it, simply click on “Download all keywords: text, .csv (for excel), .csv”
Now you’ve got some keywords to optimise for web search engine marketing!
Of course it’s not over there. You’ve got to do some research by actually conducting queries on those SEO keywords, gauging the amount of volume in the results, review how your competitors are ranking, etc. But that’s a topic for a more advanced article…
Summary:
The ultimate goal is to incorporate your new keywords into your web page content and also web page code (Meta tags). Boost your SEO by creating new content (or blog content), adding keywords to your title tags, or using keywords in “anchor text” for your internal linking and in external link building campaigns. Or use keywords and hot products in your email marketing headlines and offers.
