Keyword research and analysis is one of the fundamental aspects in search engine marketing (both SEO and PPC).
There a number of techniques and tools that can be used to help find the right keywords for a website/business – but there are many flaws in the process that must be addresses both at the time of selection and on an on-going basis.
Sometimes keywords are selected because they appear to have high levels of search volume. Search volume can be misreported by the tools used in keyword research. This is often caused by automated software performing searches disguised as human searchers that will totally skew the results for some keywords and industries.
Furthermore, search volume does not necessarily mean high levels of site traffic once decent rankings are achieved. If the PPC ad or the site’s page title and snippet with Organic/SEO is not providing a compelling reason to click, many searchers will simply "step over" the high ranking site.
Or perhaps people search with that keyword or phrase when they are performing initial research queries. They type something quite broad… realise that there is nothing too relevant or perhaps there are too many results and then quickly refine their search. This initial search has high search volume … but very low click through rates.
The other flaw with keyword research that seems to be missed frequently is with the "intent" of the searcher. If you have a commercial website (B2B,eCommerce , etc) then you want and need to be ranking well for keywords that will convert into the desired action (lead, download, order, sale). You want keywords that have "commercial intent" and these are not always the search terms that are at the top of the search volume list.
For example, which of these key phrases have commercial intent:
- search engine optimisation
- search engine optimisation company
The first may have higher search volume, but it has a far lower commercial intent due to range of how it may be used when searching – research, education, employment, commercial, etc.
Here’s another example:
- Apartment
- Apartment for Rent
Again the second more refined (perhaps slightly lower traffic) keyword phrase has more commercial intent.
Recently, Microsoft released a tool based on a recent study that helps identify commercial intent with keywords – http://adlab.msn.com/Online-Commercial-Intention/oci.aspx. It is useful as a guide – but its results can be sporadic so use with caution.
The best way to judge commercial intent is to make it a part of your keyword selection process. When selecting keywords for commercial websites pause to think about the intent of each one. Use the Microsoft tool – but use your brain too as common sense will often prevail. The main thing is to stop chasing keywords purely for search volume – you need keywords that actually mean business.
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