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Choosing a Keyword Research Tool
By Julie | June 13, 2007
Like it or not, search engine optimization still starts at the page level. Without belittling the importance of quality site architecture and design, the first thing most people will think of when you say ‘SEO’ will be keyword research and content optimization.
I think keyword research is important. A lot of it is verifying the obvious, but sometimes you can find some hidden gems to target if you take some effort and get creative.
However, creativity and effectiveness is limited by your source choice. Different tools offer different advantages. Without going into a recommendation of ‘pick THIS one,’ here are factors I tend to consider when choosing a tool:
- What’s the data source? — some tools pull from meta search engines, some from ISP data, some from just their own source. Some have many data streams.
- Does that data source have the potential to represent your target audience? — you can have a ton of data, but, say I’m targeting US Hispanics. A data pull from Yahoo Spain isn’t going to be representative for me, as it’ll use Castillian Spanish and represent the interests of Spaniards, not Spanish speakers from Latin America living in the US!
- What’s it cost? — Hey, we’ve all had gigs where the budget for pretty much anything, including our own salaries and benefits, was equal to bupka. Sure, the Google and Overture tools have intense limitations, but the price is right.
I think a lot of elementary level SEOs don’t look at where the database for any given tool is sourced from, which means they’re missing an important decision factor in keyword selection. Looking at sources, and not just numbers and proportions, is one of the things an SEO can do to truly consult on content optimization. Anyone can parrot terms from a tool — a monkey who didn’t take its Ritalin can do that.
Content converts. Putting enough effort and creativity in at the front end gets you the data you need in analytics to make continued informed judgements in the long-term, and actually build traffic from a solid base.
Topics: SEO, content strategy, databases, education, marketing, rant |
