[Acuity]

hi all, just wondering, how d you all choose what keywords to target in your seo?

[lazytycoon]

search volume V competition strength (dont confuse with volume of competition) V OCI V how much the current top sites are making V what people are actually typing when the mean me

[STWebDesign]

I use https://adwords.goog...ordToolExternal Its very good for choosing what words to use.

[gentlefoot]

I wrote an article on this very subject:

http://www.articleda...-Phrases/694520

[illustrated]

Acuity, on 19 July 2009 - 12:39 AM, said:

hi all, just wondering, how d you all choose what keywords to target in your seo?

1. Look at the google adwords tool as specified in another post - so you can see what is searched for. No point targeted terms that dont get searched for.

2. Once terms identified look at the google rankings so you can see how competitive that term is and whether you have the opportunity to get on Page 1 for that term.

3. Ensure the content on the page and onpage optimisation matches the keyword you are targeting

[Martin Greenwood]

Personally I think that http://www.google.com/trends is one of the best sites to use for kwyword research...

type in what you want to be found for and it will give you an overall result on what the most popular search engine trends are for that paticular niche.

[Sam G]

That doesn't always works though if not enough people search using your keyword phrase (although I guess you might want to use a more popular choice of phrase).

[thefandango]

Is the question what keywords to choose from the tools, or is it a more general, where do I start deciding on keywords I want to work with?

[wizely]

My advice is not to get sucked blindly into a numbers game... the most popular searches - even relevant ones - aren't necessarily performed by potential customers.
Silly made-up example:
You might optimize for 'web design tips' because it's the most popular search but you get horrific bounce rates because it's your fellow designers, not clients who search for it.
Another one on getting really specific:
You might go for 'low cost web design' but your audience might search for 'cheap websites'.

The knack is to understand the market - target specific audiences and really focus on what they're searching for and the terms they use. Best conversions often come from highly specific 'long-tail' phrases (best of all with low competition) that tell you the person searching is serious about buying.

In other words don't just look at the numbers, try to figure out who's searching for what - best thing to do is test, test, test...

And then, if you want customers not traffic, don't forget engaging and targeted sales copy that's highly relevant and gets people to respond not bounce!

Keyword tools are like calculators... any idiot can use one, but coming-up with the right answer is the hard part.