How to Effectively Do Keyword Research

What are you looking for?

The first step that you need to take in effective keyword research is to know what you are looking for.  It seems like an obvious thing to do, but there are so many ways you can be distracted when doing research.  Make sure you identify the topics you want and list any similar words that might relate to your target subject.

Sometimes it also helps to re-word your topic into a question.  Write down any questions that come to mind when you think about your topic.  This will help you pull out other words and phrases that you might have missed in your original research.

Search Engines

Search engines are an extremely useful tool when making lists of useful and effective keywords.  Enter your selected keywords and do a search.  You will get pages and pages of results within a matter of seconds.  After a list of possible pages has been populated, you should click on the related links for what you are looking for. Browse the sites for keywords and topics that you might have missed.

Always remember that you should use more than one search engine to get the maximum results possible.

The Printed Word

Do not forget about dictionaries, encyclopedias and other printed material.  The internet is a very useful tool, but sometimes our targeted topic can be lost under mountains and mountains of random internet links that lead nowhere.  A short trip to your local library will probably do you a world of good in effective keyword research.

Magazines and other printed social media can also be used to make a functional list of keywords available to you.

Evaluate

When you feel that you have a pretty solid list of related keywords, make sure you remember to actually evaluate them to ensure they point where you want them to.  Making sure that your list of keywords is credible and accurate is a very important step that most people will skip.  Your list of words will do you little good if they do not point you or your visitors in the right direction.

Make sure that your words do not conflict with each other and try to condense the list down to the most important entries.  It might also be helpful to rearrange your group of words into a numbered list.  Be sure to put the most relevant words at the top and continue working your way down the list.

Good Luck!

Now that you understand the process of gathering effective and relevant keywords, you will be able to update any site or material in order to target a specific list of entries.  This will ensure that only people who are interested in a certain topic will be directed to your subject matter.  This is particularly useful when you are selling a product or service.  You definitely want people interested in what you are selling to be directed to your services.  For more information on keyword research, please visit my blog at http://www.annettapowellonline.com.   See you there!

Yours sincerely

Annetta Powell

Your Professional Success Coach