Keyword Research Part One (Video Tutorial)

Before we get into the SEO (search engine optimization) training I really want to make sure you get some understanding of keyword research. There is no sense in optimizing your site using a term or terms that you will probably not be able to rank well for so this should help you get started with finding the correct terms to tackle.

Go ahead and watch the video and below the video I’ve also added some more info and a link to the spreadsheet I’m using and referencing  in the video. The video file is large so depending on your connection speed you might want to hit “play” and then “pause” … this will let the video buffer and you’ll have a better chance of getting it to play through when you watch it:

 
Link to Keyword Tool: https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal

When I do my keyword research I try to find what I call the “sweet spot” which for me means to find the terms with the combination of … the most searches with the least amount of competition. Everyone’s idea of “competition” is different so in the video I explain how I find what I consider my competition (I use the search query: allintitle:”keyword phrase in quotations”). These are the pages I assume have actually optimized for that phrase and who have (or might have) done the work that I’m also willing to do to rank for this phrase (which I will be teaching you to do).

When I used to do this process manually I used a spreadsheet (which hopefully you can download here: Manual Keyword Research Spreadsheet) to input, sort and organize the keyword phrases that I’m considering. I no longer do this process manually but I wanted to teach you this method so that you understand what I’m looking for and for those who don’t have a budget for any paid tools. In an upcoming video I will be sharing the tools I use now to automate this process so make sure you’ve subscribed to the blog RSS.

As I mention in the video, I often get asked exactly how I decide on my keyword phrases. I have some guidelines I go by and then the rest is just experience and my gut. It is very, very different for each of my niches but this is a broad overview just to give you an idea of what I look for. For a main term for an index or main page I try to look for terms that have between 2,000 and 10,000 searches per month (or more) depending on the niche. When I went into my destination wedding niche I saw there were 150,000 – 200,000 monthly searches for the term “destination wedding” and I could see there was a ton of competition. I wanted to tackle something a little more doable. After using these methods I discovered the phrase “best destination wedding” had around 10,000 searches (currently 9,900) and “best destination weddings” currently has 12,100 monthly searches. I would rather go after those two terms and try to master them … then to spend the next decade (literally) trying to rank for “destination wedding.” After doing the work and using the methods I will be teaching you I have achieved page one rankings for both of these terms and I usually stay in the top 5 pretty consistently for these terms. Of course it is my ongoing goal to get as high as possible for these terms.

I hope the video was helpful in teaching you a little bit about keyword research. I will continue with a couple more videos on keyword research and I’ll show you the tools I find invaluable to my business.

I would love to answer your questions so please let me know what you need help with in the comments section below. If you have a specific question and don’t like to share your niche or keywords here … you can also reach me using the contact page.

If you enjoyed the video, please share it using Facebook, Twitter … your favorite social bookmarking site … wherever … I’d really appreciate it *SmiLes* Suzanne

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Tagged as: competition, how to, Keyword Research, video tutorial