Conducting proper keyword research is an important step when developing an internet marketing strategy. Keywords are what web surfers use to find your website, so it’s imperative that you promote your website using keywords that people actually use when searching. In this article, I’ll cover the most valuable features that the ideal keyword research tool should provide to its users.
1. The ability to locate commercially intent keywords
Internet users using these keywords when searching are not looking for free information, they are searching with the expectation of buying. Most commercially intent keywords are also considered long-tail keywords, which are basically three or more words that are specific to a particular product, service, or website.
It’s also important to note that while most commercial-intent keywords are of the long-tail variety, long-tail keywords aren’t necessarily commercial. Fortunately, there is a free service that detects whether a keyword or keyphrase is commercial or not. This service provided by Microsoft is called “Online Commercial Intent Detection” and can be found in the tools section of your adCenter.
2. Show the number of searches
This is perhaps the most important feature of any keyword tool. Without knowing the number of times a keyword is used in search engines, it is virtually impossible to determine its value in marketing campaigns. A good keyword tool should provide the number of searches per month and per year. The number of monthly searches is particularly important when budgeting for pay-per-click ads.
A yearly search volume feature is also useful for determining the search trend for a particular keyword over time. For example, some keywords related to Christmas gifts or supplies may have high search volume during the fall months, but very low search volume during the months after the holiday season. Obviously, this is vital information to have when launching a marketing campaign and the ability to compare the number of annual searches to the number of monthly searches will provide this insight into keyword search trends.
3. Show the number of pages of the competition
Knowing the number of pages competing for a particular keyword is absolutely essential. It would be unrealistic to try to rank high in search engines for keywords that have a lot of competition. Keywords with low competition and high search volume are ideal.
The number of competing pages can be derived by using quotes around a keyword when performing a search. The number of “hits” that the search engine returns when quotes are used is the number of competing pages. The ability to calculate this number for each keyword is a very convenient feature in keyword research software.
4. Show the number of Google ads
This is a nice feature for a keyword tool to possess. Google ads showing for particular keywords are a good indication of profitability. If there is no money on a keyword, it is unlikely that many, if any, ads will be shown. On the other hand, if many ads are being shown for a keyword, this could be an indication that pay-per-click advertising is too competitive.
Professional keyword research tools should not only collect low-competition and profitable keywords, but also provide useful time-saving features like the ones mentioned in this article. Since they are the primary method potential customers use to find your website, it’s safe and appropriate to say that keywords are “key.”