Importance of Good Keyword Research

Keyword research is the most important skill you must learn to become a successful Internet marketer. It is not something you can learn over night. It takes time and a lot of work. Your keyword list is just that, a list. It is not going to be a few words or phrases. A single product can have hundreds of possible keywords.

Your keyword research begins with finding a few basic keywords and expands from those words. As the Internet has expanded more and more people are searching for products and information, and their search words have gone from one or two keywords into phrases. Single and two word search terms give broad search results where as phrases will get them closer to what they are seeking. My point is, do not limit your research to only one or two word keywords.

Keyword Research Tools:

The absolute best tool to start you keyword research is Google Keyword Tool. Why is it the best? First it's free and second, its results come from what people are actually searching for on Google and the keywords they are using to search. If you are not familiar with Google's keyword tool take the time to do so. I will not go into great detail as how to use this tool only to say you can multiply your keyword list by selecting words or terms from the list Google gives you from your first search and plugging them back into Google to get more possible keywords.

Also, there is a small drop box on the right side of the search results which will, at first, show "broad". If you click the box it will display "phrase" and "exact". If you change from broad to phrase or exact  and then repeat your search you will get even more keywords and phrases. The "phrase" results is search phrases which contain your search words. The "exact" results are search phrases that are exactly the same as the search phrase.

To become more familiar with this great tool, use the Keyword Tool Tip  at the top of the Google Site page. Google also provides, for free, Google Traffic Estimator This can also be a powerful tool although its results have limited value. As with any tool, it is just a tool and not some magical window to fame and fortune.

The second best tool for your research is KeywordSpy.com.

This tool allows you to see who your competitors are and what keywords they are bidding on. A full search will give you a complete list of your competitors. This list will also give you an idea of how many competitors are in your market. If you click on some or all the listed competitors and get their keywords, your keyword list will multiply with just a few clicks of you mouse.

Dig deep and wide into this information. You can get limited results from the free search but you will be best served with a paid subscription. It is worth more than the cost of the subscription. This one product in combination with google keyword tool can produce an enormous list of keywords and phrases. Remember that "phrase" and [exact phrase] are important elements of any keyword list. Use quote marks,(" ") for phrase  and brackets [  ] for exact phrase.