One can never underestimate the power of having the right keywords to drive traffic to ones website. It can often mean the difference between success and failure. The best keywords are usually the right combination of words to create a phrase. And this is usually the term people search most often. Why is having the right set of keywords crucial? Because it is what is going to determine the influx of targeted traffic to your website. Therefore it increases chances of sales and also better search engine ranking.

Identify niche target audience

Today everyone is jumping on the ?specialization' bandwagon. It is no longer a yardstick of competitive edge if you're targeting a generalized audience. Therefore, once you have identified the niche segment you are catering to, you need to focus on appropriate SEO and keyword research.

Keyword research: Not Much Ado About Nothing

When talking about keyword research, there is much more to it than meets the eye. It is far more complex than knowing which terms are most popularly searched by users. Out of the millions of websites that compete with you, 90% of them are going to have the same set of keywords you will use for your site. Is that a smart idea? Not really. Not when you're a small name in the industry and want to stand out from the crowd. What will help is not to choose keywords that are very competitive. You need to choose keywords that have not been overused ? although that signals less traffic, it is far better than no sales at all. That is the primary reason most organizations are investing in advanced keyword research tools like Google AdWords etc.

How to do keyword research: Google Adwords

Google has brought out one of the best keyword research tools available today ? the Adwords. This tool helps users to identify exact keywords that will propel targeted traffic to their websites. It is powerful, simple to use and very effective. It is aimed at directing targeted traffic to your website.

Keyword tool

Google AdWords has a keyword tool where one can enter one or more keywords or phrases, and then they can obtain many more such synonymous keywords which are not overused. The keyword tool has several options like the keyword search volume, cost and advertisement position estimates, search volume trends and possible negative keywords, all of which can help to figure out various aspects of a set of keywords.

Keyword suggestion tool

This is a more recent feature introduced by Google Adwords. In this tool one can list keywords or sort them out based on priority, popularity etc. One can also manipulate keywords by adding one or two keywords or even a bunch of them. Linking can be done to the website and it guarantees traffic to your website.

Broad match, exact match and phrase match

Broad match refers to the set of keywords used initially to arrive at a broad based search result. These would not be very specific to the product or service your website might be offering, but they are inclusive of these. Phrase match refers to a group of keywords resulting in a phrase that is commonly searched for. As time progresses, one can refine the keywords more and more by analyzing the search logs of the website. Exact match refers to the exact et of keywords users will search for. These usually result in the highest influx of targeted traffic and are the ones most likely to get sales.

#1 for every one?

While doing keyword research, it is also important to ascertain the ranking and priority for each keyword. While some require to be at the number 1 ranking in a search engine, others could do well with even a 3rd or 4th ranking. However this is more of a strategic business decision and needs careful thought and consideration.

Search volume need not guarantee sales

Most people make the mistake of thinking that the number of searches made on a keyword will result in more targeted traffic which in turn implies more sales. That is quite a misconception. What really determines sales, is actually the conversion rate or ratio. A set of keywords may not be exactly pertaining to what your product offers but if it's conversion rate is more, this is what will fetch you more profit.