|
For
me personally, Wordtracker.com is not just a tool for looking up keywords. Sure,
thats one good use for it, but what I want to distinguish is another influential
and exciting use for Wordtracker as an SEO resource.
"Keywords" for use
in your Meta tags are probably the least influential element in search engine
optimization these days. However, hunting for keywords still seems the most popular
use for Wordtracker. After all, it contains over 336 million queries within its
database, which is no older than 60 days. An SEO can spend long periods of time
doing research and hunting for keywords. But lets really try and get our minds
around the keyword hunting issue for a minute, and Ill explain a few other tips
for using Wordtracker.
Identify your target audiences "surfing behavior"
Is there any greater discovery than having an understanding of a target audiences
"surfing behavior?" Its like a light coming on in your mind. Its like flipping
on a switch to an idea generator! Wordtracker will give you absolutely AMAZING
detail if you take time to think about it laterally and outside of the context
of just a "keyword hunt."
Later in this article, Ill explain how you can
use WordTracker to identify your audiences surfing behavior.
Move beyond
the "keyword universe" function.
In speaking with many search engine optimizers,
I have learned that so many seem to get stuck in the "Keyword Universe" feature.
The ability to generate lists of keyword phrases using the built in thesaurus
is nice, but you must not get stuck there and let it do all the thinking for you.
As you move on to discover other features within Wordtracker, you will also have
the opportunity to perform a "comprehensive search" or an "exact search" or utilize
the "top 1000" report.
Tips to identify human behavior?
Where youll
find most of your "revelations" or "insights" are in the "comprehensive search"
feature of Wordtracker. Try entering one part of a search phrase and letting "comprehensive
search" figure out the best "full use" of the phrase. Another technique I like
to use is to examine the top reports for a "high performance" keyword or topic
related to my client and then cut and paste it into comprehensive search to get
streams of currently "hot topics." I define a hot topic as a popular topic in
high demand, which may also have lists of related keyword phrases also in high
demand.
Lets study a real life example . . .
Now let me give you
a recent example of understanding behaviors. I wanted to pull additional traffic
into a site selling baby furniture. The site sells strollers, baby furniture,
cribs and other baby products. The client explained that they wanted me to find
ways to pull in their true audience. Sometimes youll discover the true audience
is not what it first may seem. By true audience....I mean "targeted audience"
or the folks most likely to "BUY" or "respond" to the Web site.
If you
just think only in "keywords" mode, you may miss this.
Performing a comprehensive
search within Wordtracker by typing in the word "baby," Wordtracker returns interesting
results. Do you know what I learned? The target audience for baby strollers is
NOT people who have babies! You heard correct. The "true audience" for those buying
strollers and baby cribs ARE NOT "folks who have NEWBORN BABIES!" Here is the
catch....if you are targeting folks with newborns, to sell them a stroller....youre
too late! The true audience are people who are "soon to become parents."
Once
Mom and Dad know a new family member is on the way, they start buying BEFORE the
baby arrives. Better yet...often its not even the parents who are buying...its
the grandparents. Perhaps you have pages scoring tremendously well for things
like babies, strollers, cribs and baby furniture...... but now your client wants
even more.
Heres an example strategy:
One behavior of the true target
audience which I discovered by using Wordtracker was as follows. As I entered
the term "baby" into "comprehensive search," the first thing I noticed was the
top phrase "baby names" which had been requested on major search engines over
34,350 times in the last 60 days. It became very obvious when I noticed the incredibly
high demands on major search engines for the phrase "baby names," or how about
"meanings of baby names."
This was indeed like a light coming on! I thought,
imagine this, "soon to be parents" are researching their unborn childs name by
using the Internet. What better time to connect with folks than before the baby
is born.
Finally, build a strategy based on the identified behavior
Suppose
we were to build a little library of themed pages right into your clients site
to attract the TARGET audience. They are searching for baby names so it is essential
that this is what you MUST give them. Give them lists of baby names to choose
from, right? Dont ever trick your audience or they will simply never buy. Give
them exactly what they are looking right up front. In this example, you could
create pages that offer baby names and meanings of baby names AND subtly offer
a few product listings or links to your clients store front. It is essential that
you always provide content related to their search first, and then you might offer
some links to other appropriate products within your clients site.
Test
these unique ways for using Wordtracker yourself, and learn how effective they
can be.
Good luck!
John
Alexander is the Co-Director of Training of Search Engine Workshops with Robin
Nobles. Together, they teach 2-day beginner, 3-day advanced, and 5-day all-inclusive
"hands on" search engine marketing workshops in locations across the globe. John
also teaches online search engine marketing courses through http://www.onlinewebtraining.com,
and hes a member of Wordtrackers official question support team. |
