Whether you’re optimizing your website or running a paid search campaign, selecting the best keywords to focus on is of paramount importance. Here are a few tools to make the job easier:
Your Analytics Package. Your website analytics program – be it the free Google Analytics or something else – will tell what search terms people are using to find your site. It’s useful to know what’s already working for you. You have to dig further to find out what you’re missing.
Competitive Research. Checking the keywords competitors use in their source code can provide insight into new search terms that might benefit you. To do so, click on the Page link in Internet Explorer, then View Source. The web page source code, including a list of keywords, if any, will open in a new window.
Paid services can also provide information on your competitor’s keywords. Some of these include Spyfu.com, Compete.com and adgooroo.com.
Suggestion Tools. There are a wide variety of keyword suggestion tools to help you brainstorm. Two free ones available from Google are the Google Keyword Tool and their Search-Based Keyword Tool.
In addition, paid suggestion tools can provide more extensive help. Prime among these are WordTracker and Keyword Discovery.
Each one of these tools usually provides new insight. For best results, use multiple tools in combination.
