Keyword Research Q&A

Let’s Talk More About Keyword Research

Well, my keyword marketing research post sure got a lot of attention AND a lot of questions! Thank you! Looks like we need to stay on-topic here at PotPieGirl.com and continue the discussion about researching keywords. Sounds good to me – let’s get started!

Keyword Research – It’s NOT “One Size Fits All”

First things first – let’s back up a step or two and really talk about keyword research.

Folks, this is a BIG topic. Not all keyword research is the same. Someone looking for keywords for a Squidoo lens may not follow the same tactics as someone looking for keywords for a site that monetizes primarily with AdSense.

An authority site will not try to locate keywords the same way someone with a small niche blog would.

Why? Because the requirements of the keywords are different.

What Kinds Of Web Pages Need What Kinds Of Keywords?

Themed Authority Site – I want ALL the keywords I can find that relate to the theme of my site. Over time, I will slowly get my foot in the door for every Google query that relates to my topic. I am in this for the long haul and know it will take time. I will work hard to promote this site and will constantly be building links to its pages.

Small Niche Blog – I want low-competition keywords so I can get my foot in the door with this small site. I will leave the door open to expand this site into a Themed Authority Site in the future. For now tho, I want in the market query space as quickly as I can. I am most likely filling this small site with tightly-targeted content all around one specific subject and have some sort of affiliate offering or my own product as the offering.

AdSense Niche Blog – I want not only low-competition keywords, but I want high-paying keywords for my site to attract the contextual ads AdSense will show. I want this site to rank well for many long-tail keywords that pay well per click with AdSense ads. I count heavily on organic traffic to this site. I may or may not add to this site in the future, but I want to set it up to be a long-term passive income stream.

Squidoo Lenses/Article Marketing – These are what I call “one-hit wonders” in the website world. You are adding a page to a NON-themed Authority site that already has a lot of trust from Google. It is ONE web page that is NOT on a site that is all about the subject your lens is about. You can “piggy-back” off the authority of this site and get organic exposure quickly. Your “one-hit wonder” WILL earn it’s own Page Rank with Google over time, but it will never have the same power as a Themed Authority Site. It is very hard to compete with a site that has HUNDREDS of pages of content all on the same topic that is constantly building back links and promoting.

Whew! THAT Was a Mouthful!

Ok – ALLLLLLLL that said – let me add one more thing. Search Engine Optimization (which keyword research and back link building IS a part of) is a very complex and very dynamic topic.

I KNOW the stuff y’all read in forums and the like – not all of it is accurate. If you want to learn the really DEEP complex stuff about SEO, start reading what I read – SEO Theory. Thing is, a lot of SEO is just that, THEORY. Testing SEO procedures and ranking and back links and internal linking, etc etc etc, is truly hard to do.

Just think about it…. How hard would it be to test whether something “works” or not SEO-wise? The Google index is CONSTANTLY changing. There are factors effecting your targeted query space every single SECOND. A link is found, a link is dropped, a competing site adds a page, a social site talks about a page….. Google changes their algorithm. Nothing about Google stands still to allow for testing ONE THING.

Be careful what you read online. Even the things *I* say! Test them yourself…. try things. I am not an expert nor am I some “guru”. I am a student of internet marketing – constantly learning, constantly trying things. I look forward to a life-time of being a student, too.

Do I have ALLLLL the answers? Heck NO. And anyone who claims to have “all the answers” is someone you need to do an about-face and get away from quickly….lol. However, I have learned things that YOU may not know – YET.

That’s why I ramble endlessly on this blog…..lol!

Keyword Research Questions & Answers

Ok – some questions I received in the comments area:

1. “If I’m doing article marketing for my squidoo lens, what kind of keywords do I look for? Should it be the same or different?”

Good question. I like doing the keyword research technique I showed in the previous post. For these “one-hit wonders” you want to get in there quickly, and you don’t want to have to work so darn hard to stay there (ie, link building)

2. “When using the keyword tool at SEO is it better to use a lower search term than say using the top searches?”

Depends on what type of web-page you are researching keywords for.

3. “It is still important to look at the sites you are competing with, correct? For example, let’s say you use this technique and there are only 20 competitors for your keyword. Great! But…all the top listed ones are high PR sites that will outrank you every time.

If you optimize your Squidoo lens right, will you have a chance to outrank the big sites? Or should you just do more research and pick keywords with easier competition?”

Yes, I DO look at the sites in the top 10 using that keyword research technique. While a Themed Authority Site will be VERY hard to over-take with a one-hit wonder lens, there’s nothing saying your lens can’t come in at #2 or #3 and do very well.

This next part is gonna sound silly, but heck, it’s my blog, I can be silly if I want to, right?

Keywords = Brownies?

I love brownies. Seriously, I could hurt you if you are in between me and a pan of freshly-baked gooey brownies.

I look at that keyword research method (intitle/inanchor) as this –

“Who is in my way of MY brownies?”

Naturally, the less people in-between me and that chocolate dream, the better. Now, there COULD be a big guy there – and I’ll have to work at taking over his spot. But all in all, the less folks in my way – the less people that could get hurt – hahahaha!

Set your lenses up so you can get IN the market. The bigger Squidoo.com gets, the more important it is that you know HOW to get your foot in the door of a niche market and gather passive organic traffic to it. (passive= not have to work your butt off to get in the door or STAY in)

Those that are following The One Week Marketing Action Plan know how I personally gather lots of traffic streams to my lenses. So what if one lens only gets 20 visitors a week? I have MORE lenses working for me that are in other little corners of my niche. Together, as a whole, they do well.

Change Adds Up – So Do Keywords

Reminds me of this change bank my hubby has. Each coin has to be pushed separately thru the top. It’s a REAL pain in the bottom! There I am, cleaning out the old purse and finding tons of coins in the deep, dark (ewwwy) bottom of it. And I stand there, pushing each (ewwwy) coin into that slot at the top of that bank.

But- here is the cool part – as each coin goes thru, this little LED display adds up and shows you how much you have in the bank. Nifty, huh? (yes, I am easily amused…lol)

Thing is, sometimes you take the time to push a penny thru and the darn total barely moves. Other times, tho, you get to do the same amount of work and push a QUARTER thru – and then the bank total takes a nice jump!

Your lenses – your “one-hit wonders” – your individual blog posts are just like that. Some will push a little traffic to your offer or site…. some will push a lot. Each will probably take the same amount of effort to create, but they will have different results.

That’s OK! It’s the TOTAL we are working towards, right? RIGHT!

4. “My first search and google give me a 403 forbidden error. Here is what popped up on the return page:

We’re sorry…

… but your query looks similar to automated requests from a computer virus or spyware application. To protect our users, we can’t process your request right now.”

Google HATES automatic queries of their index. If it even SMELLS like an automated query, you will see that 403 Forbidden error message. Yes, this can happen by searching Google way too quickly and un-naturally. As soon as you see a message to enter a capcha code to continue – STOP and take a break.

5. “if I have a website page that I optimize for “red flowered size 8 tennis shoes” (not neccesarily in quotes)does that mean I would not get any traffic from the search “tennis shoes” or even “size 8 tennis shoes”? “

Good question! What kind of site is this web page on? If it is on a Themed Authority Site about tennis shoes, then yes, over time you will build ranking for that big phrase (ie, your back links will have the phrase tennis shoes in the anchor text).

What about a Squidoo lens? COULD you rank for tennis shoes? I suppose. How hard do you want to work to get to those brownies? =)

Me? I want to make a lens about one very targeted keyword and get targeted traffic to it. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. I do NOT want to bust a$$ to get ONE web page (lens) to rank. Heck, it’s not even my site….lol I’ll spend that energy on MY sites.

6. “So if you go through all the steps for intitle and inanchor as you suggest, how long do you think it takes to get your articles to show up?”

No definitive answer for that. Every search query space is different and moves at different paces. Let me ask – have you ever WATCHED a query space? Seriously, do a intitle/inanchor search in your market and click search every 30 minutes or so. How often are those web pages on the first page jumping around?

Let’s Use An Example

Let’s take the post I did on keyword marketing research as an example.

Now, first off, this little blog of mine has a little authority with Google. When I publish a post, this blog pings the proper services and they come to me and index it – usually within 30 minutes or less (like Domino’s Pizza…lol). So, I don’t have to go out and build links to lead them here – they come on their own (yet ANOTHER reason why each of you should be taking a little time each day to create your own blog. Sure comes in handy! lol)

So, I published that post. Within 15 minutes or so I got a Google Alert telling me that they got it. I went back to my “intitle/inanchor” search and took a look (targeted keyword was – keyword marketing research).

I was on like Page 3.

Then, I went and did some social bookmarking making sure my targeted keyword phrase was in the title and then went back to watching my intitle/inachor search.

Slowly, thru-out the span of about 10 hours, I watched my blog climb to #1 for the intitle/inanchor query. This took me to #3 of a normal Google search for ‘keyword marketing research’ (no quotes).

Why didn’t I get to #1 if my page was the “most-optimized” for that phrase?

Because the #1 and #2 sites were Themed Authority Sites. While they may not have heavily optimized for my targeted keyword phrase, they DO have many, many pages optimized for all kinds of keyword research type keywords.

Where is My Post Now?

POOF! As of today when I looked, it’s gone. Google is playing hide and seek with me….lol That’s normal tho, and I am not concerned. I know that a few really good blogs linked to my keyword research post and Google will find them and bring me back. That’s just the way it works.

I could sit here and watch it like a mad woman who can’t find the brownies – OR, I could get to work on other things.

Bottom Line About Keyword Research

Don’t make your work harder. Don’t over-complicate what you’re doing – just be clear on WHY you’re doing it (ie, I want a lens to rank, I want high-paying AdSense clicks, I want to be there for every search within my niche, etc etc etc)

For Squidoo lenses and Article Marketing – you want to get in there and STAY in there with the least amount of effort.

Now, I’m going to admit that I am REALLY tired. It is almost 3 am my time, but I am determined to get this post done and ready for y’all. If something here doesn’t make sense, please ask. If I stated something incorrectly, please tell me (I won’t be offended…lol).

Thanks again for the FANTASTIC response to the previous keyword research post!!!!

Have a GREAT weekend!