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How To Do Keyword Research Like A PRO
*Quick Update on Content Marketing Bootcamp:
Content Marketing Bootcamp is OFFICIALLY LIVE
(It's also FREE (for now) To Enroll As a Founding Member!)
Over the last decade creating and marketing content, running successful content sites with hundreds of thousands of unique visitors, training hundreds of students and clients at every level, and over 13 months in actual production; i’ve been able to reduce the complexity of our business model as Modern Content Creators (Experts/Artists/Coaches/Comics/Consultants) down to a simple yet extraordinarily complete framework.
If you are ready to step your game up and play at a global level, I want to guide you through all the moving parts, how to use the tools, formulate effective strategies, as well as the most cutting edge tactics for how to build a loyal audience that loves you.
There are no tricks, potions or magic pills being offered here, only a roadmap i’ve created with care and attention to detail for those I am honored to serve. You are my favorite, and I want to THANK YOU!
This is the 12 Week Content Marketing, Audience Development, & Traffic Transformation Program for those who CREATE the content!
I’m proud to offer you the COMPLETE course to you as my GIFT, and thank you for what you do
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KEYWORDS are the KEY to HEAVY traffic.
Keywords, aside from potential search engine benefits are ALSO critical because they are simply a means of COMMUNICATION and conversation around a certain set of topics.
It’s the language used by your audience, to IDENTIFY with and CONNECT to your audience, it’s best to know the keywords that form the foundation and sub-sects of your niche.
Most of the people I work with as coaching or consulting clients are decidedly lost with how exactly to choose the right keywords, what tools they need to use, and how to know they’ve chosen the right ones.
I admit, it is a bit of an art AND a science...
But the reality is... You probably already know WAY more than your competitors, and once you graduate from this lesson, you will be WELL on your way to mastery! Period.
This has taken me YEARS of trial and error to figure out and then even longer to finally simplify in a logical and applicable way.
How’s that for some inspiration! So, let’s get it.
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How To Do Keyword Research Like A PRO
It is the MOST important part of ANY SEO campaign, and it is where and why most inevitably fail.
Selecting and Targeting The RIGHT Keywords are usually what makes or breaks a web presence that grows in visitors and generates income, or slowly tapers off and remains stagnant.
Until one day... (Deep, movie trailer voice) Some knight in shining SEO knowledge comes and shows them the path to endless traffic, ridding them of bad keywords, and renewing their focus!
Sorry... Couldn’t Resist. :)
Search engines are our biggest potential source of FREE leads for the LONG TERM.
Keywords are not only CRITICAL to SEO but also for the success of paid traffic campaigns.
Now that we understand SEO, we need to understand that the basis of “all things search engine,”are Keywords, or Keyword Phrases.
Keyword Research is where we build the foundation for all of our SEO campaigning efforts.
Proper analysis and research provides us with the knowledge and insight to select and target the right words that define both what we sell/offer/provide and more importantly what words and phrases our MARKET is using to find what we have to offer them.
So, you wanna know the two big secrets???
1. First. Drum Roll.... Only go after ONE at a time. (and up to three at a time MAXIMUM, after you know what you’re doing.)
2. Second.... Select the most valuable, AND attainable keywords.
You’ve heard the phrase he who chases two rabbits, catches none?
Well, this applies to keyword campaigns. They are a CAMPAIGN. You don’t start a new campaign in the middle of an ongoing one...
You see, you have to assess the value of the word/phrase for your business, and then determine how much that is worth to you! Then, you have to know if the ranking is even possible given your resources and assets...
If it is valuable enough of a phrase to go after, then you would focus all your efforts on that, before moving on to the next one.
That’s SIMPLE, but it can be difficult to do for some people, which is why consulting with a professional can be VERY helpful. ;)
But, i KNOW... So HOW do we DO THAT?
Well that’s what we’re getting to next. Weird, It’s like i can read your mind... :)
Keyword Research Basics:
So how do you do it? Well, let’s go over the very basics first, and then move into the real secrets that you can use to measure and select just the right keywords.
*Note: We pick words and phrases that we can rank top 3 in the SERPS for. AND we want to LASER focus in on only a few. If it’s your first campaign, ONE.
*Please note: I am not talking about what’s known as “long-tail keywords,“ that require very little effort to obtain the rankings and receive trickles of traffic here and there from.*
Short-Tail = ”Dog Training”
Long-Tail = “Electric Dog Training Collars”
Remember - Keywords, and SE Rankings are LONG-Term investments in relevant, targeted traffic value. Results are never instant.
There are lots of tools that you can use, but you only need one... And it’s FREE! The Google Keyword Tool. This tool is designed for Google Adwords advertisers, to help them figure out what keywords to bid on for their ads.
But it works just as well for figuring out exactly what people are searching for. Because the things that people actually search for might not be what you would expect.
Let’s look at a quick example. This screenshot shows a search for “bellingham plumbers” (Bellingham is a city in Washington with a population of about 80,000 and 200,000 in the metro area).
This is just a few of the keywords that the tool returns, but you can see what people are searching for and roughly how many times each keyword gets searched every month.
You can see the keyword phrase “bellingham plumber” (the one we searched for here) gets 590 local monthly searches. That’s 590 potential customers who are searching for that term every month, on average.
“Plumbers in seattle” isn’t directly related, since Seattle is about a two hour drive from Bellingham. But because it’s relatively close, Google still shows it in the results.
You can see several other variations on the main keyword we searched for:
- Bellingham plumbers
- Plumber bellingham
- Plumbers bellingham
- Plumbers in bellingham wa
If you owned a plumbing business in Bellingham, you would want to work these variations into the content on your website to help improve your SEO and get ranked higher in the results when people are searching for those terms.
Proper Keyword Selection
-----> Use EXACT match, NOT broad match. (Select the box at the top left that says [Exact] instead of [broad].
We need to know how our potential customers and prospects are using their words to look for what we offer.
A. Remember its not what YOU call it... It’s what THEY call it.
Pre-Owned Vehicles = 3,600 searches
Vs.
Used Cars = 4,000,000 searches
B. Keyword Match Types
Broad vs Exact Match search queries
Broad Match = Dog Training
Vs.
Exact Match = Dog Training Collars
C. Transactional vs. Informational Searches
Informational = Dog Training Tips
Transactional = Buy Dog Training Book
Now, their are 4 factors that we want to make sure we have when select our keywords, and when it all boils down to it, there are two main questions that people have when they are trying to select a keyword. ---------> Should I? and Can I?
Traffic - (Should I?) Is there enough searches per month, using EXACT MATCH, to make it worth the time and resource investment?
Relevance - (Should I?) Is the traffic that i would be getting from this phrase targeted enough for the amount of time and resource investment required?
Commerciality - (Can I?) Is this traffic of high commercial value, meaning, intent on taking a purchasing action, or looking directly for a solution to their problems? (If, so, you can bet your bottom dollar that there is A PRETTY LARGE amount of competition already.)
Competition - (Can I?) The final factor is in actually weighing the competition. You need to look at the page rank, and the link profile for the competing pages of the top 3 listings, because ONLY then can you know what it is going to take to beat your competition for those spots.
---> Now, i don’t know if you fully understand this... But that is keyword GOLD right there. That has taken more years than i care to admit to figure out and boil down, and if you simply measure those factors to pick your keywords you will be LEAPS above the heard and part of that tiny 1% IN THE KNOW.
Hint: SAVE This Email, (as you should save all emails from this course, in sequential order) and REFER back to it as often as you need to, until you internalize and understand how to apply it all.
Competence = Confidence
Start small and build up.
If this is your first campaign, well your first campaign the RIGHT way anyway... You don’t know what you don’t know. You will get better by picking a smaller more attainable keyword target first, and then once you’ve ranked for that, move up to something a little more challenging.
Again, don’t start with the biggest most generic keywords in your market. Tackle something with only a thousand or two searches a month, or less which would probably be best... Something with low competition and several hundred exact match searches per month is a great place to start.
Once you’ve achieved that ranking, you will learn what it takes to get there, and you will know the process already, so moving up will be a gradual next step.
All of the stuff you are going to be learning here, is all the stuff the pro’s do... They have just progressively advanced to each next step. It’s all about just getting good at the fundamentals.
I encourage you to pick your battles very selectively and then laser in on them until you have the #1 ranking.
The mission for today is very simple and fun, and applies exactly what you just learned. It is REQUIRED because we will be using the keywords you select throughout the rest of this course, and you will get maximum benefit as i take you on a guided path through the world of internet traffic, AND THE BEST PART, i give you enough time for you to stop and go apply what you just learned. :)
What could be better!?
I hope you are excited! I mean, this is just email text so it’s hard to convey, but I’M EXCITED for you!
So do the exercise which will not take you long at all, and then get ready for the next several lessons where you will be learning some of the “BIG PLAYERS of this Traffic and Tribe building game YO!
I’m talking about Article Marketing, and Guest Blogging, and Webinars, and Teleseminars, and Press Releases, and ALL THE GOOD STUFF!
Are you ready?
---> Enroll in Bootcamp for Modern Content Creators as a Founding Member for FREE.
Be Your Best,
Jamie
P.S. Remember, you’ve still got one Life-Line with your live One-On-One Call. 734.417.0227 You can cash it in now to get some help with making sure you are targeting the right keywords, or opt to save it for later. Cheers!
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Mission:
Brainstorm - In addition to writing out all the names of your products and services, write out 10 keyword phrases that your customer would use to find your product or service. (Do this on a separate sheet of paper.) Then once you’ve completed all the steps to refine and compare, list and rank the top 3 by priority. Save the lists though!
Select the best ONE to start with, and save your list. (Don’t worry, just PICK one, it’s not a life or death decision. But it is sort of important, so do your best!)
Keep this keyword phrase top of mind, we will be using it throughout the rest of this course.
Save these emails in a folder called Traffic Academy.
Hint: I should be able to storm into your bedroom in the wee hours of the morning and shake you to consciousness, as you look at me in fear and horror, i’m going to ask you... WHAT ARE YOUR PRIMARY THREE KEYWORD PHRASES.. And you should be able to unconsciously rattle them off!
Then i’ll tell you, ok cool, go back to sleep. :)
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