Keyword Research Is The First Step To Generating Traffic

Before you decide what traffic generation strategies you’re going to use, or start creating content for your website there’s a step that is critical to your long-term success – keyword research. If you’re not targeting the right keywords all the traffic in the world (paid or otherwise) isn’t going to help you succeed. In this article, we’re going to look at some ways that your keyword research will set the foundation for things to come.

Keyword research isn’t just the process of finding keywords that meet a certain criteria for number of searches and number of competing pages. You could find a keyword with a ton of searches and almost zero competing pages but if the people who are looking for it aren’t able or willing to take your “most wanted” action that traffic is worth nothing.

That means finding targeted traffic is critical. That means people who are willing to spend money or who are looking for information that you can provide them in return for some type of monetization.

This is where a lot of internet marketers fail right out of the gate. They target keywords that might generate a decent amount of traffic, but ultimately don’t actually take an action that results in some sort of revenue.

You can find buying keywords in several ways, one of the most effective being common sense. Some keywords just aren’t likely to bring in buyers, like any phrase with the word “free” in it. If people are searching for “free dog training guide” do you really think they’re likely to buy the one you’re selling on your site?

Keywords that are very specific, especially if they include product names and model numbers, tend to be a lot more effective at converting visitors into buyers. For example, if someone arrives at your site after searching for “sony tv model 123 review” they’re a lot more likely to be ready to buy.

Google is another effective research tool for identifying buying keywords. If you search for a keyword with Google and there are zero or very few paid ads, chances are it’s not a very good keyword to target. There aren’t very many undiscovered markets out there so if you find a keyword with few paid ads, chances are other marketers have already tested them and failed.

If you’re building a website to generate traffic from natural search you can still use these “non-buying” keywords. Just target the ones that are going to result in more profit first, and then start expanding.