Keyword research: a wise investment of time

[djbaxter]

Keyword research: a wise investment of time
by Duane Forrester, Bing Webmaster Blog
July 27, 2011

Keyword research. It should be the beginning of every content-related project you work on. From search to social and from paid search through building your website's navigation, keyword research will provide insights that can set you up for success. In this blog post we'll examine why you should perform the research and what the data is telling you. We'll also look at one internal Microsoft tool, and help you understand how to use the data shown in any tool to best effect.

What the data is telling you
In the most basic view, keyword research is telling you how many people searched for a given keyword or phrase, over a set period of time. With experience you'll be able to understand subtle shifts in searcher behavior, and tailor your efforts to maximize returns. By performing this research, you will much more clearly see how searchers perform searches. Some patterns you may see emerge as you study the data are:

• The use the plural v. singular versions of a word.
• The use of a single word v. multi-word phrases.
• Whether brand names factor into the searches.
• Patterns based on time of year, month or week.
• New, related keywords or phrases you may not have thought of.

Read more...

 

[QuarktheCat]

The google keyword tool is invaluable for this as well.

 

[EmilyParkinson]

I agree that keyword research is super important, it also enables you to understand your market more and know the language of the market, which is very important in copywriting.

 

[mrhistorian]

I just wanted to clear the air here regarding keyword tools. Yes, they are very useful when used properly however you should understand that all the keyword tools around the world for paid advertising (google,yahoo,bing PPC etc)..There is no keyword tool that will give you an idea about the saturation of organic searches..