by BrentDPayne

PPC Keyword Research

The first (and I must say) most important thing you need to do when it comes to Pay Per Click Search Engine Marketing (known as PPC for short) is keyword research. In order for you to avoid paying high Cost Per Click (also known as CPC for short), it is necessary that you conduct a thorough keyword research to sift out low paying keywords that you can bid on.

Many times, these low paying keywords are also long-tailed key phrases (meaning each key phrase consists of 3 or more words, such as “how do i potty train my dog”, “fly fishing for newbies”, etc.). No doubt the keywords have a lower search volume, but people who search for these key phrases are much more targeted (and hence these people are much more likely to buy from you because they know exactly what they want).

When conducting keyword research, you can either make use of paid tools or free tools.

In this post, I’m going to share with you the top 3 free tools that you can use to carry out the whole keyword researching process.

1. Google AdWords Keywords Research Tool

You must make use of the Google AdWords Keyword Research Tool when conducting your keyword research – Because in my opinion, this tool is the most versatile free tool available on the Internet.

All you need to do is to enter keywords that you are searching for in the search box (if you are searching for more than 1 set of keywords, enter them in separate lines), followed by entering some characters as you see below the search box and hit on the “Get Keyword Ideas” to start generating a list of related keywords based on the keywords you have entered.

This tool will then return a list of keywords relating to the keywords that you are searching for.

You will see basic information such as:

Advertiser Competition – If the box is filled with green it means to say the advertiser competition is very high for that particular keyword, and if you want your ad to be displayed in the first page for that keyword, be prepared to pay a high amount of cost per click.

Local & Global Search Volume – This figure is a rough estimate of the number of searches for that particular keyword in a month. Do take note that the figures are just an estimate.

Apart from the basic information above, you can also retrieve the following information about each keyword result that is returned by the tool:

Estimated Ad Position – Shows the estimated ad position which your ad will be found if you bid on it.

Estimated Avg. CPC – An estimate of how much you need to bid per click for your ad to be displayed in the ad position as specified in the estimated ad position.

Search Volume Trends – Shows a bar chart of search volume for that keyword throughout a 12-month period.

Highest Volume Occurred In – Tells you at which month of the year where there are most searches for a particular keyword.

2. Wordtracker Keyword Research Tool

Another free tool you can use is the free Wordtracker Keyword Research Tool – In the free version, you’ll only get a maximum of 100 keywords in a particular keyword research that you conduct.

The search volume that’s displayed beside each keyword is an estimate of the number of searches over the past 12 months in the various search engines.

3. Keyword Discovery Keyword Research Tool

Similar to the free Wordtracker Keyword Research Tool, the free version of the Keyword Discovery Keyword Research Tool only returns a maximum of 100 keywords for a particular keyword search.

This tool is also similar to the free Wordtracker tool in that you can only search for one keyword at any one time.

The search volume indicates the number of searches that has been conducted for that particular keyword in the past 12 months.

The above are 3 keyword tools that I highly recommend you use extensively in your PPC Keyword Research.

By making use of the 3 free tools that I’ve just shared with you above, it should give you enough keywords that you can bid on in your Pay Per Click Search Engine Marketing campaigns.

Related Keyword Research Articles

by courtneyBolton

TOP 5 Free Keyword Research Tools For Web Developers And Online Marketers

The benefits of finding the best free keyword research tools online today are plentiful for you. With so many popping up online you often ask yourself which one is worth using for my basic keyword research needs.

Well in this article I’m going to give you some great links to what I think are the best free keyword research tools on the web to help you with your keyword analysis. They’ll give you some great stats to work with and hopefully do the job you were hoping for.

There’s just one thing I want to mention about these free keyword research tools below and that is they only give you the amount of searches for that given keyword phrase. What they don’t give you is your competition for those given keyword phrases.

But what we’re really trying to do here is find out if there’s a market for your interests and passions before you start building and marketing your website.

So with that said here are the free keyword research tools I think are the best for you to get started with and are very easy to use.

Lets start with the first one.

1) Wordtracker

With this free keyword research tool all you need to do is enter a starting keyword to generate up to 100 related keywords and an estimate of their daily search volume.

Go to: http://freekeywords.wordtracker.com

2) Google Adwords

This keyword research tool I think is by far the best because it allows you to enter keywords for analysis or a website URL(Hint: Great for analysising your competitors sites).

Go to: https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal

3) SEO Book

SEO Books keyword research tool is powered by Wordtracker’s API, plus it cross references Google and Yahoo search results to give you a detailed view of your keyword analysis.

Go to: http://tools.seobook.com/keyword-tools/seobook/

4) NicheBot Classic

With NicheBot Classic which also uses Wordtracker’s API allows you to insert your keyword and will give you the TOP 50 keywords and there daily search count and competing pages in Google, MSN and Yahoo.

Go to: http://www.nichebotclassic.com

5) Good Keywords

Good Keywords is a free Windows software for finding the perfect set of keywords for your web pages. Good Keywords is completely free. No registration, no payments and no nag screens.

Go to: http://www.goodkeywords.com

So there you have it, 5 of the TOP free keyword research tools available to you on the web for free to get you started with your keyword research.

There are of course paid services and software that give you more detailed keyword analysis but if you don’t have the money to spend these are a great starting point for you.

It all starts here with your keyword research because what’s the point of starting a website or paid advertising campaign without this valuable information in your hands.

I hope this list of free keyword research tools helps you and the best of luck with your websites and advertising campaigns.

by rogercarr

Niche Marketing – How to Find Hot Niches and Explode Your Profits

Chances are you’ve heard the phrase “find your niche” more than once. But what does it really mean? Niche Marketing generally refers to the development of a monetized website intended to have a specific appeal to sub-mainstream markets. Most niche marketing websites are usually monetized with a mixture of Google Adsense and affiliate products.

Niche marketing is often considered an ideal venture for new marketers. This is because there is generally less competition in highly specific niches, which usually translates to lower operating and advertising costs. Choosing the right niche can also enable a new marketer to establish themselves as an expert while gaining valuable experience in the world of Internet marketing.

A profitable niche must meet a few requirements. The stronger each aspect is, the more profitable the niche can be. It comes down to “supply and demand”. First, it’s important that there are a good number of people actively searching for the information that your niche will be providing (i.e. high demand). Second, you’ll want to be sure that your niche does not have a lot of other websites targeting it (i.e. low supply). And finally, you’ll need to make sure there is money in your market. This all involves research.

Looking for a niche market should begin with a brainstorming session about things that you have some experience with or an interest in. Keep in mind, enjoying the niche you choose is always a plus as it will help you maintain your focus when building your business. Checking out your ideas on websites such as “Yahoo Buzz”, “AOL Hot Searches”, and “eBay Pulse” will give you a jump start on finding out if there is a high demand for them.

Keyword research is the absolute best way to drill down your niche into smaller, more specific sub-topics. Using the free keyword search tool offered by Wordtracker will assist with this. It will provide you with an estimated daily search volume for a given word and offer you suggestions for other words related to it. For example, doing a search for a topic like “recipes” will allow you to discover what types of recipes are being searched for and approximately how many people per day are searching for them.

Doing a search on Google, Yahoo, and MSN for each of your newly drilled down keywords (in quotes) is the next step. The top of each page will tell you exactly how many results contain that keyword. Remember, we are looking for a niche with a good number of searches but not too much competition. Also, take note of the number of Adwords ads that appear during your Google word searches. It’s important that you can confirm that advertisers are willing to pay for traffic for these words if you are planning on using Google Adsense on your new niche website.

Finally, you will need to find out if there are affiliate program available for your niche market. There are affiliate programs for almost everything these days, so the odds are in your favor. Checking affiliate networks such as Clickbank and Commission Junction are good places to begin. Simply doing a search for your keywords with the words “affiliate program” included will also give you a good idea of what’s out there.

Once you have compiled all of your information you should have a good idea of possible niche markets and if they have the potential to be profitable for you. The final decision on which niche market to target can be based on the highest search count, the least competitors, the highest number of Adwords ads or a combination of all of these factors. Finding the perfect balance between search volume and competition is up to you. Once you find your niche, you can move onto building your website to capitalize on it as effectively as possible. Be prepared. Niche marketing often results in big profits and tremendous success!