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December 05, 2008
Keyword research Vs. Keyword Forensics
Keyword research Vs. Keyword Forensics
People often get the 2 terms confused.
"Keyword research" refers to the act of researching specific keyword phases to see where the best "windows of opportunity" are to optimize your pages using "meaningful terms" that searchers are searching for.
There are dozens of free keyword tools as well as a variety of paid services that you can choose from.
Let's talk about Keyword Forensics research today first.
"Keyword forensics" is an entirely different approach with a focus on exploring huge amounts of detailed data very quickly and finding interesting phrases that "tell a story" about the circumstances and the needs in the lives of those searching. These trends are often hidden for a number of reasons but the "keyword forensics" aspect tends to be more about understanding user behavior than simply what keywords are being typed into a box.
Seek to understand the real reasons why people are searching the way they do and you can actually find opportunities that 99% of the typical keyword researchers miss altogether, because they are so narrowly focused on the Keywords that they "think" are important.
People use the Internet to search, based on the circumstances of their life. They search using dialog related terms, they search using shopping related terms, they search pretty intelligently these days.
So Keyword Research is about exploring keyword phrase combinations.
Done correctly, (quite powerful)
Keyword Forensics is more about exploring an entire marketplace of activity with a focus on understanding behavioral trends of searchers. Understanding why they are using the Internet
the way they do, plus understanding the exact phrase combinations
they are searching within very recent time periods.
Before we talk about powerful SEO tools you can use, I want to talk more about Keyword Forensics aspect and give you a short excerpt from
Wordtracker Magic 2.0 - Keyword Forensics for SEO.
By John Alexander
This excerpt is limited to publication only for the KEI Observation Deck Blog by permission of the author.
The more you "think like everyone else thinks" (usually drawing upon keywords that are already lodged into your mind based upon your own experiences)....then the more you will be thinking like the rest of your competition.
The more our eyes and our thinking and "our ability to observe" is attracted towards keywords that immediately "make the most sense" to our brains logically, then the more we tend to discover exactly the same keywords as the rest of the world are discovering. In the meantime, because of that narrow focus, there are often "trails of gold" that go completely untapped.
These are the behaviorally "action related phrases" that many people miss entirely, simply because they had a "keyword hunt" mind set.
Here are a few more tips from Wordtracker Magic 2.0 :
• Instead of just thinking of your research as "keywords" try thinking in terms of your audience's "topics of interest." If you see something curious in the results, remember that you can also always dig deeper with synonyms and related terms that may render considerable surprises if you be patient and take the time to explore the data.
• Never assume how "any word" is being used based on its seeming lack of connection or importance. It is impossible to predict the best phrases regardless of your years of experience in keyword research. You must learn how to quickly explore all of the data instead of guessing at what you think is related.
• By exploring the plain, ordinary everyday terms (that may even sound flat and even boring,) you may just hit a fabulous brand new range of search phrases that 99% of the other Webmasters will never find. Especially if you are using "keyword forensic" techniques that I describe.
• Make a practice of quickly exploring all types of supporting data besides your primary keywords to get a whole new opportunity insight of what is going on in the real world.
If you can first understand what people are really wanting then you can meet their needs.
But you can also fulfill many different types of objectives for your Web site including:
• Attracting entirely new audiences to your Web site.
• Attracting your “ideal buying audience” to your Web site.
• Gaining whole new windows of visibility within search results for
important topics that you may never have recognized as important.
• Gaining new sign-ups or lead generation
• Tremendously improving your sales and conversions
• Solving other types of challenges that need solving
• building content that you already know there is a huge demand for.
What else can you learn from Keyword Forensics 2.0?
Chapters include:
• Welcome to Wordtracker Magic 2.0
• What is Wordtracker Magic?
• Let Start by Looking at and Defining Keyword research
• Keyword Researcher Tool Walkthrough – Screenshot by screenshot.
• What Creates Behavioral Trends?
• Learning to explore data with your instincts
• Quick Exercise: Let’s demonstrate how your creative mind works
• Examples
• Paradigm Shifts in Your Thinking about Keyword Forensics Research
•“Behaviourally related” keyword forensic type research tips
Plus Focus on Technique -
12 more ways to apply Magic to your Research
• How to Exercise the Power of Prepositions
• Examples of Prepositions
• How to work with extremes
• How to Quickly Explore Key Trigger Words for behavior
• Easy ways to explore “questioning searches”
• Explore root words that involve some type of replaceable elements
• How to Explore Root Words of "natural dialog based terms"
• How to Explore Words based on related topics in Top reports
• How to Explore New Opportunities related to “color”
• How to Explore your industry “tools”
• How to Find Powerful Words that you "initially" think have no value
• Explore Words that are “seasonally” related
• 6 Popular Articles about Keyword Forensics
• Plus 100 high KEI Archived Example Phrases from 2007-2008
• Other Recommended Resources
If you need help or are interested in learning to apply
Magic to your Keyword Forensic Research then you can see
much more here:
Keyword Forensic 2.0 Guide (over 60 pages)
In my next post I will talk about one of the most powerful new tools for doing "keyword Research."
Drop by the KEI observation Deck again soon for my next Keyword related article. If you found today's post helpful, please feel free
to leave a comment.
Highest regards
John Alexander
http://www.SearchEngineAcademy.com
http://www.SearchEngineWorkshops.com
http://www.OnlineWebTraining.com
Posted by John at December 5, 2008 09:56 AM