Keyword research is a practice used by search engine optimization professionals to find and research actual search terms people enter into the search engines when conducting a search.
Conducting Keyword Research
(Please note, this is not an entry on how to apply keyword research.). Keyword research should not be undertaken ad hoc. It is the foundation for all natural search engine optimization techniques as the keywords finally selected based on search volume and likely ability to compete should be included in some, if not all, of the following SEO on page elements, as well as in any anchor text back linking to the relevant WebPages:
- URL
- Title tag
- Metadata
- Headers
- Actual Content
- Navigation links
- Image names
- Alt attributes
Christine Churchill, another noted SEO expert, simply states that keyword research is the bedrock of successful web page optimization.
- Sources of traditional paid and free keyword research data
- Yahoo Panama Keyword Tool
- Google Keyword Tool, traffic estimator, Webmaster Tools; Google Suggest and Google Trends
- MSN Keyword Forecast
- Hitwise
Uses of Advanced Keyword research
Business Research
- Product Research
- Brand Equity
- Competitive Intelligence
- New Market & Product Opportunity Identification
- Consumer Feedback
Social Research
- Political Topics
- Public Issues
- Celebrity Brand