Keyword research…what a mine field. Just recently a thread on the subject was started over at the Warrior Forum. After reading it and seeing all the different theories that people had, I realized something…maybe even for the first time. I’m going to share what that is shortly, but first I’m going to give you my thoughts on picking keywords and deciding on whether or not they’re good or bad. I think you will find this article quite an eye opener.

Let me start off by saying this. No keyword is going to be good or bad based entirely on how many searches it gets and how much competition it has. Those stats are only a starting point but they don’t tell the whole story. Aside from that, there are so many different ways of even determining searches and competition that you can come up with different conclusions based on what method you use. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

In addition to searches and competition, you need to look at the keyword itself and see what kind of sites are coming up. See, not all keywords are created equally. Some are clearly indicative of a person looking to buy, such as “looking to buy a home.” Obviously, not all keywords are that, well, obvious. But something like “free Photoshop tips” is quite obvious. This person isn’t willing to spend money to learn how to use Photoshop. So unless you’re planning on putting up a site for charitable reasons, this keyword should be avoided at all costs.

Then there is the competition issue. Many marketers are afraid of keywords with a lot of competition. But the numbers alone don’t tell the whole story. Some keywords, if you check the top sites, are almost impossible to crack. The top competitors have been online for years, have tens of thousands of backlinks, if not more, and have well established names. They’re going to prove to be formidable opponents. It doesn’t matter if there aren’t many competing sites if the top ones are that strong.

On the other hand, you may find that even though there is a ton of competition for a keyword, the top sites haven’t been around long, don’t have many backlinks, have very poor content and their PR is nothing to write home about either. These sites will be much easier to overtake no matter how many there are.

And then of course there are the methods of doing keyword research, whether it be broad, phrase or exact match. Each tactic has its pluses and minuses. And the competition part, well, there are some interesting ways to actually determine that as well including using searches with quotes, without quotes, eliminating or including what Google calls “relevant” searches and other techniques. By changing just one variable, you can completely change how you “feel” about a keyword.

What this all made me realize, probably for the first time, is that there really is no one RIGHT way to do keyword research and no one system is going to be fool proof. A keyword that you think, because of the numbers, is going to perform well, might totally bomb out on you…either because you underestimated the competition or because the keyword itself wasn’t a “buyers” keyword.

My opinion on all this is simple. Pick a method that YOU feel comfortable with using. Get used to it. Learn how to spot its flaws and work around them. Eventually, you will begin to get a feel for the system and can tell when a keyword will or won’t perform for you.

In other words, keyword research is NOT an exact science and anybody who thinks it is, is going to be in for a rude awakening.

To YOUR Success,

Steven Wagenheim

If you want to discover the REAL truth about Internet marketing and get some solid tips to take your business to the next level…get my free report at http://www.stevewagenheim.com/realtruth.html and subscribe to my REAL Truth newsletter where you’ll discover more than from all those high priced ebooks combined.