Keyword Strategies For Internet Newbies

Generating the right Keywordsremains one of the fundamental requirements of Search Engine Optimization and Search Engine Marketing.

The challenge is to determine which terms your potential customers will enter into search engines in an attempt to find the product or service you offer.

For New Internet Marketers, this can be a daunting task, since Keyword Generation is as much an art as it is a science.

Keyword Research Tools, Keyword Analysis Tools and Keyword Extraction Tools are like "all the kings horses & all the kings men", when it comes to putting a bad keyword campaign back together, they won't work, if you don't know what you're doing.

In the end, they are simply tools. A screwdriver is a simple tool with a designed purpose, yet some people will use a screwdriver in place of a hammer or chisel,simply because it's the first or only tool available.

So, before you begin your keyword list building select the appropriate tool suited to the task. What do I mean?

Perhaps, we should take one step back and discuss briefly what the types of keywords and how they work within the search engines.

By definition, a keyword is

The definition of a keyword is word used by a search engine in its search for relevant Web pages.

There are basically two types of keywords: Head or long-tail keywords and tail terms.

"Head" keywords tend to be comprise of one or two words and are generic or general, i.e., baseball, football, basketball. They also tend to generate a lot more traffic than tail terms, but do not necessarily lead to more sales.

"Tail" terms from the above examples might be, Major League Baseball, National League Football and so on. Tail terms typically send much less traffic, but tend to convert at a higher rate than head terms.

STRATEGY: You should select a blend of head terms and tail terms and incorporate them in your web-pages.

Selecting the Right Keyword Tool

Keyword Research Tool- A good keyword research tool will tell you which keywords your competition is bidding for on major pay-per-click search engines such as Google AdWords and Yahoo Search Marketing. It will enable you to see the specific keywords your competition is bidding on while giving you access to useful keyword generation data.

It will give an indication or rating of the keyword selections from Good to Bad based on search frequency and advertiser competition.

It will have all the benefits of a traditional keyword generation tool, i.e. you can search for variations of keywords by typing in a generic keyword and also provide you with a list of long-tail keywords as well, i.e. the generic keyword "jelly" would produce long-tail keywords like, "peanut butter and jelly sandwich."

If you're just starting out, here are my suggestions for keyword research tools. #1 reason is they work and #2 they're FREE.

• SpyFu.com
• HamletBatista.com
• SEOmoz.org

Keyword Analysis Tools - The next thing you want to do is find out where your competition ranks on the search engine for keywords you want to rank for. SeoDigger is an excellent tool for this and it's FREE to use. With SEODigger you can determine the top keywords that your competitors rank for organically on both Google and MSN. SEODigger also will provide you with information on keyword popularity. This is important because it can be used to determine the relative amount of traffic your competitor is receiving for a particular keyword placement. It will also give you a rough idea for how much traffic you can possibly gain by increasing your rankings for your keywords.

For example, if your site is ranked between spots 7 and 10 for two separate keywords, but one receives double the monthly searches, you stand to gain the most from optimizing further for the higher volume keyword.

Another recommended tool is:

• Shoemoney Search-Engine Results Pages tool. Using "Shoemoney" is a quick way to check your own web-site's ranking for your main keywords.

In my next Hub, I'll discuss Wordtracker, Google AdWords Keyword Suggestion Tool and a few others.

Take the time to find the recommended Keyword Research and Keyword Analysis Tools and try them for yourself. Use each of the tools in your next keyword campaign and carefully compare how the tools interact. Learn how to interpret the information generated by these tools and you'll be well on your way to creating keyword lists full of profitable keywords.

Here's another useful tool: Keyword Profit Secrets Uncovered

Keep in mind that I've discussed just one of several components of website optimization and just the surface of an seo technique that once mastered will produce lots of targeted traffic that is eager to buy your products.

Lastly, if you're a Newbie, don't become overwhelmed by the process. Start slowly by entering some search phrases relevant to your product or service. Check out Google Adsense and Google AdWords and get familiar with the terms. Make the time to learn basic website SEO and you'll be well on your way to a profitable online business.