3 steps to leverage your competitor’s research
I was talking to a mate during the week and she wasn’t sure which phrase she should rank for given that there were variations of it. In today’s video I do an SEO review of her site and also a little bit of keyword research for her. It occurred to me afterwards that the keyword research side of things would be handy if it was in a stepped process. I’ve lost count of the keyword research tools I’ve used over the years at the end of the day though someone else has already done the research for you, your competitor.
1. Isolate Phrase Group With Google Trends
This is still the best keyword research tool out there. It allows you to compare searches with one another by volume and region and neatly graphs it over time. One of the features I find very useful though is the “related searches” section. I find that it gives some context to the main phrase I am researching. In the case of this search I can see that there is not many variations on the word “emcee” . If you see multiple variations of a phrase in the related searches section you can be sure you are on a hot topic.
2. Use Google Suggestions
When you do a search, Google tries to guess what you are searching for based on a variety of factors, including volume, location and search history.
In today’s video I discover that one phrase has more commercial potential than the others we were researching because of the variations Google suggestions throws up. From the image you can see that there are quite a few searches showing people researching their own Master of Ceremonies tasks. In fact the bulk of them are like that, except really no.1 and no.3. Because both of those are near the top I know they are relatively high volume.
3. Use Google Adwords For Verification
Now that you have narrowed down the phrase selection simply do the search and look for the ads that are displayed. If there are a lot of ads from competitors you know the research has already been done. If there are no ads for a search it is highly unlikely you have stumbled upon a hidden keyword gem. It’s more likely that it is not a commercially viable phrase or there are restrictions on advertising, such as there is with pharmaceuticals.
Jim’s been here for a while, you know who he is.
