How to do a comprehensive SEO Keyword Research

[LaythDajani]

Hi,

What are the best tools and techniques to do a comprehensive keyword research on all the relevant search engines?

There are times when there are no stats available on the  Google keyword planner tool, in that case what do you suggest?

Thanks

[Toddfoster]

Hello Layth,

There are many different methods and tools for this aspect of SEO. First thing to keep in mind is that the Keyword Planner uses paid monthly search volume as a metric, meaning you aren't getting the full picture using it alone, especially where competition levels are concerned.

All search engines use different algorithms for search results, so you are likely to find that certain strategies that are effective in regards to Google don't pan out so well in Yahoo! or Bing (and vice versa).

Here is a list of free and paid keyword search tools that are effective for one (or several) search engine(s):

http://tools.seobook.com/keyword-tools/

This will allow you to pick and choose between tools that work best for your specific needs (whether you are making lists for clients or targeting your own site specifically).

As far as techniques are concerned, there are different approaches depending on your goals. It depends on if you are looking to provide information to your users, create a lead generation funnel (build a client base), or develop a conversion-oriented approach. All of these things are necessary to some degree or another, it just depends what your goals are and how much focus you want to put into each category.

Keywords for these topics might differ. For example, say you have a client that wants to sell cars:

Information would be search terms related to new or used cars on the market ("best used cars", "2015 cars", "new car models", etc.).

Lead generation would be "best car dealerships (city)" "best new car salesman" "where to buy new cars"

Conversion might be "cost of new car (city)" "buying 2015 (car model) (city)" or something like that.

At the end of the day, you have to consider which of these approaches is likely to suit both you and your customers best. Research keywords that you think your customers would use if they were looking for your product, and try to convert those leads. Getting lots of traffic by targeting high-volume keywords is no use if you aren't converting them.

To deal with both volume and conversion there is always the option of acquiring a consultant to help you devise a keyword research strategy, although some hard work, focus and determination will usually yield some results for you.

Lastly, if there are no stats available on the Keyword Planner, you can try with a different tool or find another set of keywords that will create interest in your (or your client's) product. Rand Fishkin did a nice piece on this exact topic on Friday:

http://moz.com/blog/hacking-keyword-targeting-whiteboard-friday

Go over that video and see if there are some useful tips you can take away to help with building keywords and terms to target.

If you have any further questions feel free to ask.

All the best,

Rob

[LaythDajani]

Thanks a lot Rob!

Appreciate it! I often get stuck where there are no stats in google keyword planner tool, I am sure the video would help.

[LaythDajani]

One quick question, Rob.. What exactly is the difference between paid and free tools. Does paid means that the results are more accurate?

If yes what do you use and recommend?

[Toddfoster]

Layth,

I have found that the quality of the tool is not necessarily reflected in its cost. Generally speaking, tools you pay for have more in-depth metrics or have special reports that you can use moving forward. That being said, some of my favorite tools are free to use.

For keyword targeting (in Google), I generally use a combination of the following:

Google Keyword Planner - Search Volume and paid competition levels
Open Site Explorer - Search Volume and accurate organic keyword competition
Uber-Suggest - Creates lists of relevant keyword search terms

This is where I spend most of my time, but there are other tools out there that I use in special circumstances - these 3 will get you off to a solid start, though.

It's all about finding the right approach that is suited to you.

All the best,

Rob

[TheZenAgency]

My keyword research normally consists of the Google keyword planner to get an initial list of ideas, the website http://keywordtool.io/ which is great for finding long tail keywords and finally i use Moz's keyword difficulty tool to check how hard it will be to rank for a certain keywords.

Good luck!

[JVRudnick]

Try the guys over at wordstream.com too...odd site with some understanding needed to parse the answers but yeah, it's a diff source that might help too....