Keyword Selection

Keyword selection is the most fundamental step of any SEM campaign. It provides the basis for all other elements of search engine marketing and is crucial to increasing your targeted website traffic. Accomplished correctly, it can drive multitudes of new customers to your website. Done incorrectly, it will only attract unwanted visitors with little interest in your business.

Keyword selection is largely a 3-step process that involves brainstorming, analysis of competition, and determination of relevance.

We develop a list of all possible keywords relating to your business and expand this list by searching for synonyms. We then gather data on the estimated monthly searches for each keyword phrase. This allows us to separate the keywords with potential from those rarely sought for in the search engines.

With this refined list, we analyze the competitiveness of each keyword phrase. Keywords with competition above or below certain levels are ruled out, and the surviving keywords are put to the test in the search engines. If the competition is at an acceptable level, then a phrase passes to the final phase.

The remaining keyword possibilities are tested for relevance. Without proper relevance, a keyword may attract visitors you don’t want while keeping away the visitors you do.

Ultimately, keyword selection is a balancing act between relevance and competitiveness. Pick a keyword phrase with high relevance but too much competition, and you’ll be buried deep among the unseen search results. However, pick a keyword with too little relevance, and you’ll never attract the visitors in your target market. Let us use our experience and tools to achieve this balance for you.