Here is a quick checklist of tools I like to use in the early stages of my keyphrase research—long before I start strategizing:
- KeywordDiscovery.com or the Google Term Suggestion tool These are fairly well-known tools available online that let you dig even deeper into KPR data, showing you what keywords people have used to find your site. With these, you can learn how many people are searching for a certain phrase, how many other websites are competing for that keyphrase, and you’ll also uncover word and phrase variations that you might not have thought up on your own.
- Website analytic tools (like ClickTracks or Google Analytics) Data that comes directly from an existing site gives you an easy to read glimpse into how folks have been finding current pages. It gives you data to show which keywords and phrases visitors were using to find particular pages. It tells you how long visitors stayed on that page (giving you an indication on whether or not they read the page). And it also tells you which pages visitors were leaving (which can give you an idea on what pages might need more copywriting clean-up).
- Sleuthing and Scoping This method is a little old-fashioned and more labor-intensive. But it works! So stick with what works, right? Scouring the Internet to see what the competition is doing (what they’re doing right and wrong) is always useful information. Keyphrase research doesn’t mean you have to reinvent the wheel. If your competition is successful, find out how they’re getting those coveted top rankings. With that information you can build your own strategy to ethically bump ‘em down, leaving room for you (or your client). KeywordDiscovery.com also has a Density tool that lets you check the keyphrase density of any site—including competitors.
