While the first part of our series highlights the basic fundamentals for keyword analysis, in this second part we offer an overview of the best keyword research tools. After you've identified the set of keywords for your website after a first brainstorming and market analysis, these tools can help you optimize those keywords and find others that are worth your while. These new words make the target audience for which they are intended find your website in search engines. Because each of the programs has different functions, combining them properly is generally the key to success..
Some people may wonder why they need to check or fill in their keyword group with the help of tools, which ultimately leads to a higher workload. However, only when specific tools are available can you control whether the selected key terms:
The volume of data that keyword finding tools and services have access to is generally much greater than that available to businesses. Because, when searching for keywords, a first selection is usually made based on personal experience and associations, it is convenient to examine the real relevance of these terms with the help of this volume of data. If you have the right tools, this analysis is carried out in an automated way and in a very short time.
Many of the programs for this purpose also offer functions to create combinations of words that can lead to long-tail keywords that are relevant. Finding the right keywords thus becomes a remarkably simple process..
Those concerned with search engine optimization might assume that it just revolves around getting better search results on the ultimate search engine, namely Google . And, with regard to the Spanish-speaking panorama, this hypothesis is quite close to reality, since Google holds the hegemony of the market. On a global scale, the figures are not very different, with a minimum participation for competitors such as Yahoo or Bing, which do not even reach a percentage of two figures. The relevance of Google for keyword searches is, well, undoubted. In this regard, it can be assumed that the searches and the mechanisms used for them by the providers are very similar. In this sense, Google search optimization has a positive impact on the ranking of search results from other providers.
Due to the enormous importance of Google in the field of search engines, it is logical to use the programs that the search engine itself provides to its users. These Google keyword tools are free and great value for creating keyword groups..
As part of Google AdWords, Google's program to create ads, the Keyword Planner or Keyword Planner is used to generate search terms that are adapted to the ads that appear in search engine search results. However, the tool is not only suitable for SEA campaigns, but also for keyword searches in SEO campaigns. In order to use the program, you need to have a Google account.
The Google Keyword Planer tool offers the ability to generate keywords and combinations and provides information on the quality and potential of search terms. In addition, with the program you can search for keywords related to specific topics to check, in the end, how often users search for them and how competitive they can be. This tool also allows you to see the evolution of search volume over the last two years , so it also offers data on current trends. Likewise, the value of the search volume is calculated based on the last 12 months, thus reflecting seasonal fluctuations. Google Keyword Planner also allows you to search by country, language or depending on the device used and download the results in CSV files.
Features :
For its part, Google Suggest (in English suggest means? Suggest?), Also known as Google Autocomplete, is an extension of the search engine that every Google user should know. When entering a search term, Google Suggest offers suggestions for an automatic completion of the same. The selection of the proposed terms is based on the search activity of all users and on the web pages indexed by Google and the ranking is made based on the popularity of the search terms.
Due to the fact that Users not only search for individual terms, but sometimes enter entire combinations of terms or questions, Google Suggest gives the ability to research long-tail and mid-tail keywords.
To avoid having to type in all the results, you can use other tools, such as the Keyword Tool or the somewhat more complex Übersuggest. These web services give the possibility of downloading the results obtained.
Function :
Another free service is Google Trends. The program displays the most searched topics in the last 24 hours, but also provides information on all search terms entered since early 2004 . Likewise, with Google Trends you can also find out both the scope of searches on a global and regional scale and allows the use of more than one term. Unlike the Keyword Planer, Google Trends does not present absolute figures, but instead fixes the results in relation to the total volume of searches.
Using its wealth of data, Google Trends provides excellent insight into the demand for certain words in the past or over a long period of time. Seasonal trends are also included here. Additionally, the web service displays the most popular topics and related searches for each term.
Google is not the only one that makes useful keyword research tools available to web page managers, but you can also use other interesting alternatives or effective add-ons to complete your group of keywords. Some of these programs follow a totally different procedure compared to the services offered by Google.
If you want to create long and medium tail keywords (such as word combinations with transactional terms), the tools that you can turn to are somewhat scarce. To avoid having to enter them manually, it is recommended to use the mergewords web tool. Enter your combinatorial elements in the three text boxes on the platform and click? Merge !? to get all possible combinations .
If your search for words is oriented to the field of eCommerce, you should not only take into account the most common search engines. For those who are in charge of online stores, it would also be interesting to observe what is the search behavior on platforms such as Amazon . The SISTRIX SEO tool, mentioned in the first part, has developed an Amazon keyword search database containing millions of Amazon search terms. For each one of the keywords included in said database, information can be obtained on possible typical combinations and on the average sale price, as well as on the average of evaluations for the types of products that are hidden behind the corresponding keyword. This allows you to find out which are the most common search terms and find out which are the least searched products to date, as well as being able to check up to 25 keywords a day without registering.
Regarding the tools that allow you to search for keywords, there are also payment alternatives that, in most cases, offer a functionality superior to the mere search for keywords and, in addition, cover all or almost all areas of search engine optimization. The costs of these services are especially high, so their use should only be considered in the case of large web projects.
Some examples are the SISTRIX Toolbox, SEO Diver or Positionly.
Carrying out a comprehensive keyword search is a complex process due to the large number of possible combinations and the high cost of building the corresponding set of keywords, but with the right tools, efforts can be minimal . Keyword research tools help you to optimize and structure this set or group of terms, but also to get proposals without having to spend, in general, a single penny.
If you've given up using keyword search tools so far, it may be time to try some of the above to see the positive effect they have on the quality of your search terms . Once you have found the right tools, all you have to do is develop the right keyword strategy. To learn more about it, take a look at the third part of the guide on keyword research.
Andre Alpar started his business activity in the area of online marketing in 1998 during his studies in Computer Science applied to Economics at the Technical University of Darmstadt. After founding several companies, he was an online marketing strategy consultant with executive roles for three years at Rocket Internet. Parallel to his professional career, Alpar has been committed to the creation of 40 online startups as a business angel. As an organizer, he has launched the OMCap, the PPC Masters and the Content Marketing Masters, all of them renowned online marketing conferences. He is currently the CEO of a team of 170 employees at Performics, a search and content marketing agency in Berlin. With more than 2,200 employees around the globe, Performics is one of the largest performance marketing agencies in the world.
