On your small business journey through the challenging world of internet marketing, you have tools available that can help improve your search engine optimization. Many fee-based SEO firms provide analytics and charts, but did you know Google provides many SEO tools for free? Here is a look at a few that can get your SEO on the right track.
Google Adwords Keyword Tool
Effective SEO uses effective and strategic keywords. When you write articles, compose web page content, or start a pay per click campaign, you need keywords that customers are searching for and that major search engines will find.
Take a look at the Google Adwords Keyword Tool. Here you can enter your potential keywords and see just how effective they may be. You may think a certain keyword like “small business” is just the phrase for your website, but you’ll find that millions and millions of searches were made on that keyword last month, and the competition for pay per click is extremely high.
However, scroll down the list. Google doesn’t just give you the stats on that keyword. It also provides dozens, possibly hundreds, of alternative or expanded keywords you could choose. In this case, why not choose “women owned small business” as your main keyword? This still has plenty of searches, but much less advertiser competition.
Google Insights for Search
While the Keyword Tool can be a big help in getting information about competition, search volume, and alternative keyword choices, Google Insights for Search will provide more details on a single keyword.
Use this tool to find out interest in a keyword over time, the regional interest in a keyword, and top searches for the keyword. You can filter results by web, image, news, or product search, check worldwide or specific country results, by category, and even filter the timeline for last seven days up to six years.
Looking at our previous example, “women owned small business” shows a growing interest over 2009, but a sharp drop at the end of the year. However, over the last three years, it has seen a steady search result with peaks and valleys. Interestingly, the data shows this keyword only to be searched in the United States.
With this detailed information, you can make better decisions on the keywords you use and their effectiveness. Join us in part two of this series for more ways Google helps you optimize your website – all for free.
