How-To
How to Use Wordtracker Creatively
Tips to get the most out of Wordtracker by Serge Thibodeau
Dec 17, 2003
One of the most powerful tools you can use in the optimization process of any website today is Wordtracker - yet it’s also one of the most misunderstood. The only way to carefully research your keywords and to avoid optimizing your site for the wrong search terms is to make a complete analysis of your most common search terms used in your industry, with the help of Wordtracker.
Used by reputable SEO firms and marketing professionals alike, Wordtracker is the most popular and most efficient keyword research resource there is. Founded by Brent Winters, president, Wordtracker holds almost 350 million queries within its huge database. Additionally, those queries are never any older than 60 days, since Wordtracker regularly refreshes its database, adding to the precision and timeliness of your research.
Drive yourself beyond the 'K & KP syndrome'
Since I’ve been using Wordtracker for so long, I think it’s actually possible to develop a “sixth sense," sort to speak... Also, one of the traps some people with less experience will fall easily into is to let Wordtracker do all the “guessing” for them. As versatile and flexible as it is, it can never replace a human being. My best advice here is to "think like a searcher." If you would be looking for the products or services your website has to offer, what would YOU type into the search box?
Drive yourself beyond the K & KP (keyword & key phrase) syndrome. Think like a searcher, and with the use of Wordtracker, you can come up with some powerful keywords that maybe your competitors didn’t even think of! This is what I call “thinking out of the box." The more creative you are, the more successful you will tend to be in the end.
Get better insight and become better known
Today, one of Wordtracker’s most compelling functions is its comprehensive search feature. If you enter a partial search phrase, you can let Wordtracker perform a more "comprehensive search," effectively determining for you what would probably be the complete phrase that would be most appropriate in your industry.
Wordtracker can help you find some search phrases that your competition hasn’t, or it can help you complement the ones you have already. Since many industries or different types of businesses change over time, it’s possible that some of your keywords can change, too.
What I do for some of my clients is a periodic research of their search terms, either every three, six or 12 months, depending on the frequency of changes in their respective industries. The ones that do change tend to have better results over time.
Anatomy of a search query
Following my previous word of advice, in trying to “think like a typical searcher," imagine a person typing into a search box “car tires." It’s pretty obvious what this individual is searching for. If you are in the business of selling car tires, a search on Google with the keywords “car tires” will bring up over 2,590,000 pages! However, if you use Google and use a synonym like “automobile tires," it will bring up only 548,000 pages, a tremendous decrease in its amount of competition. What this tells us is that there is a lot less competition for the keywords “automobile tires” than there is for “car tires."
The point I want to make here is, using the above example, a website selling car tires would have better success at using keywords such as “automobile tires” instead of “car tires," as the competition is so much greater.
Implementing a strategy relying on searcher behavior
One of my favorite methods I use in obtaining targeted traffic for my clients is create a website that is content-rich and very targeted to its intended audience. If your site sells fishing gear and related accessories, you need to target the outdoor sportsmen audience. Another possible avenue could be boating enthusiasts. Many people that own boats also enjoy fishing a lot. Also, ask yourself: is it possible that some of them practice other outdoor sports, such as hunting or camping?
Using Wordtracker, in the above example, try to research some keywords that will help you discover other keywords or search phrases that the real fishermen out there are typing and build content and pages using those newly-found search terms.
If one of those new terms is “phosphorescent fishing lures," build and create new pages on those three words and link them to your “fishing lures pages." The more targeted your pages are, the more targeted your visitors will be and this should greatly improve your site’s conversion rate.
Conclusion
“Thinking out of the box” is one of the best and most creative ways to efficiently research keywords that your competitors didn’t think of. We’ve all heard of the way to “build a better mouse trap." Using Wordtracker the way I have explained it in this example will help you unleash those important keywords and search terms that will help you “build a better mouse trap” for your website.
Optimizing a site without the professional research facilities of Wordtracker is like driving a car at night with no headlights. Optimize a site for the wrong keywords and you will have a site that will rank high, but for products or services your company does not offer.
In closing, remember that an additional way to get more ideas with search terms is to check your server logs, in an attempt at discovering some terms or keywords your visitors are using to find your site.