The First Step To SEO Is Good Keyword Research

Denver SEO – 5 Keyword Research Tips

Step 1 – Study Your Competition

Create a list of your top 5 SEO competitors.  For example, I own fitnessfortennis.com.  The three largest traffic sources in the the "tennis" market are:

1. tennis-warehouse.com
2. usta.com
3. tennis.com

Step 2 – Analyze Your Competition

Use Google Keyword Tool to look at what your SEO competition is doing.

1. Go to: https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal
2. Enter your competitors url
3. Create a list of any keywords that relate to your business

Step 3 – Analyze Your List

Use Google Keyword Tool to see the SEO traffic of your keywords.

1. Go to the left column and change the Match Types from "Broad" to "[Exact]".  This will show you how many searches there are for your respective keyword.
2. Update your list with this info
3. You are going to want to keep anything with 300 or more monthly keyword searches

Step 4 – SEO Keyword Selection

This last step is very important, so pay close attention.

1. Go to Google Adwords and put in your keywords.  Keep any keywords that have a CPC (cost per click), of $2 or less.
2. Go to Google.com and search for your keyword like this: "keyword".  Keep anything with less than 300,000 results.
3. This should give you list of keywords that are related to your business, have relevant traffic, and are not overly competitive.

Step 5 – Double check your work

One additional step that I recommend is that you double check your work with a paid tool, such as Market Samurai or SEMRush.  I own both, and they significantly cut down on the keyword research time.

+++++

In conclusion, keyword research is the foundation of SEO.  Be prepared to spend time and resources on this or hire a specialist to do it for you.  It is that important!

Does Social Media Drive Traffic?

-The Truth About Social Media-

When I work with clients, I advocate a balanced approach for driving traffic. 

One of big principles of financial investing is diversification.  Website traffic should be diversified to avoid concentration risk, as well. 

Facebook and Twitter are typically my 3rd, 4th, or 5th traffic sources after SEO, PPC, and direct traffic.  

Want Some Proof?

This is a snapshot from my Google Analytics account for fitnessfortennis.com.  Social media traffic represents 16.63% of the traffic to this website. 

Additional Thoughts

Social media traffic is different than SEO or PPC traffic.  These prospects are looking to have a conversation and learn more.  They aren't generally hot prospects. 

Regardless, they are an important element of the lead nurturing process and have to be considered in a comprehensive online marketing campaign.

To learn more about social media traffic, contact KCC today!