Beyond Brainstormer
Adequate keyword research is critical for succeeding in your niche. You MUST know what keywords have enough demand to get free traffic but also have low enough competition for that keyword to get on the first page of Google. And Brainstormer is an excellent tool for this kind of keyword research. For those that don't know, Brainstormer is the keyword research tool that comes with Site Build It!.
But keyword research alone is not enough to succeed.
To be sure you will make money you must look deeper into those keyphrases and your niche. Unless you can find "buying intention" in that niche you may never make any real money. This is why you must go beyond keyword research and do Market Research.
Getting On The First Page
Another critical factor is determining whether you can get on the first page of Google...or NOT. To know that you must analyze your competition and determine whether you can beat them at Search Engine Optimization. If you can't, you may be climbing a 20,000 foot mountain when you thought you were climbing a 1,000 foot one.
If all the sites on Page 1 have been around for years and have thousands of backlinks and have all the "on-page" SEO factors right, then you will have a very tough time beating them and getting onto Page 1.
And if you can't get to Page 1 you will have no traffic. That's the only page that counts. Fewer than 10% of searchers on a keyword ever make it to Page 2.
In fact, according to some studies, the #1 organic position on Page 1 only gets 42% of the clicks on that page. By the time you get to Position 5 you're down to less than 5% of the clicks. And, as you can imagine, nothing happens on Page 2.
So getting the highest position you can achieve on the Search Engine Results Page (SERPs) is critical for getting traffic.
Beyond Keyword Research
Putting yourself into the shoes of your potential visitors is very important first step in Market Research. You should ask yourself...
- What keyphrases would they use to solve their problem as it relates to my niche? Understanding all areas of their problem will give you a wealth of "buying" keywords to work with.
- How can you connect those phrases to the solutions that your site offers? In other words, what keywords and content will connect their search terms to your site on Google.
If you can empathize with them you can begin to "meet them where they are now" in the SEs and make a connection that can move them to your site and your solutions.
Of course the first thing you need to know is what keywords people are using now. Guesswork will not work. You must research exactly which keywords actually ARE being used by real people.
SBI's Brainstomer
Brainstormer is Site Build It's keyword research tool. Brainstormer is excellent for helping you find these keyphrases that are really being used and in demand. It will also help determine how many competing sites are using that keyword.
But Brainstormer has some issues.
The Profitability Value Is Not Helpful
Brainstormer offers a column for Profitability. This number is determined Demand divided by Supply times 1000. A Profitability number greater than 1000 merely means that there is more searches being done for that keyword than there are sites using that keyphrase. That implies that the keyphrase is winnable. It has nothing to do with profitability (making money). Just because a keyword is winnable does not mean there is any buying intention implied in that keyword.
Think about it...
A phrase like "underwater swimming" has a profitability value of 9664 in Brainstormer. With a demand of 2213 it might even get you some traffic. But when you put it into Google you see only one paid ad (AdWords) on the right, and that one is auto generated by Target, so it might not have any real value.
The point is...
Unless you do the rest of the work and analyze whether that keyword actually has buying intention, you could end up wasting 100s of hours on a niche that might never make you money. So you can't go by the Profitability value alone.
So What Do You Do?
I've moved to a Keyword Research Tool called Market Samurai. This tool is far richer than Brainstormer. It's also much easer to use and much more intuitive. Plus it offers great compatibility with WordPress. When you move to WordPress you'll begin to see the power of MS.
Market Samurai Video
I've created a video that shows you how Market Samurai works. Go to this page to view it.
FREE Trial of Market Samurai
If you'd like to test out Market Samurai yourself go to this page. I promise you will be very excited about what you see. And you'll have 12 days to see if it's right for you.
The Market Research Process - Finding Buying Intention
Start by doing a Google search on some of your suspected keywords for your niche. Look for keywords with plenty of Google Ads on the Results page (at least 10). That means someone is actually making money otherwise they wouldn't be buying the keyword.
Next, use the Google Keyword Tool to see how much that keyword is selling for. If they are selling for $10 or more, then you've probably found a very competitive keyword that the experts are already fighting for (or they have high margins to work with). This may be a good thing if you can find good monetization partners, but it's usually a sign that you better know what you are getting in to.
If the keyphrase is selling for less than $2 it may still have good value and is worth continuing your research. Just be sure to check out the monetization partners closely.
While your on Google check to see how many other sites already are using that keyword. Type in the phrase you are researching in quotes ("keyword phrase"). That will bring back "phrase matched" sites that are using the exact phrase on their pages. If there are less that 100,000 sites you may still be in the ball game. But you'll have to look a little deeper.
If everything is looking good so far, next you'll need to research the top 10 sites in the organic listings for that keyword. This is where the hard work begins but it's worth it because it could save you hundreds of hours in the long run. Here's what you want to know...
- How long has the site been online? (if over 5 years they will be tough to beat)?
- How many backlinks do they have? (if they have over 500 they will be tough to beat)?
- Do they use the keyword in their domain name?
- Do they use the keyword in their title tag?
- Is the keyword in their meta description tag?
- Is the keyword being used in the first head tag on the page?
- Are they listed in the Yahoo Directory or the DMOZ directory?
- What is the Pagerank for the page (over 4 is tough to beat)?
If all 10 sites on the first page of Google are strong in these categories you have a very tall mountain to climb. It could take years (or never) to get on the first page. If you're looking for "low hanging fruit" then you did not find it.
If on the other hand, if you feel you can beat at least 5 of the sites, you may have found a good niche keyphrase that could get you on Page 1. Congratulations!
Market Research Is Hard Work... Unless
As you can see doing the work to find out all the important factors for online success goes beyond keyword research and moves into Market Research. It takes time but the time it takes is nothing compared to the hundreds of hours you'll still spend building pages and promoting your site. It sure helps to feel there's some gold at the top of that mountain when your are done.
Want To Learn About Other Market Research Tools?
Now I think Brainstormer is fine, but there's others out there. My favorite is Market Samurai. Check out their free trial here.
