6 Ways to Use Google’s Keyword Tool

Google's Keyword Tool is useful for people who are creating AdWords and for doing search engine optimization. But that's not all it's useful for. Here are 6 ways to use Google's Keyword Tool for your business:

1. To research your competitors: When you search for a keyword, you'll get a variety of synonyms you may not have thought of. These search terms can help you find competitors who are lurking just around the corner and scooping up clients who are searching for the very thing you're selling! Search for each of the top terms and take note of the top ten search results for each term. Any crossover will hint and a very successful SEO campaign and a key competitor you'll need to work hard to compete against.

2. To research your target market: When you search for a keyword, you'll also end up with a long list of related modifiers that you didn't consider. I found this in a recent search for my own business. I typed a keyword that I typically try to target and found a modifier – a second word – that is being searched by my target market but which I did not think of. Targeting this keyword can help to increase traffic.

3. To find content ideas: Sometimes writing a blog can end up being a little dull if you run out of ideas. You either end up not writing anything at all or writing nonsensical stuff that doesn't really matter. By searching for your keywords and drawing inspiration from some of the others that show up in the list, you can keep your ideas fresh and relevant to your target market.

4. To help your marketing planning: Identify the top 12 search terms that you want to be known for in 2010 and target one a month. Just focus all of your marketing energy on one search term a month and create tons of content around that term. Then move on the next term and the next and the next. You can always revisit your previously targeted work but this way you can find a balance between targeting several keywords and focusing on just a few.

5. To watch for trends: The keyword tool gives you monthly search volume. If you pick a few keywords and track this volume month after month, you can see how the trends change on those searches over time. The value here is to see growth opportunities before they happen.

6. To watch for "back doors". A back door is when someone gets to your blog because it contains keywords they're searching for… but with a different definition than how you are using. I had exactly this experience when I was marketing spicy food for a client and we were using the word "hot" as a key part of our AdWords… until we were reminded (with this tool) that "hot" has other meanings besides relating to food. We used some negative modifiers (vacation and girls, to name two) to eliminate searches and AdWord click-throughs that were getting to us when they intended to go somewhere else.