SEO Basics – Keyword Research and Analysis

I recently met with a business owner that sells manufactured houses (better known as mobile houses). The company is established and has quality branding, but lacks a Web site (thus the reason I was there). Initial conferences with our potential customers normally involve a substantial amount of investigation into the business, their major target audience, and brainstorming about possible keywords. Throughout the meeting I learned about his industry, clients, and the challenges his business encounters. He defined very clearly that they despise the words “Mobile Home” and preferred the terms “Manufactured Housing” or “Modular Homes.” I am a Real estate broker and have seen this marketing change in the last several years and wasn’t amazed.

After the meeting was finished and I got back to the office to start off the research, it instantly turned obvious that the business owner was not gonna like what I would definitely tell him. The words “mobile home” was searched around 6x’s more than “modular home.” If he wants to create an efficient Web site for his business, he will have to optimize for the words “mobile home” – the phrase he despises.

This story is a prime example of what keyword research is about. Search engine optimization isn’t just about getting the site rank high in the various search engines, it’s about going through market research and then concentrating on the desired traffic. Please don’t get me wrong, just because one keyword has a large amount of traffic compared to other, it doesn’t mean it is better for your online business to optimize for that keyword.

For example: As a Real estate broker would it be wiser to optimize for “homes for sale” (X) or “Real Estate Agent” (Y)? Despite the fact that (X) may have 15x’s the amount of traffic; any person that searches for (Y) is likely a better target market. Some people today can view houses for decades without literally buying, while someone searching for the services of an agent is more likely to convert.

Keyword research and analysis is the basic groundwork of Search engine optimization job. It can mean the distinction of success and failure for your internet marketing system. I’ve been privileged enough to be associated in campaigns that truly enhanced specific keyword traffic via integration of Offline and Online marketing approaches. Typically even though, the human user is the driving element which decides the direction of your Search engine optimization attempts and Web design