What are Keywords?
The best way to define the term ‘keyword’ is by example. Imagine a couple getting married in the Chicago, Illinois area looking for a wedding venue. They may tap into Google and search for ‘wedding venues Chicago Illinois.’ That phrase, ‘wedding venues Chicago Illinois,’ is a keyword.
If you’re hung up on having a definition, a keyword is a word or phrase someone enters into their preferred internet browser to search for something.
The Importance of Keywords in Marketing: A Brief Overview
Anyone who does marketing knows the importance of SEO and keywords. The keywords and keyword phrases they use and how they use them often determine how many people visit their website and whether or not they click and buy a product or service (i.e., ‘conversion’). Well-crafted keywords and keyword phrases often mean the difference between sales and, well, having a website fall flat on its face.
But how do marketers or website owners come up with the right keywords for their sites? They might think they know what words to use, but what they think may or may not be what people are actually using to search. That’s where a keyword research tool comes in. Some are paid services, but a free tool is always great if the marketer can tap into it. Here are a few free keyword research tools to make marketing easier.
(1) Google Trends. Well, of course, Google has a free way for you to choose the best keywords for your website. It’s called Google Trends. Google Trends has a super-simple interface, and results can be narrowed by both region and time. This ensures that the results returned are current trends for an area as opposed to yesterday’s news. The key to successful marketing is being current.
(2) Keyword Tool Dominator. Marketers can seriously expand their reach with Keyword Tool Dominator. This free keyword research tool allows marketers to do three free searches a day, and it aggregates results from sites like Amazon, eBay, Walmart, and others.
(3) Amazon Auto-Complete. If you’ve ever searched for something on Amazon, and all of a sudden, the search field populates with something close to what you’re looking for? That’s Amazon Auto-Complete. Every time someone searches the site, Amazon stores the keywords, which helps future searchers find what they’re looking for more easily.