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The term keywords are often used to define what the web surfers (potential customers) are typing. In actuality they type, for instance, "free backup software for my computer". The search engines pickup first "free", second, "software", third, "backup" and the rest is left out. The search engines know that software is associated with a computer and free means free. In fact no one is typing keywords. They type phrases, or a multitude of keywords. The articles in this section will help you choose keywords searchers are actually using that match what the search engines are delivering.

You can find abstract explanations about how to select your keywords all over the Internet. Good luck understanding the actual implementation. I will make it very simple by using a real application that worked for me.

Target a small niche market: "Psoriasis".

Years back I did some search for psoriasis cures or remedies, trying to help a family member experiencing a form of mild psoriasis condition his doctor could not help.

Psoriasis is a skin disorder with no medical cure. There are a sizable number of people who suffer from it and are willing to try anything that will offer relief. It has something to do with an overreaction of the immune system. Medical treatments designed to control the immune system are very expensive and not very effective. These treatments only control the condition, not cure it. During my search I came across an E-book called "The Psoriasis Miracle Breakthrough". I purchased the book, and after studying it I concluded that it contained some valuable diet information that was helping my family member. It happened that the author offered an affiliate program for this book.

I used the book as an experiment to find out how effective my niche marketing strategy and the use of keywords / terms was. Here it is.

Select your keyword or terms to be listed on top pages with search engines.

There are free tools available that can help you with this process. However, depending on how intensive your search is, you might decide to purchase software that makes your search much more effective. You must select the right combination of keywords and phrases that will make your site competitive. The major free tools are Google Search Tool, Wordtracker, Yahoo Search Marketing and others. Selecting competitive keywords or key phrases is easier said than done. However, there is a way to do it.

The following parameters are being used to select competitive key phrases:

If you search for "psoriasis" using the quotation marks you will get:

Prospects = 165,000, Competition = 6,870,000. Psoriasis without quotation marks counts all the entries containing it. It will bring the number to 1,000,000 per month. It is obvious that there is a reasonable demand for anything related to "psoriasis". This search generates hundreds of key phrases or terms.

Selecting competitive terms is a very simple process, once you have collected the above information for all your terms. This is a dynamic monthly process. Pick up as many terms as qualified. You will notice variations in numbers from month to month. Also, understand you are not the only one doing this. Your competitors are doing the same thing.

Terms must have a minimum of 500 entries (searches) per month and SOC less than 100. Use Adwords for test only, unless they are inexpensive.

Term: "new psoriasis treatment"

Prospects: 33,100, Competition: 4,680, Ad. Cost: 2.71, SOC: 17

Term: "new psoriasis treatments" (note plural)

Prospects: 33,100, Competition: 154,000, Ad. Cost: 3.24, SOC: 3

Term: "psoriasis and diet"

Prospects: 480, Competition: 9,180, Ad. Cost: 0.94, SOC: 5

Term: "psoriasis diet"

Prospects: 4,400, Competition: 211,000, Ad. Cost: 1.39, SOC: 228

Term: "plaque psoriasis treatment"

Prospects: 720, Competition: 1,160,000, Ad. Cost: 0.05, SOC: 2

Step 2 - Analysis and selection.

Term: "new psoriasis treatment"

Prospects: 33,100, Competition: 4,680, Ad. Cost: 2.71, SOC: 17

We have 33,100 prospects searching "new psoriasis treatment" per month. The competition is only 4,680 exact phrases. You can do a test by entering "new psoriasis treatment" in Google. You will get something close to this number by the time you read this article. The Ad Cost seems too high for me so I certainly will not bid at this price. However, SOC is 17 and that is very attractive to tailor my landing page using this term.

Term: "new psoriasis treatments" (note plural)

Prospects: 33,100, Competition: 154,000, Ad. Cost: 3.24, SOC: 3

This term is very attractive due to the number of prospects and limited but healthy competition. The high value of Ad Cost is indicative of a high conversion rate. I would not bid Adwords with these terms. The SOC is a very attractive 3. That means the sites competing are weak on SEO optimization. This a good term to be integrated in your site or blog.

Term: "psoriasis and diet"

Prospects: 480, Competition: 9,180, Ad. Cost: 0.94, SOC: 5

Although the prospect is only 480, the competition is also low 9,180. Ad cost is too high. Don't go for adwords. SOC is 5. This is a perfect term for the your site or blog.

Term: "psoriasis diet"

Prospects: 4,400, Competition: 211,000, Ad. Cost: 1.39, SOC: 228

The "psoriasis and diet" term is very competitive. Take a look the above "psoriasis diet". They mean the same thing regarding our prospects. Look at the difference. The SOC is 228, way too high. You should use "psoriasis and diet". It will give you more traction against the competition.

Term: "plaque psoriasis treatment"

Prospects: 720, Competition: 1,160,000, Ad. Cost: 0.05, SOC: 2

This term is very special. Prospects is 720, Competition is 1,160,000. However, the SOC is very, very attractive, only 2 and Ad Cost is only 0.05. You should certainly implement this term in your site. You can also go aggressively with Adwords.

Selecting your keyword / key phrases / terms is crucial for the promotion of your website. It is an ongoing process. The competition is doing the same thing. It must be done monthly. There is no way around it. I tested this model using Adwords four years ago. The conversion rate, people who purchased by clicking on my site, was very high: 20 percent. Over a three month period, out of 100 clicks on my site, 20 were purchases. My return to investment was 50 percent. I spent on average $200 per month to make $300 in sales, or $100 profit. This is a very reasonable return. Keep in mind, this was a test.

Don't go for promises to make thousands of Dollars in 48 hours. You can't.

In my next article, I will show how you can benefit from Ebay referral (it pays $25.00) picking up the right keywords.

For more information go to Internet Niche Marketing

3/22/2010