Keyword Research: Inside the House or Out Source
When it comes to identifying all relevant keywords, should we attempt to do it ourselves or is it preferable to hire someone to perform this task?
A number of related issues go into the answer to that core question. Some of the most important of those are these:
1. The extent to which you understand how to locate keywords and track down keywords that are closely related
2. The keyword software that you have at your disposal
3. Familiarity with using those keyword research tools
4. Your ability to interpret the results so that you are able to separate the useful words and phrases from those that will have little business significance
5. The total funds that are available for you to grow your business
Glancing at those five, notice that they boil down to how much you have studied the process of keyword research and whether the outsourcing alternative is within your financial resources. I’ll go into each of those a little more deeply
What You Need to Understand
There is no aspect of online business that is more important than identifying appropriate keywords. Your list will form the basis of all of your search engine optimization efforts, your advertising campaigns (PPC and others), your copywriting and your article marketing efforts (as well as your other content syndication). In other words, without a good foundation of keyword research, all other aspects of your marketing will suffer.
Some available tools are free to use, such as Google’s keyword research tool. Others can be purchased as desktop software or as online membership applications. You must be willing and able to use a mix of these resources in order to develop the most comprehensive list. You must study the keyword research tools.
While use of the tools is relatively simple, in most cases, interpreting the results can be very tricky if you do not yet have considerable experience or a significant knowledge base. Not all of the keywords that are uncovered are of equal value to a business, and a high volume of searches for a certain keyword does not necessarily make that keyword of greater importance to you than another term or phrase for which there may be substantially fewer searches.
Money
I believe that even if your funds are limited, keyword research is so important that, if you are not capable of conducting and interpreting the study, this is a place to spend those precious financial resources. The cost of a keyword research package is rather modest when you consider the potential return on that investment. I recommend that, if you do hire professionals for this task, that you make sure that they also do a competitive analysis of your industry or niche and offer advice concerning how to use the findings of the study to your competitive advantage.
Often keyword research is bundled into an overall search engine optimization (SEO) contract. These contracts are considerably more expensive. However, if you choose to go this route, make sure you understand exactly how thorough your SEO company will be.
It is possible to handle all of this on your own, if you are willing to take the time and invest the money in learning how to do it the correct way. Of course, you must also plan to invest in some of the software tools, as well.
