There are so many tools out there for keyword research and some of them are great and some not so great.  But the key is to find several tools that you are comfortable with (and have good results from) and then stick with them.

For us here at our SEO Firm, Eckweb Designs, Inc. one of those tools is Google Insights.

The feature that I love the most in this program is the Rising Searches.  Basically, Google explains Rising Searches as…”Rising searches highlight searches that have experienced significant growth in a given time period, with respect to the preceding time period. So if you’re comparing data for a search term during 2006, the time period serving as the basis of comparison is 2005. Similarly, if you’re comparing searches for that term during May of 2006, the basis of comparison is April of 2006.”

What’s the big deal about Rising Searches as far as keyword research?  Well, it indicates a trend and if you know ANYTHING about marketing, you know that it’s important to follow the trends.  After all, if you’re busy getting ready to sell blue shoes but the trend currently is for red shoes, you may just end up with a large selection of blue shoes on the discount rack!  But if you paid attention to the trends you would have known to put your dollars into the product line that people are looking for, in this case, red shoes.

So, let’s try some searches on Google Insights and see what’s trending.  I’ll set the parameters on Google Insight to do searches in the United States (all regions) for the last 30 days.

1) For the phrase “seo” – in the last 30 days the phrase “seo expert” has increased by 60%.  That certainly tells me I should really be writing a blog about “seo expert!”  – Maybe tomorrow.

2) For the phrase “lawyer” – in the last 30 days the phrase “free lawyer advice” has increased by 40%.  For attorney websites there’s no reason why they shouldn’t have a page on the site talking about “free lawyer advice” and the pros and cons about services that offer that.

3) For the phrase “counselor” – in the last 30 days the phrase “marriage counseling” has increased by 100%.  For psychologists and counselors, this is an excellent opportunity to add this and/or expand on this service in your website.

You can also use generic phrases to get an idea of what people are looking for…

4) For the phrase “affordable” – in the last 30 days the phrase “affordable hotels” has increased by 40%.  If your businesses is related to travel in any way you can certainly add a section to your website about the affordable hotels in your area.

5) For the phrase “simple” – in the last 30 days the phrase “simple salmon recipes” has increased by 70%.  If your business has anything to do with food, no reason why you can’t add a few simple salmon recipes to your website.

6) For the phrase “best” – in the last 30 days the phrase “best iphone case” has increased by 250%.  A review of iphone cases and your choice for the “best iphone case” would be an excellent addition to your blog or website.

What’s the point of all this?  Capturing the audience.  If your website was a store at one end of the mall and your competitors website was a store at the other end of the mall – which store would get the most customers?

Answer – the store that offered more.

And as a result of getting more customers time and time again, which store will end up getting more sales?

Answer – the store that offered more and showcased their expertise.

So, if you own and operate a limousine company in Ft Lauderdale, why should you bother adding information about “affordable hotels” in South Florida?  Because your website then turns into a website just about limousines to an informational website.  Don’t want to dilute the theme of your website?  I can understand that.  Then put the information on a separate domain or in a blog.  The point is to put it out there and associate yourself with it.

You become an expert in your own field.  That’s a very important part of Internet marketing.

Tags: google insights, internet marketing, keyword research, search engine optimization, seo