Search Engine Marketing Using Dud Keywords

Writing by Nick Stamoulis ShareThis

Doing your own search engine marketing is not always a good idea. This is particularly true if you don’t understand keywords and their place in the overall picture.

I have seen website owners spend countless hours searching for keywords that they can target. The use of the tools is amateurish to start with; their interpretation of the results even worse. With search engine marketing, you are not just looking for a good keyword; you are looking for a keyword that will deliver traffic that will convert.

A good example is when you find a great keyword or keyword phrase. Your research shows that there are a reasonable number of queries each day and there is not a lot of competition. You throw all your energy into an SEO program to capitalize on that keyword, build links, and watch as you slowly climb the search results.

One problem. You are now receiving a lot of organic traffic for that keyword, yet your conversion rate is extremely low and not getting any better. What you have probably done is optimize for a keyword dud. These keywords do deliver reasonable amounts of traffic, but it is the wrong sort of traffic. Some keywords, particularly keyword phrases, do get used frequently; they get used frequently by those looking for information, not to buy. College or high school students are a good example; they are using that keyword to research their assignments.

Search engine marketing and search engine optimization is not about finding any keywords that are competitive. It is all about finding the right keywords for your site, keywords that will result in sales. It often a good idea to test your kewords prior to jumping in and using them. Tightly controlled PPC campaigns can be a good test. These campaigns can at least give you an idea how many people are searching and also willing to buy.

Don’t get caught with a keyword dud. Do the right research and test your results. It could save a lot of time and effort down the track.