There are a lot of keyword research tools available at present but sometimes nothing beats checking out social sites to see what is humming with their users. Use some of those keywords in your search engine optimization strategies and you may strike gold if or when those keywords spike in the search results.

In a strange twist, topics can become very popular on sites like YouTube days before those same terms become popular searches through traditional search engines. If you have targeted those keywords through your search engine optimization program then there is a good chance you will be on the front page for those results.

YouTube is not the only social site to consider. The Digg homepage can be useful along with StumbleUpon’z Buzz page and don’t forget sites such as FaceBook and Del.icio.us or any of the other sites that may favor your genre. The data you glean from these sites can then be used in any of they keyword research tools to fine tune your search engine optimization program.

There will be times when none of the information collected really matches your genre. However, by keeping a regular eye on these sites you can be in a position to capitalize on any buzz as it does start to build.

Keyword research and search engine optimization is often a matter of trying to second guess tomorrows trends, the more help you can get, the easier it can be.

Danny Dover wrote an interesting post at SEOmoz titled, “The Beginner’s Checklist For Small Business SEO.” I agree with a lot of his points, but one thing I’d like to add is that you don’t necessarily need to sign up for Google AdWords, as he suggests, to do your keyword research. Google AdWords has an external keyword tool.

In step 4 of his checklist, this is precisely what he suggests:

Research your chosen keywords - Sign up for Google Adwords and learn how to use the provided “keyword tool” and “ad text ideas” generator. Learn how to use Wordtracker (paid) and/or the Keyword Difficulty tool (free).

While you certainly want to use the best keyword tools possible, and Google AdWords, has an awesome tool, the external tool is just as useful and you don’t have to sign up for an account with Google to use. You’ll eventually want to sign up for Google AdWords, especially if you plan to use pay per click advertising. And even if you don’t go the PPC route you’ll still want to sign up for it so you can use Google Analytics, which requires a Google AdWords account. But the external keyword tool doesn’t require an account at all and for beginning SEOs that matters. You don’t want to give out your personal information before it’s time. Learn to use the tools first then when it becomes necessary you open your account.

Perhaps that title should read Search Engine Optimization and the Long Tale. Long tail keywords seem to be the fashion these days and not without good cause. It is often easier to get well ranked using a long tail keyword than it is using a short keyword and it all comes down to competition.

When you start your Search Engine Optimization efforts keyword research can be quite daunting and fairly disheartening. It is fair to say that unless you have invented something completely new and invented a new name for it, then every keyword you can think of will be well in use. You could of course use your brand as a keyword but that is likely to have variations already in use as well.

The future in keywords and keyword research will not be the singe word. The future is going to lie in long tail keywords and how they relate to the everyday internet user. Humans are inquisitive by nature. They are also information hungry. Future web sites will need to place heavy emphasis on these traits if they are to attract traffic and sales.

Searchers are not going to type in single search terms, many are not now. Instead they are going to enter in sentences. Often these sentences take the form of ‘how to’s’. ‘How do I …..?’ To capitalize on this your Search Engine Optimization program needs to incorporate two things.

First - Search Engine Optimization adjusted content - the right content. Web site owners now need to include information for their prospective customers. Gone are the days where you could just publish a catalog and expect sales. Sure, you will get customers buying off a catalog, but not a lot. Catalogs are now best left to marketing mail outs and the like.

What is needed is information. Not just your regular description of your product. FAQ sheet, information sheets, how to pages. Web sites that include comprehensive information on their products and services are now starting to reap the rewards.

Second - long tail Search Engine Optimization program - optimizing the long tail keywords that internet users are likely to use when searching for your products. These long tails may well include ‘how to’s’. If you sell a coffee grinder, then you may well find term such as ‘how do I blend my coffee’ rates quite highly in search terms.

The key to surviving in the future is by planning your Search Engine Optimization strategies now. Including well written information for your customers and then optimizing those long tail keywords to get prime search engine placements. Your customers will thank you by buying. You will be thankful when your profits surge at the expense of those who got left behind in the long tail keyword challenge.

Kalena Jordan was asked the question, “What keywords should my home page target?” Of course, as Kalena points out, there are a million different ways to answer this question. It really depends on your preferences. But she does a good job of giving a very simple answer that works. Here are some alternatives:

• Target a long tail search term on the home page and use related long tail search terms for the internal pages while linking each internal page to your store, a single page that includes descriptions of the products you sell along with photos and a shopping cart system.
• Search Engine Optimize your home page for the most popular item in your store AND the generic search term, then use the internal pages to target key terms related to each item you sell; start a company blog on your website that discusses how each item you sell can be used.
• Make your home page your storefront and each internal page an optimized web page that describes each item you sell in more depth

There is no limit to the ways you can build a web page and optimize it according to the standards of your industry. The best way to do it is to analyze your competition, study their strengths and identify their weaknesses, then fill a niche within your search engine optimization strategy.

Don’t miss out on the benefits that localized content can offer you. It is often an untapped market, especially if you are providing specialized services. The fact is that those of us that have been online almost as long as the Internet, have gotten very good at searching. Late adopters have not done too badly either. Now most people enter at least one geographic keyword when they search.

When I am producing content, I tend to start big and work my way down. I might start with something like: “Pool filters USA,” “Pool filters America,” and “Pool Filters United States.” That is three articles there, it is not really localized, but it is including some geo-targeting. Next, I would drop down to something a little smaller, “Pool Filters California.” To further reduce the area, “Pool Filters Los Angeles.” To go local, “Pool Filters Orange County.”

Don’t skimp, cover all the areas and then cover them again with specific product names, or alternative keywords to “Pool Filters.” Localized targeting makes a tremendous amount of extra work, but it makes perfect sense, drives plenty of traffic and generates leads as local clients can expect to see their goods in a more timely fashion if they live closer to your place of business.

There are tons of keyword research tools out there and there are some that are very good, but don’t forget the benefits of brainstorming. Brainstorming comes up with some great keyword ideas and once in a while you will think of something that a computer program just won’t come up with. Customers are humans and the human edge does come in handy from time to time.

Brainstorming is always the first step of my keyword research. I aim to come up with as many short phrases as I can possibly think of in one sitting. Going through the phrases that I would type in is the easy part, thinking of things that others might type can be a little more challenging. The more you do it, however, the easier it will become. Some people are better at brainstorming than others, but those that are really good at it can save themselves a lot of time in their keyword research.

Keyword research is not a one time exercise. It’s not something you do today then you are done forever. Serious Internet marketers make keyword research and ongoing exercise.

That doesn’t mean that you have to do keyword research every day. It does mean that you continue to research and find the best keywords for your website concept over the life of your business. Whether you spend an hour a day or an hour a week on the activity is up to you, but you must spend some time on keyword research throughout your project if you expect it to succeed.

Successful keyword research consists of several musts. For instance, you must seek out keywords within your niche. You must analyze your keywords for potential profitability. You must decide which keywords are appropriate for your business. Just because a keyword is popular doesn’t mean that it will be profitable for you. That’s where you have to analyze the keywords themselves as search terms and weigh them against your own site concept. The day you think that you have arrived at the perfect list of keywords, that’s the day you should reconsider whether your research is on the right track.

Search Engine Optimization Journal recommends the following keyword research tools:

• Key Compete
• Keyword Discovery
• Wordtracker