Lots of discussion about keyword research lately. Keyword Elite 2 was released and many are bowing before its mighty powers. Not me. I have been using The Keyword Academy keyword research methods to find the “green” keywords. Fancy expensive tools are not needed. It’s not a perfect system but is damn sure better than most I’ve come across. It really hones in on those keywords you should be working within your chosen niche.
The tools I use for finding green keywords are Google and Nichebot. TKA suggests the Google keyword tool along with the Firefox SEO plugin. I’ve been using Nichebot for SEO analysis. Until now. Stupidly I had ignored a tool that does a fantastic job of displaying the SEO stats easily. Traffic Travis.Though I realize that the Firefox plugin does all the work for you for free, the results are not presented very elegantly.
Don’t get me wrong, there is a lot to love about Nichebot. I like that all my projects are stored online for one. But for SEO analysis Traffic Travis easily shines above the competition. I have the pro version. I’m not certain if the free version gives such a comprehensive listing of SEO stats. Download it and see. I’m too lazy.
So you go to Google and get your listing of keywords. Put them in your TKA spreadsheet for analysis. Now you have the keywords you need to check for competition. I used to use Keyword Analysis X from Nichebot. I’ve now been using Traffic Traffic SEO Analysis.
It will show you:
- Page rank
- Age of domain
- Number of back links for page
- Number of backlinks for entire site
- Backlinks from .edu and.gov
- Whether or not it is listed in Yahoo directory
- Whether or not it is listed in DMOZ
- Does the title contain the keyword phrase
- Does the description contain the keyword phrase
- Does the H1 tag contain the keyword phrase, along with a couple of other items.
For the example above I would not try to compete for this keyword phrase. #1 is a PR6 that is 11 years old with the phrase optimized in the on-page factors. Additionally within the top 10 there is a bunch of sites with a PR4. This is definitely not a green keyword.
Anyway. I have no idea why you would spend $200+ dollars on a keyword tool. Many are digging Market Samurai which is $150 while they threaten to raise the price higher. I wouldn’t be a buyer of that either. I’ve tried it and do not care for it. Too cumbersome for me. The results you need (For TKA anyway) come straight from Google’s free keyword tool. Analysis can be had from a free plugin or a free tool like Traffic Travis.
Keyword research is monotonous and boring work. I’ve never run across a tool that makes it any easier or is successful in giving up the secrets to making money. I’ve spent money for keyword tools and they haven’t made a difference. That’s why I like the simplicity, albeit hard work, of TKA’s method. Google and Traffic Travis is what I’ll be using.
BTW-I have been having some very good success targeting keyword phrases using the TKA method, particularly as I continue to build Hubpages. I snipe a keyword phrase. Write as much as I can stand. Add a few modules. Publish. Go to the TKA blogs and write some snippets. Go to Article Marketing Automation and post an article into the system. And maybe post a quick article at Ezine Articles. Using the TKA method and getting a few backlinks is about as close to a guarantee as I can give that you will find yourself on the first page of Google within a couple of weeks for your chosen keyword phrase.
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Thanks Splork,
This was a mighty informative post. You’re becoming a fine student and even finer teacher.
Keep it going, I’m definitely learning a lot and appreciate your open, honest feedback about the tools that you’re using along the way.
Thanks for reading Sunshine. I’m just grinding along…
Does the Pro addition show anchored backlinks, and if so does it show the anchored text? I didn’t see it with the free version.
Not like SEO Elite if that’s what you mean,
A couple of years ago, I read primarily for the humor, wit, candor, and good links.
And always the nugget of knowledge but…somewhere about a year (I think?) ago, it seems like you started really pounding that knowledge bit too.
This post helps me out a lot. I’ve started affiliate marketing for my own sake (instead of just ghostwriting and PLRing for the IMers) and this post is freakin fantastic!
Plus you’re the only IM blogger with any personality anymore. Thanks for sticking around.
Thanks for reading Brad. It’s cool that you’ve stuck around as well.
Hi Splork,
Long time, no write-to.
This is a great article. I really appreciate you taking the time to tell us exactly what you are using and how you use it.
I use the free version of Traffic Travis, but I may give the pro version a try. Do you have an affiliate link for them?
Cheers
You may not need the Pro version. There is a link above you can click but I’d go and see the comparison chart and make sure you need the extra features. Though I think you can try it out for a $1.