Get Creative with Keyword Research, there is More Than Google
Google Keyword Planner is a great tool but it should not be treated like your only source for keywords. We are not saying that you should abandon this tool as that would be quite foolish. But we are saying that you should use it wisely and in conjunction with some other useful and perhaps unique keyword research tools.
Here are five keyword research ideas that you may first laugh at but we suggest you take seriously:
Wikipedia
Anyone with a child under the age of 12 has likely heard the phrase, “Wiki-wiki-pedia, the free encyclopedia” more than they care to know. Funny playground phrases aside, Wikipedia can be your friend. Enter in a keyword or product type and after the main definition on the page is a list of related terms and acronyms. Hello potential new keywords.
Thesaurus
Even more dated that Wikipedia but working in the same vein is the good old fashioned thesaurus. You can use an online version or, if you really want to feel retro, dust off that reference book on your parents’ (or grandparents’) bookshelf and give it a try.
Online Reviews
Browse reviews of your products or your competitors and see how reviewers talk about things. This is like conducting free market research because these are your customers and prospects telling you how they think about your business.
Online Submission Forms
Akin to online reviews, an email from your customers or prospective customers is like gold. When people submit queries via your website or social media, they are virtually handing keywords to you on a silver platter.
Your Site’s Search Bar
If you don’t have one, you should. This is yet another way to mine your customers’ minds to learn how they think about and talk about your services or products.
You can take keywords that you learn from these sources and evaluate them in Adwords. Doing this can produce great results.
As search engines become smarter and semantic search increases, additional methods of keyword identification are crucial for your business to compete in a digital landscape. Step out of your box and do not become confined by what Google tells you to do all of the time.
Share below some of your creative ways to do keyword research. (And, remember, comments get you a good back link to your website!)
