SEO Copywriting: SEO Tools & Tips Every Web Writer Should Know About (Part I)
Online writing jobs have increased because more companies are allocating larger parts of their budgets to search engine marketing. This means web writers have to know the ins and outs of search engine optimization (SEO). So this week here on SeoWritingJobs.com, I’m going to highlight some seo tools and tips every web writer should not only know about, but utilize consistently in their writing.
Not only will this knowledge help you to provide search-engine friendly copy to your clients, it will build your credibility as an SEO copywriter. This wil allow you to market yourself in such a way that you land better, higher-paying clients (eg, ad agencies, internet marketing firms, web design firms, etc.).
To start the series, today we’re going to discuss perhaps the #1 SEO tool around – Google’s Keyword AdWord Tool.
Perhaps the #1 SEO Tool: Google's Keyword AdWord Tool
Google’s AdWord Keyword Tool: What It is & How to Use It
This tool helps you to discover keywords and keyword phrases web surfers are likely to type in when they’re searching for your type of product or service.
It is extremely helpful because not only does it give you relevant variations, including alternate spellings (e.g. light, lite), plurals, and synonyms, it also gives you other helpful info like number of searches conducted in the previous month, or previous 12-month period for a given phrase.
How to Use This SEO Tool
In order to understand how it works – and so that the information here makes sense – go to https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal and type “meta tags” into the search box.
To the left, you will see a box that asks the question, “How would you like to generate keyword ideas?” Check the “Descriptive words or phrases” box.
Click on the “Get keyword ideas” box. Note: Make sure the “Use synonyms” box is checked before you click on “Get keyword ideas.”
A list of results will pop up. Here’s how to read them.
Keywords Column
Under the Keywords column are all the related terms Google says are relevant to the keyword/keyword phrase(s) you typed into the search box. They are broken up into categories sorted by relevance, ie,”Keywords related to term(s) entered” and “Additional keywords to consider”.
How many of these do you think you would have thought of on your own? See why this tool is so useful?
Advertiser Competition Column (I call this the “green box” column)
Google best defines what this column is all about, ie: “This column shows the number of advertisers bidding on each keyword relative to all keywords across Google. The shaded bar represents a general low-to-high quantitative guide to help you determine how competitive ad placement is for a particular keyword.”
What you want to look for in this column are the green boxes that have less shading in them AND a good number of searches per month, which the next two columns cover. The less shading a box has, the fewer competitors are bidding on/using that keyword phrase. But, if it has a good number of searches per month, then go with it.
What is a good number of searches? This is different for each keyword/keyword phrase. In this example, take the keyword phrase “use meta tags.” It’s showing that in the last month 1,900 searches were conducted using this phrase, and in the last 12 months, on average 1,000 searches per month were conducted.
While it’s certainly not the 74,000 per month and 49,500 on average per month over the last 12 months the phrase “meta tag” generated, numbers like 1,900 and 1,000 still make up a “good number” of searches.
Think of it this way: Would you like to have 1,000 more visitors on average coming to your site every month? Of course you would. By including “use meta tags” in your keyword meta tag, you have a shot at it.
And, that’s the value of this column. While you certainly want the popular keywords in your meta tags, you want the less popular ones as well, for they can add up to a few hundred or a few thousand extra visitors per month.
Approx Search Volume (Month)
Google’s explanation of this column is as follows: “This column shows the approximate number of search queries matching your keywords that were performed on Google and the search network in the most recent month that we have data for. This number is specific to your targeted country and language . . .”
In this column, be sure to look at results in the “Additional keywords to consider” category. This is where you’ll find less popular keywords to stick in your meta tags. Again, be sure to look for those that have relatively good numbers of searches per month, and over the last 12 months. Again, this will be different with each keyword phrase.
Approx Avg Search Volume
Google definition: “This column shows the approximate average monthly number of search queries matching your keywords that were performed on Google and the search network over a recent 12-month period. This number is specific to your targeted country and language . . .”
The only difference between this column and the previous column is a time factor. The previous column gives stats for the previous month. This column gives stats for the average number of searches over the last 12 months, per month.
Conclusion: Google’s SEO Keyword Tool
As an SEO writer, this is the first SEO tool I access when I sit down to write copy for clients. Some clients will give you a list of keywords to write on. But if they don’t, this is an excellent way to find traffic-generating SEO keywords. And, you can charge a little extra to do this type of research for clients.
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Copyright © 2009: Yuwanda Black for SEO Writing Jobs. This article may not be reproduced or redistributed without the express, written consent of the author.
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