Keyword Research on your Mac

Are you into Internet Marketing?

If you answered yes you've probably been spending a great amount of time doing Keyword Research, organizing keywords, tracking keyword metrics, establishing keyword value, yada yada yada... You get my drift!

Do you use a Mac?

If you own a Mac computer, you've more than likely been amazed at the lack of a good Keyword Research Tool to buy. Hey! Even though the Apple Store is a cool place to hang out, you won't find SEO Software there either - true, I've checked!

But don't worry cause you're not alone. I've also been amazed at the lack of Mac SEO Software available, including a really good Keyword Research Tool. They are few and far between. Believe me, I've been considering hiring a programmer to build a Keyword Tool specifically for the Mac and then port it to other platforms. Sounds a bit backwards, or different anyway! Who knows, maybe I'll get around to it!

In the meantime, I've been using the Google Adwords Free Keyword Tool to research keywords and Numbers, which is a module in iWork, to keep track of where I am going with my chosen keywords for all of my websites and blogs.

I know this method sounds like a lot of effort and it is, but consider this - in Numbers, or any other spreadsheet for that matter, you can totally customize everything you want to know about a keyword as it relates to your webpage. If you know how many sales you make per click or impression for a certain keyword or keyword group, you can plugin the numbers and see if it's worth your effort to optimize the page even better and build more links.

Using a spreadsheet is great when you are considering different methods of monetization to use as well. You can easily decide between using Google Adsense, other CPC programs, or an affiliate program. When you plug in the EPC, which is usually supplied by the Affiliate Network you are a member of, you can quickly see what your potential earning opportunities are for different products and services you may be promoting. This can prove invaluable when deciding which Affiliate Offers to sign-up for in the first place. Keyword Tools I've tried out don't offer this capability. Too bad!

Although I do the majority of my research the way I explained, I have still bought Keyword Software for the Mac to help automate the process, but in almost every case, with a couple of notable exceptions, I've been disappointed.

I have to say up front that I want a Keyword Tool that is software installed on your Mac. I'm not talking about a service like Wordtracker, or any of the other Software As A Service(SAAS), solutions which are delivered from the cloud and charge you monthly for access. I don't know about you, but I am not inclined to sign-up for any of these.

It really doesn't matter if your Keyword Research is geared towards Search Engine Optimization(SEO), which as far as I'm concerned it should be, or Search Engine Marketing(SEM), you know it's going to be an ongoing effort. You will need a great Keyword Tool to help you accomplish your goals.

You may also be able to use a variety of SEO Tools on the market in different ways. An example that comes to mind is using Spy Software. Sounds sneaky, doesn't it, but hey... Ya' gotta do what ya' gotta' do - right! It's a dog-eat-dog world in Internet Marketing land.

But when you find out what the top sites in the SERPs, for you niche market, are targeting, and you will be surprised, you'll be able to follow their lead. If it works for them, chances are the same tactics will work for you. But here's the kicker - you can outperform them - beat them at their own game using the intelligence you've gained from them. Oooo your bad! I love this stuff!

Ok, so you've gone to Google and done some preliminary Keyword Research or you already have a site that gets some traffic. Of course you have Google Analytics, Statcounter, or some other method to see the hits you're getting and the keywords that are driving the traffic.

I don't care what keywords you target, the stats will show you what's bringing the traffic to your site, and where it's coming from. Unless you are building a brand new site, developing the keyword traffic you are already getting is a great place to start optimizing.

Let's take a simple example. You have a site that is about Food. You were basically clueless when you started, like most of us, and thought that because there are 124 MILLION monthly searches for food, you would have a site about food. After all, how difficult could it be, you love food, for Gods' sake - you eat it every day!

But your site only gets a couple of visitors every week and it's already a year old. When you look in your analytics you see traffic from about 150 Long Tail Keywords only, and the top search term has gotten 12 hits.

You've done a search in several search engines for the keyword FOOD and you can't find a listing for your site anywhere. Despair sets in and you wonder if you'll ever get anywhere. Sound familiar? So just relax and calm down I say. All is not lost and there is a way forward.

To understand exactly how to move on you'll need to establish a plan of action - Keyword Research. Remember the 150 Long Tail Keywords in your analytics? Well that's what is going to guide you onward through the fog! How?

Of course you need an Outstanding SEO Tool that will show you where you stand. You need a tool which shows where you rank in the SERPs for each of those Long Tail Keywords. When you know this information, you'll have a good idea if you already have any gems or not. It's like mining, data mining.

Market Samurai is a Keyword Tool that can actually show you this information although it's not my preferred SEO Software for tracking my rankings, it will do it and help organize and Research Keywords.

The first step in Search Engine Optimization is Keyword Research. The second step is to structure a site around Keywords. The third step is to create Keyword Rich Content. The fourth step is to acquire backlinks that are anchored with your chosen Keyword. The fifth step is rinse and repeat. Get my drift here?

If you want to build a highly optimized presence online, whether it's a website or a blog, you need great SEO Tools to accomplish steps 1 to 5 on an ongoing basis. If you use a Mac, there is really only one serious choice which will provide you with the flexibility you need to be successful.