SEO OPERATIONS MANUAL Part 1: RESEARCH

Posted by khoiron h On Sabtu, 12 November 2011 0 komentar
Part 1: RESEARCH


Competition to Search Volume Ratio (The Sweet Spot)
Keywords with low competition and high search volume are the goal when looking for effective keywords. But it's difficult to quantify what is "high" and what is "low". The parameters differ based on niche, geography and other unique factors for the business.

The industry uses this formula as an index or litmus test for Keyword Effectiveness:


KEI= Sv2/C         
C= competing sites that have KW in title and anchor       
SV= monthly searches
But again, no one seems to quantify what a "good" KEI is.  High KEI's are better than low ones, but that can only be measured when compared to other data like other keywords.  One source says a "good" KEI starts in the triple digits, but this is a generalization.
Additionally, keywords with higher commercial intent scores (OCI) will generally be better choices.  Our tests have used keywords with OCI ratings of 50% or greater and we have avoided those with less than that.  OCI will not apply to every niche, but should be considered whenever possible for commercially driven sites.  
Our basic formula range for good keywords  is:
Search Volume = 100 per day minimum (3,000) monthly
Competition Score of 100,000 or less (Counting only SE results of sites with the keyword in the title and at least one anchor tag)
OCI rating of 50% or greater.
A GREAT keyword fits this criteria:
Search Volume = 2,000  or more daily
Competition Score = 10,000 or less
OCI = 100%
Domain available (.com, .net and/or .org)
NOTE: These scores MUST be adjusted drastically, and is some cases do not apply, for local markets where competition is low and search volume is lower.

KW Domains (.net .org)
By far, the most  valuable attribute for SEO is a phrase-matched keyword domain. (keyword.com) . Finding the .com for a great keyword is rare now, but .net and .org suffice.  Although, they will almost always be beat by .com in an organic search race, they are definitely second place contenders - which is still great search engine result placement.   A phrase match keyword domain outranks almost all other attributes including content.  We have discovered keyord.com sites that rank in #1 positions, with blank html index pages. 
We have tested phrase matched domains in specific niches and outranked all competing sites in less than 5 days with a brand new domain and basic blog content.  Therefore, this attribute is at least stronger than the age of a domain registration.

KW RICH DOMAINS (.com)
When an exact phrase match domain cannot be found in .com, .org or .net (all other TLD's do not count), the next level down is a keyword rich domain with a .com.  In other words, we can't kind keyword.com, keyword.net, keyword.org...so we start looking for thekeyword.com, my keyword.com, keywordonline.com
Some testing still needs to be done to see if the variants in the domain work better when placed at the end or at the beginning.  Many SEO experts would say that keeping the keyword at the front is a safer bet.
Also, dashes in keyword rich domains seems to be less valuable than those without, so we avoid them.  (Although , their use is quite prevalent.)   Again, testing is the best way to know for sure.

Google Analytics
When beginning KW research, the easiest starting point is with the client's existing site traffic.  If the client is tracking visits with Google analytics, the SEO tech can start by looking at the words the site is already getting traffic from.  This list can at least reveal the best seed word if not a handful of good keywords to exploit since they are already working.

cPanel  Web Stats for Existing KW
For clients without Google Analytics, the web stats available in cPanel can suffice. Although the data is cruder, all that is needed are basic search items anyway.  AWStats or Webalyzer should be able to uncover some info that creates a good starting point for research.

Study the Authority Site
A quick analysis of the top authority site(s) for this niche can help reveal more keyword possibilities as well as how they are organized.  We look for tags, page titles categories and site map usages to see what is working for them.
quantcast.com, spyfu.com and alexa.com are some good sites we use for authority and competition research.

Google's Wonder Wheel
The suggested words that Google provides in its search bar (after typing the key phrase) will provide a list of keyword phrases that are obviously important to Google when performing that specific search. It makes sense to include as many of them as applicable.
But the Wonder Wheel 's visual "mind map-style" graphic can be displayed and used to find connected and relevant keywords. This data provides us with a potentially perfect schematic for site navigation that Google will love.  When Google loves the site's navigation, there is potential  for it to be displayed at the bottom of an organic listing.  This would greatly increase click-through rates.
There are a number of Wonder Wheel scrapers that can be used to derive the Wonder Wheel's level of data.  Each tree branch on the wheel is another level of related keywords that presents deeper research on any specific word.