Practicing good SEO techniques requires several skills and knowledge in a lot of areas. However, the basis of all SEO practices is keyword research. Do it right and you are on your way to a successful venture. Do it wrong, and you are fighting an uphill, often unwinnable battle. There are some keyword research services online that can do the dirty work for you. Some are high quality and some are low. All, however, are expensive. And the expense is an unnecessary one. You can simply and easily do it yourself if you know what to look for.
The first thing to determine is what you are trying to accomplish. Are you going to be using the keywords you find to do some article marketing? Will you be doing pay per click advertising? Are you looking for a good domain name? The numbers that will fit your needs will vary depending on what your goal or project actually is.
In basic terms, the higher the number of searches and the lower the number of competing websites is, the more valuable the keyword or keyword phrase is. There are several tools you can use to help in your research process. Some are free, some charge a one time fee.
The best free tool out there is the Google keyword tool. Not only can you get information on the number of searches a certain word or phrase garners, you can also find out how stiff the competition is. Plus, this free tool will give you an idea of what you can expect to pay for a pay per click campaign.
