Google AdWords takes the guess-work out of blog post keyword tagging.
Do you like to take risks? Do you gamble?
By not using Google AdWords Keyword Planner, you are gambling with the success of your blog post.
You are hoping that when potentially new readers type your keyword into Google or another search engine, your blog post will come up just as much as when a gambler bets that 7 won’t come up on the dice in a craps game.
Google AdWords takes the gamble out of tagging your post with keywords and increases the odds in your favor.
Do you even need Google AdWords?
For WordPress Users, go to your Dashboard and then to your Site Stats.
Check Referrers to see how many people found you through search engines.
Google AdWords can help potential readers using search engines find you.
According to the screenshot, 12 potential readers found my blog using search engines on this particular day. Eleven found me using Google and one person found me by searching Yahoo.
How to Use Google Keyword Planner to Identify Keywords
Step 1: Go to http://adwords.google.com/.
Step 2: Make a free account and log in. If you have a Google account, you can use that username and password to sign in.
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Using Google AdWords, you can determine the interest and competition for your blog post’s keywords.
Step 3: The arrow is pointing at the word Tools. Click it. This will bring up a drop-down menu.
Click the Keyword Planner.
Step 4: There is a drop-down menu under Tools. Choose Keyword Planner.
Google then shows you a message that they are loading your account data.
Step 5: The arrow is pointing at what you need to click next: Search for new keyword and ad group ideas.
Type your keyword into the box.
Step 6: The arrow is pointing at the box where you type your keyword. Type it in. This post is about optimizing your blog post so Google can find it, so I typed in Search Engine Optimization.
Scroll down until you see the blue Get Ideas box.
Step 7: Scroll down until you see the blue Get Ideas box. It is under Search for new keyword and ad group ideas. Click Get Ideas. Press Enter.
The higher the bars, the more interest in your keyword.
How to Determine if There is Interest in Your Topic:
Step 8: Look at the bar graph. The blue bars each represent recent months that your keyword was searched. Looking at the bar graph for Search Engine Optimization, you can see that interest waned a little in February, which is the bar farthest to the right.
Ideally, the bar farthest to the right, the most recent month Google is showing results, would be the highest.
How to Determine if There is Competition:
You want competition low. The fewer choices readers have, the greater the chance they will pick your blog post to read.
Step 9: Scroll down.
Competition should be low to enhance search engine’s ability to find your blog.
You are looking at keywords, in blue on the left, and varying degrees of competition for your term or keyword.
I only click on the blue keywords when the competition is “low”.
By looking at the Competition column, you can see that competition is low only twice. I will click on one of those in order to come up with a key term for my post’s tags section.
You don’t have to pay anything for this research. It’s free.
Step 10: Again, by looking at Competition, I have two choices for “low” competition for my term. Which one should I choose? Look at the Suggested Bid column.
If a company were to pay Google AdWords to create an ad campaign for them, Google would charge $25.71 cents. (I assume that is for each mention of the term.) That is tremendously high in contrast to some of the others. Why would a company pay that much? It must be a great keyword.
The infographic below explains more information about Google AdWords and the bidding process.
Infographic by Pulpmedia Online Marketing
Step 11: Make your choice and type it in under tags. Look at my tags. One of them says search engine strategies; I got that from my Google Keyword Planner search.
I actually got that keyword from the bottom term engine strategies which also had “low” competition. The term that went with the higher bid didn’t sound right in the context of my post, so I used the term for which there was a lower bid.
Eleven quick, easy steps are worth it to ensure that potential new readers can find your blog. I optimized my post for search engines to find me by going through this process.
It is no longer quite a gamble whether new readers can find my post. I increased the odds in my favor by ensuring there was high interest and low competition for my keyword. You can too, and the best part, it will cost you absolutely nothing.
Take the crap roll out of blog post tagging. With these instructions in hand, go sign up for Google AdWords.
Readers, if you believe others can benefit from these tips, please share.
What are your experiences? Have you used Google AdWords before? Are there other ways you optimize your blog for search engines? I look forward to your views.
Related posts:
7 Warning Signs That Google Can’t Find You
7 Ways You Can Increase Your Blog Traffic Using Google
How to Increase Your Blog Traffic Using Google Analytics
8 Easy Steps to Increasing Blog Traffic Using Google AdWords
