A good rule of thumb for competition and local searches when selecting keywords
-
I'm doing keyword research in the Google Keyword Tool and was looking and spending a lot of time looking at keyword competition and local searches. I'm trying to determine what is a good rule of thumb for what level of competition and local searches people have used when selecting the keywords they will optimize for. I've currently been trying to find ones that have less than 50% (moderate) competition and less than 1,000 monthly searches.
Also, which do you put more weight on the competition or the number of searches.
-
I don't know if you saw this. Its very good timing that Rand wrote a blog post about this very subject!
Check it out, as always its a worthwhile read.
http://www.seomoz.org/blog/google-places-citations-5-tactics-to-earn-links-for-your-local-business
-
Eric,
Let me add that the keyword difficulty tool doesn't necessaraly apply to local search. A LOT of other stuff is looked at as far as local SEO.
You should check out David Mihm's bolg. It is one of the BEST resources available in local search.
-
That helps. thanks.
-
Citations are the "link" equivalent for local search. If you go to your places page, there is a section that says "more about this place" That is info google has scraped from other local sources that mention your businesses. They may or may not contain a link.
Looking at your citations and your competitors is a good area to work on improving your listing in Google Places.
Heres an image of a citation section.
-
Hi Roger,
What is a citation? What constitutes a strong or a weak constitute citation?
-
Oh and a strong listing you would be more focused on number of searches if you feel it's realistic you could rank for it.
-
Oh and a strong listing you would be more focused on number of searches if you feel it's realistic you could rank for it.
-
It depends how strong your citations are. If your new or ave a weak listing I'd pay more attention to competition?
-
Hi Pashmina,
For the total results, do you put each term into Google individually to find this result, or is there a tool where you can run multiple keywords at a time?
Eric
-
I would use more than the above two factors for selecting keywords. I think of the various research tools and metrics I pull from them as varying sieves to filter and boil down a list.
I'll start with hundreds, if not thousands of words and then narrow my list by adjusting the thresholds for each factor until I get a nice list. Along with monthly searches and competition, I'd immediately add the total number of search results for that keyword. For example maybe you start with a threshold of less than 5,000 monthly, 80% competition and less than 600K total results. And if you still have too many keywords you adjust your thresholds and tweak according to what makes sense for your market/audience and goals.
And go deeper and add more factor, like estimated CPC, SEO Moz difficulty score, or # of competitors and factors you can pull from other keyword research tools.
-
Don't fear competition because where there is competition there is also (usually) a lot of search volume and a lot of money changing hands. Instead attack with long, diverse copy to pull in the long tail queries.
-
I try not to take that into account when choosing keywords to optimize for organic. The competition may correlate to organic efforts but you can't let that dictate your optimization. You have to optimize for what your audience/clients are searching for. IMO.
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
Keyword Density and ALL CAPS
Hello everyone, New member and first time asking a question! Having a disagreement about keyword stuffing on a home page. The client has 14 mentions of their brand all IN CAPS. So it's sentences like ... BRAND was established in 1968 and has become one of the biggest leaders in the donut industry. In fact, BRAND has created a strong BRAND community ... etc. [the lead paragraph is three sentences and four mentions of BRAND] A design agency that is also in the picture says that this is fine because the word appears naturally in the sentence. Can you either 1) tell me I'm wrong and explain why or 2) give me some ammo to give to my client to support my argument. Thanks! Lisa
Keyword Research | | ChristianRubio1 -
What is the best keyword tool for 2013?
Since the change in Google's keyword tool I have found it frustrating to use in finding new keywords. Which keyword tool would you recommend? Many thanks.
Keyword Research | | WSIDW0 -
Include Location in Keywords?
I understand Google's local search automatically searches keywords with the location you are searching from. For example if I'm searching from Calgary and query "best shoe repair", Google knows I'm searching from Calgary and presents Calgary based results. I'm using Google's new Keyword Planner tool which allows for city based search results, meaning I don't have to include "Calgary" in the keywords I submit. The question I have is should I be attaching "Calgary" to my keywords for on-page optimization, and why or why not? Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Keyword Research | | reidsteven750 -
Finding new keyword research tools
Does anyone have any recommendations for tools to help speed up the initial keyword reporting process? I'm looking for tips to streamline the current system of manually researching competition reports. Thanks.
Keyword Research | | Doug_Hay0 -
What are the checkmarks for on the keyword tool?
I'm looking at the keyword research tool and notice that some of the boxes are checked. I dont really see a reason why? does anyone have this answer? i did attempt look in the Q&A section with no luck.
Keyword Research | | praxiscredit1 -
How can a keyword has very low search volume (<10) and high competition?
Sometimes I notice in Google keyword tool that a keyword has very low search volume (<10) and high competition? Why would anyone go for a keyword with very less search volume ?? (note: If Checked in Google keywords tool with Exact match) Though I understand this tool doesn't always have exact data but still any explanation to that question?
Keyword Research | | Personnel_Concept0 -
Search Traffic down 50% but rankings same?
One of my client's sites is experiencing a major decrease in search traffic (by 50%) but the main terms she usually gets traffic for, she's ranking the same or even better over the period of time that the traffic has decreased. What could cause this?
Keyword Research | | bvrob0 -
Google SERPS for similar Keywords?
I have website which is being listed for a keyword which is not in the site. It seems that google is using a Thesaurus to find words with similar meaning. Is this right? How could this be used for SEO purposes?
Keyword Research | | Tinderbox0