Using Digg to Measure Keyword Competitiveness
- SEO |
Digg is very useful for getting your links indexed, but it can also be used to get an feel for how competitive your niche is right out of the gate. Google Bots live on Digg since they have so much fresh content constantly coming live--it's not uncommon to post your link on Digg and then see the story indexed just a few minutes later. Here's a trick I discovered that may be helpful to some of you:
- 10-15 minutes after you submit your link, do a Google search for the Digg story and verify it's indexed.
- If it is, do a search for your keyword phrase and go through the listings until you find the Digg story. Google gives Digg huge credit for fresh stories, so it's not uncommon to find the Digg story already ranking well.
- If you find it in the top 10, that's a nice indication that the the competition is super soft and you likely won't have a problem breaking in with a small amount of link building.
- If it hangs around for several days (even if it slips to page 2), that's another great indication that you'll do well there long-term.
Here's how I'm using this info:
- If the Digg story ranks ridiculously well (basically anywhere in the top 10), I'm scaling back my article writing / link building efforts some what and focusing them on more competitive niches. My main goal initially is just to get my site on the first page so I can gauge traffic and revenue and then re-evaluate. There's no use in submitting 10 articles for the site if 1 will do the job.
- If it ranks well, make a note of where it ranks initially, and then where it settles over the course of a couple days. That'll give you some rough ideas about where the weak spots are.
I may very well be over thinking this, but it seems like a Digg story has the lifespan of a regular website on steroids. When it's super fresh, it does well, but when it loses freshness (days or even hours), it's position starts to deteriorate pretty rapidly. So basically over the course of 72 hours or so, you can get a good idea about how fresh your content and link building efforts need to be to make the first page and then to retain that position over time.
- 10-15 minutes after you submit your link, do a Google search for the Digg story and verify it's indexed.
- If it is, do a search for your keyword phrase and go through the listings until you find the Digg story. Google gives Digg huge credit for fresh stories, so it's not uncommon to find the Digg story already ranking well.
- If you find it in the top 10, that's a nice indication that the the competition is super soft and you likely won't have a problem breaking in with a small amount of link building.
- If it hangs around for several days (even if it slips to page 2), that's another great indication that you'll do well there long-term.
Here's how I'm using this info:
- If the Digg story ranks ridiculously well (basically anywhere in the top 10), I'm scaling back my article writing / link building efforts some what and focusing them on more competitive niches. My main goal initially is just to get my site on the first page so I can gauge traffic and revenue and then re-evaluate. There's no use in submitting 10 articles for the site if 1 will do the job.
- If it ranks well, make a note of where it ranks initially, and then where it settles over the course of a couple days. That'll give you some rough ideas about where the weak spots are.
I may very well be over thinking this, but it seems like a Digg story has the lifespan of a regular website on steroids. When it's super fresh, it does well, but when it loses freshness (days or even hours), it's position starts to deteriorate pretty rapidly. So basically over the course of 72 hours or so, you can get a good idea about how fresh your content and link building efforts need to be to make the first page and then to retain that position over time.
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tguillea -
Thanks
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