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The Good Bad and Ugly

by jdynars
9 replies
OK I'm here to be 100% honest and I hope in the end I will ask the right questions. I am defiantly a "Joe" as described in the 10 Reasons to quit IM. I have suffered from the shiny object syndrome for many years now. Many reasons for that syndrome but mainly never really found something I was ready to spend time and money doing.

Well things have changed I finally found something I really want to do. I love the concept of the Amazon store. I purchased FSB "Fresh Store Builder" and now I'm ready to get to work. I chose I niche, found a good selection of products, and will pay to have the store professionally set up with content basic optimization, and several social network accounts set up with my logo and store theme.

The products I have chosen are a solution to a problem, all are products I have and/or still use often. Most are priced well over $100 and several sell for around $2000. I used a WSO product I got here to help choose the niche and I really like talking about the product line.

I'm in a position where I will be able to reinvest every dime I make to build the new business. I have a good job that pays the bills and gives me some money to invest in this venture. This is something that I haven't had before.

This leads me to the problem I've had from day one in IM some 15 years ago. I've asked the question a few times on here before but cannot seem to find an answer. My biggest problem is keyword selection/research, I wouldn't know a rank able keyword if it sat in my lap, never have and after 15 years of babbling I still don't have a clue.

Is there anyone out there that would help me learn to choose keywords I can get Google ranked on. I am more than willing to pay someone to show me how to find keywords for my niche. I'll PM my store theme and product line. I have a Google Adwords account and key word tools, Long-tail Pro, Market Samurai, Amazon Kickstart, Keyword Tool, and Keyword Spy.

I have used these tools to build about 10 sites over the years and despite my best efforts I was never able to crack even the top 50. Needless to say no traffic and no sales. I emailed support for both Market Samurai, and Long-Tailed Pro asking them to show me a classic example of a good keyword, a marginal, and poor using their software, along with an explanation of why. Tried several times with both and never got even a F&*(% Y)(* answer back.

I am the kind of learner that needs to be SHOWN how to do something then I pick it up real fast. I picked horrible keywords, but they looked good to me. I simply have no clue what a good keyword looks like in terms of, Daily Clicks, Competition, Commercial Intent or anything related.

I will also have an advertizing budget very small to start but as stated will build. I'm open to PPC if someone can recommend how to effectively choose keywords to target with paid traffic. The problem I have is I have no clue why I failed with the other attempts, so the only thing I've learned is I suck at keyword research.
#bad #good #ugly
  • Profile picture of the author kk075
    Originally Posted by jdynars View Post

    My biggest problem is keyword selection/research, I wouldn't know a rank able keyword if it sat in my lap, never have and after 15 years of babbling I still don't have a clue.

    Is there anyone out there that would help me learn to choose keywords I can get Google ranked on.
    If I am giving my honest advice, I would tell you not to spend another penny until you understand keywords better. Because if I'm reading between the lines correctly, it's not necessarily the keywords you're choosing; it's one of three things-

    1) Your actual on-page optimization and core content are weak
    2) You're choosing extremely competitive keywords
    3) A combination of #'s 1 and 2

    The main factor is your competition- that's where you start with a niche idea because that gives you an indication of how hard it will be to rank. If there are already 50 very powerful, built out sites with 50-100 pages of great content and nice layouts, then you may never rank in that niche...or it could take years. So you have to look at that first to see if it's even worth investing in before you go all-out building a site and spending lots of cash.

    After that, the keyword research is extremely easy. Look at what your competitors are ranking for, and then use adwords (or any of your tools) for other opportunities with solid traffic. Then you optimize your site for those keywords, build out your site, and see where you stand from there. If you're still not ranked, then you add some more until you get there. As long as each page of content is solid, then it's only a matter of time until you become visible IF there's not extreme competition to start with.

    And by the way, I'm not talking about looking to see what the keyword tools say the competition is- that's generic information for PPC ads. I'm saying to Google those terms, look at the ranking websites and then study them directly. That's the only way to know for sure.

    So really, there's nothing anyone can show you...just Google your product niche and see what's out there. Then plug those sites into Moz/Majestic/Arefhs to see how they stand backlink wise and make a judgement call whether you're planning to build your site past where they're at or not.

    If the answer is yes, then we talk keyword research and planning....but never beforehand. That's why your other sites failed...you forgot to do your homework. So this time around, put your wallet back in your pocket and do your homework first. I hope that helps.
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    • Profile picture of the author StephenGB
      It seems to me that many on this forum will say forget SEO and focus on getting traffic from social media instead. Have you set up a facebook page for your business. Join forums and talk about the problem and your solution with a link to your shop.
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    • Profile picture of the author jdynars
      Originally Posted by kk075 View Post

      If I am giving my honest advice, I would tell you not to spend another penny until you understand keywords better. Because if I'm reading between the lines correctly, it's not necessarily the keywords you're choosing; it's one of three things-

      1) Your actual on-page optimization and core content are weak
      2) You're choosing extremely competitive keywords
      3) A combination of #'s 1 and 2

      The main factor is your competition- that's where you start with a niche idea because that gives you an indication of how hard it will be to rank. If there are already 50 very powerful, built out sites with 50-100 pages of great content and nice layouts, then you may never rank in that niche...or it could take years. So you have to look at that first to see if it's even worth investing in before you go all-out building a site and spending lots of cash.

      After that, the keyword research is extremely easy. Look at what your competitors are ranking for, and then use adwords (or any of your tools) for other opportunities with solid traffic. Then you optimize your site for those keywords, build out your site, and see where you stand from there. If you're still not ranked, then you add some more until you get there. As long as each page of content is solid, then it's only a matter of time until you become visible IF there's not extreme competition to start with.

      And by the way, I'm not talking about looking to see what the keyword tools say the competition is- that's generic information for PPC ads. I'm saying to Google those terms, look at the ranking websites and then study them directly. That's the only way to know for sure.

      So really, there's nothing anyone can show you...just Google your product niche and see what's out there. Then plug those sites into Moz/Majestic/Arefhs to see how they stand backlink wise and make a judgement call whether you're planning to build your site past where they're at or not.

      If the answer is yes, then we talk keyword research and planning....but never beforehand. That's why your other sites failed...you forgot to do your homework. So this time around, put your wallet back in your pocket and do your homework first. I hope that helps.
      Ok, so I'm looking for end keywords so say foe example I'm promoting high end fishing rods. I choose the most expensive rod I can find and in quotes " Fenwick X31" the product title. I see say 9 sites, I need to very closely examine those sites to see if I can build a better page/site for that keyword. Is this what you are telling me?
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      • Profile picture of the author kk075
        Originally Posted by jdynars View Post

        Ok, so I'm looking for end keywords so say foe example I'm promoting high end fishing rods. I choose the most expensive rod I can find and in quotes " Fenwick X31" the product title. I see say 9 sites, I need to very closely examine those sites to see if I can build a better page/site for that keyword. Is this what you are telling me?
        In a nutshell, you got it. Once you have those nine sites, write them down on a piece of paper and then go to Alexa, Moz or any of those sites to look at basic metrics. See how many pages they have, how many backlinks point to their site, and that will give you a pretty good idea if you can do better than them or not.

        Here's the kicker though- most of those sites will have 1 page about the Fenwick X31, so that's all they rank on that keyword for. You can build three pages about it or even ten if necessary, just to ensure that you are the online authority on that item. And it doesn't have to be all product descriptions either- tell about a chartered fishing trip. Talk about your visit to Bass Pro Shops. It doesn't matter....as long as its fun to read, you get your keyword in there naturally and people enjoy it.
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        • Profile picture of the author jdynars
          One last question, since it is a very specific buying keyword what would you consider the minimum number of monthly searches for that product to justify spending time and money on.
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          • Profile picture of the author kk075
            Originally Posted by jdynars View Post

            One last question, since it is a very specific buying keyword what would you consider the minimum number of monthly searches for that product to justify spending time and money on.
            Personally- no....although a lot of others here would say yes. Here's my line of thinking though (and i'll stick with the fishing pole theme, even though I know nothing about it)-

            Pretend I'm an avid fisherman and I know fishing poles really well. That means I probably already know what I want to buy. So if I search for that exact model number, there's a good chance I'm buying it right then and there. That means even if only 20 people search for it a month, you're looking at 20 possible sales. So you do this for all the models you'd talk about, starting with the ones that are searched for the most. DO NOT optimize for the most expensive poles first- optimize for the most searched.

            Now, if we're talking about a seldom used keyword like, "fly-fishing Orlando, FL", I wouldn't pursue that hard if it had really low searches because that's not a "buyers keyword". That could be someone looking for a pier, a tackle shop or anything...so you go only for the bigger traffic numbers in those searches.

            But then again, if you have the time- optimize for all of it. Because even if a term is only searched for once a month, you can completely own that term and possibly get a guaranteed sale from it. Just be sure your higher volume stuff is optimized and ranking well first.
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  • Profile picture of the author Ilenia Internet Marketer
    Hey jdynars

    Start by creating a Facebook page, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagaram Work it every day, share quality content, be interactive, you have to create a community around you that you trust you .... and maybe find someone who optimizes SEO if is important to you, pay someone to do it for yourself and learn how ...
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  • Profile picture of the author magneticweb
    You have some excellent advice in the posts above. I would say the most important thing to do now is to research your competition. Enter the keywords you want to rank for in Google and Bing, and see which sites are on the front page. Look at them, see what content they have and use one of the free tools to check on their backlinks. Then at least you know what you have to do to outrank them.
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  • Profile picture of the author depotgang
    Do all the above...but focus on your content more then anything. It will ultimately come down to quality
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