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Best features of a keyword competition tool?

by TheBusinessNomad
7 replies
Hey everyone.

My free SEO tool has proved really popular so far. So I am thinking about building a free keyword competition tool.

It obviously won't be as comprehensive as market samurai or MNF etc. But the idea is to make something that offers a good base for people who are starting out and don't want to fork out the cash for one of the paid options.

So I was wondering which features of the popular keyword tools are the most important for you guys, and which features you don't really need.

What would you like to see in a free keyword competition tool?

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I'm doing this as a sort of hobby / side project because, well I enjoy tinkering with a bit of PHP, so my main concern here is coming up with something that people will actually find useful.

Thanks in advance, all suggestions are appreciated.
#competition #features #keyword #tool
  • Profile picture of the author kiloh
    The most important features that I use from Market Samurai is being able to see your competition's backlinks and analyzing them. Backlinks are an important factor in ranking high in Google. I mean if you can't afford $149 for software that will pay for itself within the same day, then really, can you consider your self an internet marketer? Someone who can't afford $149?

    Keyword competition tools is a necessity, just like a carpenter needs his hammer and tools and a doctor needs his medical equipment. Fork out the $149, and if you can't afford it, then there's something wrong. Very easy methods to make Market Samurai pay for itself in the very first day!
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    • Profile picture of the author Bingo123
      Originally Posted by kiloh View Post

      The most important features that I use from Market Samurai is being able to see your competition's backlinks and analyzing them. Backlinks are an important factor in ranking high in Google. I mean if you can't afford $149 for software that will pay for itself within the same day, then really, can you consider your self an internet marketer? Someone who can't afford $149?

      Keyword competition tools is a necessity, just like a carpenter needs his hammer and tools and a doctor needs his medical equipment. Fork out the $149, and if you can't afford it, then there's something wrong. Very easy methods to make Market Samurai pay for itself in the very first day!
      You summed it up right here. I couldn't agree with you more. Anyone who doesn't invest in this probably won't be in the internet marketing game for too long.
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  • Profile picture of the author kiloh
    Exactly my point. Free alternatives are great in the beginning, but that's what separates the people that don't make any money and the ones that succeed. If your competition is using high end software and you're not, sorry to say, but you won't last long in this game. And to be honest, there's thousands of software out there, but I've only needed 2 to make myself a great little empire.
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    Need help with SEO? Feel free to PM me with any questions, I'll do my best to help.
    PR3 Backlink + Pr1 Backlink - Get your permanent backlink for only $5.
    Need a higher Google ranking? Want to learn what the pros are using? Most essential Wordpress Plugin
    Autoblogs - Try it FREE today! No Domain, No hosting. Setup your own blog farm in 180 seconds.
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  • Profile picture of the author TheBusinessNomad
    Thanks for the feedback guys.

    I totally agree, tools like MS are totally indispensable (I use MNF myself), but I also remember back when I started out, I couldn't really afford the investment, so what I want to achieve is something useful so that the inexperienced IM can try a few things and make a few mistakes before investing in such tools.

    Cheers for the ideas.
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  • Profile picture of the author rkcc4
    Originally Posted by TheBusinessNomad View Post

    Hey everyone.

    My free SEO tool has proved really popular so far. So I am thinking about building a free keyword competition tool.

    It obviously won't be as comprehensive as market samurai or MNF etc. But the idea is to make something that offers a good base for people who are starting out and don't want to fork out the cash for one of the paid options.

    So I was wondering which features of the popular keyword tools are the most important for you guys, and which features you don't really need.

    What would you like to see in a free keyword competition tool?

    ---

    I'm doing this as a sort of hobby / side project because, well I enjoy tinkering with a bit of PHP, so my main concern here is coming up with something that people will actually find useful.

    Thanks in advance, all suggestions are appreciated.
    I have not seen your free SEO tool, will try to check it out.

    Here is my input, may add more later, to begin with I do not like to have to install Adobe Air. I want a standalone tool that I can use on a memory stick.

    A custom facility to create fields to perform calculations on the data collected (we all have our own metrics).

    An export facility that exports all data collected to CSV including calculations. The SAT tool that comes with Mass Money does not export the data in one of their fields).

    An API to enable domain registration with a registrar of my choice or an export of the domain names in my shortlist to csv and clipboard.

    Don't let the competition put you off, I have built small software projects in a niche that later were developed further into commercial products costing $300k per client per annum.

    You may decide on a different pricing model, for example it could be free but sponsored by domain registrars, you could even do a deal with them to get 20c per domain registered and offer your product for free.
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  • Profile picture of the author TheBusinessNomad
    Thanks for all the pointers RKCC.

    The tool is going to be web based, as I am not skilled in software development (I'm a PHP geek). But I like your ideas, especially about a custom calc field.

    My intention is to make the tool free for now. This is primarily a fun way for me to further my php skills...

    But hey, if it proves popular, then who knows..?
    Thanks for the support.
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    • Profile picture of the author rkcc4
      Originally Posted by TheBusinessNomad View Post

      Thanks for all the pointers RKCC.

      The tool is going to be web based, as I am not skilled in software development (I'm a PHP geek). But I like your ideas, especially about a custom calc field.

      My intention is to make the tool free for now. This is primarily a fun way for me to further my php skills...

      But hey, if it proves popular, then who knows..?
      Thanks for the support.
      The problem I have with web tools is you never know what they are doing with your inputs, for example there are domain registrars who hold domains when you search use their tools and then ransom them.

      On my PC I can put a firewall around an app and see exactly who it is communicating with.

      Nothing wrong with being a PHP geek, but another way to stretch yourself is to redevelop an existing offering into another platform or language. Why not make an iphone, android or a java app and hook it into your web tool.

      I have two or three friends who have cornered themselves into one technology, two of them are unemployed. PHP is pretty solid and good for restricting code to server.

      Don't do it for free, better to monetise it and donate the proceeds to charity, at the very least use it as a way to build a list.

      On the customer calc side consider the processes, for example I saw a keytool the other day that imported a Google Adwords export but did not sort it, it then proceeded to take a day to go through it. Now consider this workflow,

      Seed and reseed on Google, take primary and secondary results and seperate into two threads. Next take the top results (as defined by any field or custom field in preferences) then process in batches and lead results into next stage (e.g. shortlist, save, report, domain seach etc).

      Always think about your user, what is their objective and you won't go far wrong.

      Also discipline yourself to work to a methodology and or framework, this way you invest in you.
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