14 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}
14 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}

How important is # of results in "keyword"?

by aprilm
11 replies
  • SEO
    • |
Hi. I just got through an IM course, and the course recommends to run a sniff test on your keyword by searching for the keyword in quotes "keyword". The writer of the course, recommends anything under 7000 is where you want to be. I just found a keyword that looks good, domain is available, and the first 4 results in Google are 2, -, 1, and 0 respectively, so the strength of competition doesn't look that strong. (2 of the 4 sites mentioned are shopping sites) Problem is, the keyword in quotes yields 465,000. (way out of the recommended 7000) In your opinion, how important is this 'sniff test' of "keyword" results?
Thanks
#important #keyword #results
  • Profile picture of the author InternetMarketingIQ
    All that is going to tell you is the number of exact occurrences of the phrase on a page. Some of these occurances may be intentional some may not.

    You need to dig deeper. You need to use AllinTitle and AllinAnchor to give you a better idea of who is going after those search terms.

    Then you need to look at your REAL competition which is not only the first page... but the first 5 results on that page.

    That's your real competition... because if you can't get there you can't make money from Organic Search.

    People search for a keyword phrase... look at the top results then they research.

    And it's not enough to be in the Top Results... your Title and Description that displays t the user has got to be compelling enough to get people to click through.

    You can never underestimate the POWER of a correctly constructed Title and Description.

    Just because a Keyword Phrase appears to be below a threshold means little unless you follow through to see what is really happening and then determine if you think you can compete with the sites already there.

    I make sure I construct SEO Friendly sites... but I don't chase Organic SEO per se. I focus on making sure my linking efforts, articles, etc. TARGET specifically. I want traffic from the links themselves.

    I don't waste much time doing backlinks or methods or tricks. I write content that appeals to a market segment, then I go find the sites that people visit for that market. Then I make sure I get my links on those sites.

    You have to get yourself in front of your market. And relying on Organic Search is a very long and time consuming process.

    Always think about where your market would look for information then put yourself there.

    To be perfectly honest the vast majority of people who claim to be Internet Marketers know very little about "Marketing"... they are just going through the motions of some process... like digging a hole then filling it up. They pay little attention to who their real target customer is and what they want.
    Signature
    Internet Marketing IQâ„¢
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[1816877].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author paulgl
      In the latest results of how people search, long and
      short searching is slowly disappearing.

      Right now, more people are searching with 2 to 4 words.

      As an effect, you can rank #1 for one single keyword, but
      most people attach a word or two to it. Then where does
      that leave you?

      Forget the figure on how many sites found. Google only
      cares about the first 10 or so pages and will not even
      go past a few thousand, if that. Your competition is not
      the total sites found, but the first 30 or so.

      Paul
      Signature

      If you were disappointed in your results today, lower your standards tomorrow.

      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[1816995].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author ryano
        When I'm doing keyword research I basically type my keyword into google without any quotes and I checked the amount of backlinks coming into each of the top 10 results.

        I check the backlinks of the "page" that's ranking, not the backlinks of the root domain. I have found this to be effective and it's pretty quick.
        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[1817417].message }}
        • Profile picture of the author MarkR
          To my way of thinking, the number of results, with or without quotes is mostly irrelevant....a very, very rough guideline at best.

          At the end of the day, the "strength" (read ability to displace) of Google's page 1 / top ten results (without quotes, 'cuz that's the way people search) are all that really matters. If you can't get on page 1, move on.

          In addition, I define strength as a semi-fuzzy mixture of the 1) number of backlinks to the page, 2) the PageRank of the page, and 3) the age of the 10 domains on page 1. There are other factors that might sway me one way or the other if I'm having a hard time choosing between multiple keywords, but those three factors won't steer you wrong.

          I have some other ways to get on the first page that don't fit these criteria, but that's the gist of it, 80% of the time.
          Signature
          {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[1817601].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author aprilm
      Originally Posted by InternetMarketingIQ View Post


      You can never underestimate the POWER of a correctly constructed Title and Description.

      Thank you so much for all that information! I definitely need to learn how to do this. I have 2 sites and all my title and descriptions literally suck. (they sound good to me when I am writing them though. LOL) Do you have any resources you could pass on to me that teach good title and description writing? Or at least give some good tips?
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[1817758].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Trent Brownrigg
    465,000 really isn't that high. Definitely not high enough to discourage you to go after if you have found it to be a good niche. And 7000 seems really low to me. You could easily get a site to rank in the top 10 of a niche with more than 7000 sites competing. I usually consider it a fairly "easy" niche if it has less than 200,000 competing sites.
    Signature

    You can find internet marketing strategies, SEO consulting, and tons of business advice at BAM!

    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[1817592].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author jasonmorgan
    Hi. I just got through an IM course, and the course recommends to run a sniff test on your keyword by searching for the keyword in quotes "keyword". The writer of the course, recommends anything under 7000 is where you want to be.
    I'm sorry to say that you probably wasted your money buying that course since that 'sniff test' is a completely irrelevant way to determine the strength of competition for a keyword.

    If that is what the author is suggesting then I'd have to assume that the rest of the information is suspect as well.
    Signature

    I'm all about that bass.

    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[1817687].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author aprilm
      Originally Posted by jasonmorgan View Post

      I'm sorry to say that you probably wasted your money buying that course since that 'sniff test' is a completely irrelevant way to determine the strength of competition for a keyword.

      If that is what the author is suggesting then I'd have to assume that the rest of the information is suspect as well.
      Actually, I learned a lot of strategies I wouldn't have thought of on my own. It was a pretty good course. I don't feel like I wasted my money.
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[1817750].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author KateD
    Originally Posted by aprilm View Post

    Hi. I just got through an IM course, and the course recommends to run a sniff test on your keyword by searching for the keyword in quotes "keyword". The writer of the course, recommends anything under 7000 is where you want to be. I just found a keyword that looks good, domain is available, and the first 4 results in Google are 2, -, 1, and 0 respectively, so the strength of competition doesn't look that strong. (2 of the 4 sites mentioned are shopping sites) Problem is, the keyword in quotes yields 465,000. (way out of the recommended 7000) In your opinion, how important is this 'sniff test' of "keyword" results?
    Thanks
    Hi...

    I see that you took a look at the top results that show up for the keyword phrase in question. I think that you should go back and fully evaluate that competition again.

    I assume you included the Pagerank number in your original post, but there are a variety of factors involved in truly determining how feasable it would be to rank high for any keyword phrase.

    Domain age. Number of backlinks. Use of keyword phrase in domain, title, etc. And so forth. Just knowing the page rank just isn't enough.

    I can take a look at it in more detail if you'd like.

    KateD
    Signature
    Why Aren't You Making Money On Kindle With Erotica?


    --->I can also write other fiction (horror, romance, mystery, etc). Just ask me, I don't bite. :)
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[1817789].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author aprilm
      Originally Posted by KateD View Post

      Hi...

      I see that you took a look at the top results that show up for the keyword phrase in question. I think that you should go back and fully evaluate that competition again.

      I assume you included the Pagerank number in your original post, but there are a variety of factors involved in truly determining how feasable it would be to rank high for any keyword phrase.

      Domain age. Number of backlinks. Use of keyword phrase in domain, title, etc. And so forth. Just knowing the page rank just isn't enough.

      I can take a look at it in more detail if you'd like.

      KateD
      Hi KateD,
      Thanks for the offer That's very kind! I won't be going after this keyword after all, as I just realized that there is a brand name in it. (How did I not know this term was a brand...don't ask...my brain is fried from keyword research LOL) Anyway, on with my research.....

      From your post, it sounds like you are suggesting to check the allinurl, the allinanchor, and allintitle as well as the domain age, number of backlinks and PR? Is this correct?
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[1817893].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author JennSpencerIM
    I'd think that you'd want 7,000 people searching per day but not 7,000 total searches for that keyword. That seems REALLY low for a keyword search result. I usually stay under 500,000 for keyword results but the number of people searching per day is around 7,000 or so. Does that make sense? Maybe that is what the course was actually saying? Just a suggestion.

    Jenn
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[1817816].message }}

Trending Topics