SEO For Artists - Part 2: Google Adwords

For part 2 in the SEO For Artists series I’ll dive into Google Adwords to show how it can help you choose the best keywords to optimize for. In case you missed it, last week I wrote about defining your target market and the importance of keywords.

Keyword Tools

There is no tried and true method to finding the perfect keywords to optimize your website for, but there are a handful of tools that can make the discovery process easier. In this series I’m going to stick with easy and free tools, no need to make things more complicated when you’re just starting out.

Last week I asked you to begin brainstorming a short list of keywords to get yourself started on this process. What word would you use to search for your site? Would your target market use the same words? What words are your competition using?

Now that you have a beginning list we’re going to turn to Google Adwords to help us narrow the list down and also to make sure you’re using the best words you can.

Google Adwords

Google Adwords is a pretty powerful tool that will give you a lot of useful information. You need to pick a word or phrase to start with, but this will most likely lead you down a path, so give yourself time to explore, be open to words and phrases you hadn’t thought of and take notes.

Let’s go back to the example I used last week of the business selling knitting patterns designed to be easy while looking intricate, remember that this business has a blog that shares tips on knitting while commuting and fitting in short bursts of productivity throughout the day. So given that, I’m going to start by searching for statistics on simple knitting patterns.

Ranking Words and Phrases

I’m just going to use the anonymous version of Adwords, you can set up an account if you like, it’s free, but it’s not necessary. So for my first search on simple knitting patterns I get a list of related search terms with numbers listed for “Global Monthly Searches” and “Local Monthly Searches” as well as a bar graph that indicates competition. The monthly search numbers tell me how many times someone used that phrase over the last month both globally and locally (which is only as specific as United States). You’ll see numbers in the hundreds and in the hundred’s of thousands. Obviously the higher the number the more people are looking for that “thing” in particular. However the highest isn’t always the best. This is where the competition comes in.

Competition is a little tricky though because what it actually refers to is the number of businesses buying that phrase for their adwords campaign. However, it’s also a good indication of websites that have been optimized for that word or phrase. What you’re looking for is a combination of low to medium competition and medium to high search numbers.

As I look over the list I’m seeing all sort of phrases like free knitting patterns, easy knitting patterns, and beginner knitting patterns. These are phrases that Google thinks are relavant to the words I put in. Look at the numbers and write down some that seem to have the right combination of competition and search volume. Then start digging. Try adding in other words or switching the phrases around, maybe you try modern knitting patterns or quick knitting patterns. Make note of more that stand out.

Look To Your Competition

Now we’re going to look at competitive websites. Google Adwords also allows you to search a competitor’s website to see what words they’re optimized for. This will not only spark a new direction in thinking, but can help you distinguish yourself.

So with our example PatternCentral.com kept coming up in the searches. When I look at how this website is optimized I get more or less what you’d expect, free knitting patterns and knitting for beginners. What I realize I’m not seeing is anything related to knitting tips. There’s that aha! moment, something that makes you stand out. Now I go back and search for volume and competition on knitting tips and I see another trend in the relevant searches, specific stitches. Maybe there’s a stitch that these patterns use specifically to make them more unique. I think we’re on to something.

At the end of all this back and forth and chasing around you should have developed a list of 50 to 100 words and phrases that fit your business. They should either fit the low to medium competition and medium to high search numbers formula or have such ridiculously high search volume that competition doesn’t really matter.

Organic Search

Now there’s one final step, checking your organic search competition. Organic results are the websites, not the ads, that come up when you do a basic Google search. All we’re going to do now is get an idea of how many other websites are using the terms on your list.

For our example I’m going to type “allintitle: knitting tips” into a basic Google search. What comes up is the websites that use this term in titles  both of the entire site and of individual posts. I come up with 79,000 results. That number can be found directly under the area you type your search term in. This number is pretty high, but not horrible. I also thought seed stitch might be worth a try, this time I get 180 results. There is a very good chance of getting ranked well for the phrase seed stitch. Now go through your own list and note the number of results, this will help you narrow it down to the good candidates.

Next week: How to use keywords.

Did you come up with any surprising combinations that you can optimize your site for?