Finding Keywords You Already Rank For
February 9th, 2010 | Link-Assistant.Com | Posted in category Keyword Research Search Engine Optimization
As SEOs we're always on the look for new lucrative keywords to tap into. We spend hours playing with keyword research tools and digging up new search terms. But SEO is quite an unpredictable game and we often rank for the keywords we never really chased. Sometimes there are hidden gems among them.
If you take a moment to go through your keyword profile, you may spot some very good keywords you've never thought of. And the better news is you already rank for them, and they're already bringing you visitors. Take the time to actually optimize for these search terms and you're sure to grab more search traffic with relatively little effort.
Step 1: Locating the keywords you rank for
A good way to find out what terms you're ranking for is to go to your Google Analytics account and check the search traffic stats. Go to 'Traffic Sources' -> 'Search engines' to get a list of search engines sending visitors to your site.
Select a specific search engine (we'll opt for Google) to get the list of keywords. If you track your AdWords campaign with Analytics, be sure to sort out the paid leads.
There you have all the keywords you already rank for on Google. You can use the Advanced Filter to sort out the keywords that only bring a couple of occasional searchers. It's important to keep in mind here, that some keywords may bring few visitors because you don't rank well for them, not because they are rarely used. Therefore don't set the traffic bar too high.
Once you've applied the filter you can export the keyword list.
Export the list as CSV or CSV for Excel.
Step 2: Keyword Analysis
Now that you have your list of keywords you need to estimate their traffic generating potential and identify the ones worth optimizing for. To estimate the search volumes behind each keyword open the CSV file you've exported from your Analytic account and copy the keywords column. Then launch Rank Tracker (if you don’t have it yet download the free edition), create a new project and add your keywords.
Now select all the keywords and click 'Update KEI' to get the search volumes. To view the search volume data click through to the 'Keyword Research View' workspace.
You'll see the search volumes for all keywords according to Google AdWords Keyword Tool (unless you have custom KEI settings, you can change them in 'Preferences' -> 'KEI settings' -> 'Number of searches').
Now you can start analyzing the keywords. Sure, there'll be many of those that you already know and target, but there're good chances that you'll find some terms that were not on your keyword list, yet they feature some really impressive search stats. You can then check your rankings for these keywords to see if there's room for improvement.
Another advantage of this keyword research method is that you already have some stats in your Analytics account that can give you an idea of how the searchers looking for these terms behave on your site. This will help you decide whether you want to optimize for these search strings.
In Conclusion
As a true SEO Pirate you sure know that keywords are one of the most valuable treasures. Sure, you should use every trick in the book to find new keywords: research them, 'steal' from your competitors or even invent them if you like, but you should also be aware of the keyword treasure you already possess. So fill your sails and set off to discover and map your own keyword treasure, your ship is waiting for you...
Happy keyword hunting!
 |
back to SEO blog
0 
0
It's hard to optimize one page for many competitive keywords. In most cases it's best to target one main and a couple of secondary keywords with a page. But when it comes to the long tail where the competition is rather low, you can rank for a whole bunch of keywords many of which you never even thought of in the first place.