Keyword Rearch Broad vs Exact

Usually keywords found by tools that return broad searches are just that - too broad. The list contains words of the keyword phrase but they can be in any order in a search (or on a web page) and combined with any other words. Hence the keywords returned are often not well targeted to the niche that is being researched. Demand figures using a broad search are inflated.

More reliable is to do a "phrase" search - that is, to place your keyword phrase in quotes so that at least a meaningful order of words is being considered and the people using that phrase are more likely to be interested in the same niche that you are researching.

There are naturally fewer returns for a phrase search.

An exact search uses only the words contained in your keyword phrase, in the same order, and with no other words added. There are fewer still searches for those.

I find that phrase searches give me the information I need and indicate whether there is a satisfactory level of demand (and competition).

Ivan

There is no definitive answer to this - it depends on the niche and the price of the product, etc. I have a friend who makes a fortune selling a product that produces only 100 leads a month. His product sells for more than $100,000.

For the rest of us, the usefulness of demand also depends on the level of competition - they both have to be looked at together. There's no point entering a niche that produces 1,000,000 visitors a month if that niche is so competitive you can't get any of the action.

As a guide, consider a keyword that has 1,000+ searches and fewer than 10,000 competing pages to be very attractive. Fewer than 20,000 can still be appealing.

It depends also on the keyword tool being used as some will identify keywords that actually have lower competition than the number of competing pages will indicate. You need to have the tools to find these. The figures above are meant only as a useful guide to find keywords as a basis for articles and web pages for your site.

Ivan

Only estimates can be applied, but I'd expect traffic would be closer to the lower figure you quoted.

It's also safer to use the lower figure so that when you do your estimates of optins and sales you have an idea what to expect and don't waste a lot of time and energy pursuing something that isn't here.

If you identified a number of keywords where you had a chance to rank highly and then promoted those individual pages to push them up the SERPS (Search Engine Results Pages), collectively you could still attract a strong flow of traffic.

The parts of your system need to work together in harmony. For instance, what action is required from visitors to your web pages - is it to click on Adsense, an affiliate ad, or sign up to an optin form.

Your purpose determines the layout of your web page, and how to promote those pages, etc.

You'll find it an advantage to have an idea from the very outset of the overall system you are planning. That alerts you to the different components which need to be in place and helps you to focus and not get distracted by all the appealing offers you come across that don't really assist with the model you are following. Fewer distractions and sharper focus bring results sooner.

Ivan