A question I get asked a lot is how to find good keywords that will bring new paying customers. I got inspired by SEOMoz’s 10 Steps to Great SEO and decided to do a full step by step write up on finding keywords.

Step 1: Get into the mind of the customers

If you already have an existing customer base. Go through your email interactions with them. What are they asking for when they contact you? Start creating a list of all the keywords they mention in their email.

If you don’t have an existing customer (like in most cases). Describe your product to potential new customers and have them explain it back to you. Write down all the keywords they say.

The goal here is to come up with keywords that address customer wants. When in doubt ask yourself this question: “What will they Google?”

You should have a list of at least 20 keywords. The more keywords you can come up with at this stage the better. Remember their are no bad keywords at this stage.

Example: My product is HapTap – The first toy for Instant Messaging.

Keywords: Keyboard, Toy Keyboard, Emoticon Keyboard, Fun Keyboard, Kids Keyboard, Smiley Face Keyboard, Web Chat Keyboard, Fun Computer Peripherals, Fun Peripherals, USB add-on keyboard, Geeky Toys, Nerd Toys, USB Toys, Gift for Kids, Mini Kid Keyboard, Computer Toys, Laptop Toys, Computer LapTop Toy

Step 2: Compile a list of keywords and dump it into an Excel spreadsheet with the following columns:

A. Keyword
B. Search Volume
C. Keyword Difficulty
D. Estimated Conversion Rate
E. Estimated Average Conversion Rate
F. Heat Index

I created an Excel Spreadsheet template. Click on the button below to download it.

Download Free Keyword Spreadsheet

Step 3: Look at the the keyword volume using Google Adwords Keyword Tool for each keyword. Enter in the keyword volume into your spreadsheet.

Some of your keywords will have a “-” under “Global Monthly Searches” this pretty much means no one is searching for that keyword.

Step 4: Determine difficulty by Googling that keyword and seeing who else ranks for it.

You can use SEOmoz’s tool that gives you an actual percentage of what the exact difficulty is.

Or… you can also do a poor mans version of this:
Assign 80% Value – If WikiPedia is the #1 link for that keyword – The Difficulty is Hard
Assign 60% Value – If a reputable brand (Amazon, Walmart, etc) is the #1 link for that keyword – The Difficulty is Moderate
Assign 20% Value – If a link farm or a no-namer is #1 – The Difficulty is Low

Add the keyword difficulty into your spreadsheet.

Step 5: Determine keyword value. We need to make sure the keywords you pick will actually yield paying customers. Some keywords might have a lot of traffic but will lead to 0 conversions. Other keywords might have low traffic but bring in great paying customers.

(taken from slide 37 of SEOmoz’s Presentation)

In order to determine keyword value you will need to place some Google Adwords from our keyword list and measure the conversion rate.

If you haven’t launched your product yet try building a landing page with Unbounce or Weebly and ask for email sign ups. If someone clicks on your ad and enters in their email address saying they are interested … that is a good sign that you have the right keyword.

Enter in your conversion rate and how much you made on each conversion.

Step 6: Look at your Heat Index and focus on the Hottest ones.

If you use my spreadsheet template. You will need to change the value ranges in the heat index key that pertain to you. Heat Index is calculated with this formula: (100%-keyword-difficulty)*Search-Volume*Est.-Conv.-Rate*Est.-$$-Conv.-Rate

If you haven’t had the chance to checkout SEOmoz’s Presentation. I strongly urge you to check it out. One of the greatest SEO talks I have come across.

Please let me know what you thought about my debut comic, my keyword template, or this post in the comments.