Paid Keyword Tools: Are They Worth it?

Paid keyword tools are services you pay for that allow you to delve deeper into the keyword statistics. Most get information from their own database of billions of search queries from a number of different search engines around the world. You can use this information to find what people are searching for, which search terms generate the most traffic, and which search terms to target in order to grow your online business.

Two of the more popular keyword research services are Word Tracker and Keyword Discovery. The two services have some unique features that make them different but they both revolve around the same process of starting with a generalized keyword and then searching their databases for terms which are related to your initial keyword. The major difference between the two tools is probably the different "keyword spinners" they have available.

Once these tools find all the keywords that they think are related to your initial keyword, you are presented with a list of keywords from which to choose. In most cases, the first dozen keywords returned are the keywords you will select. The keywords that are lower on the list usually have a low number of searches performed.

A really good feature of the keyword tools is the "keyword spinner" tool. It is used to help you find alternative keywords which you may not think of right away. These tools help you find terms with plural endings, present tense or "ing" at the end, and even misspellings. Now the idea behind spinning the keyword is to give you ideas. You still must find out whether or not people are typing that term into the search box! Many people make the mistake of assuming it is good to use different forms of the word without doing the research first.

After you determine your keywords the tool then applies the Keyword Effectiveness Indicator, or KEI. KEI is a logarithmic scale that aims to quantify the effectiveness of any search term. It is similar in principle to the Richter scale, commonly used to measure earthquakes. The very best keywords have high popularity (as in a large number of searches), but are not very competitive, that is they do not appear on a large number of pages.

So, are keyword tools worth it? In my opinion they are. These tools help you find keywords faster than it would take you to do manually as shown above. That alone is worth the price of admission. There are some really excellent tools and keyword spinners that the paid tools have available but the free tools just don't. So if you're a DIY SEO, invest in a keyword tool subscription.

Once you have your list of keywords, it's time to start preparing to put the words on your Web site. Start reviewing your keyword list and begin to logically break your keywords up into groups of 2 or 3 key phrases. By logically, I mean start thinking about incorporating those words onto one page in ways that make sense to your readers.

In part two, I will show you how to put those keywords to good use within the content of your Web site.