Explode Your Keyword Research

May 30, 2009

I've noticed that you read my blog a lot, THANKS! Lemme know if there's ever anything I can do for you email me, twitter me, or facebook me

Google recently released a new tool to that EXPLODES your keyword research abilities. It’s called the “Wonder Wheel” and it helps you find more related keywords to your main topic.

It’s a “wonder”ful day for search marketers with the new Google wonder wheel tool under our belts. Now we can see the exact LSI keywords that Google thinks we should be using.

LSI = Latent Semantic Indexing aka helper keywords that help Google understand the main keyword we’re trying to rank for… Example: If your keyword was “fork” the Google doesn’t know if you mean a fork in the road or a fork to eat with. So we use LSI keywords like dinner, spaghetti, and plates to help Google understand.

Keyword research isn’t the only way to use this tool though…

It’s Also The Wonder Niche Tool!

Last night I was investigating a new niche and wanted to know what topic was most popular in this niche. Instead of trying to figure it out myself or worse GUESSING… I just opened up the wonder wheel tool.

I typed in the main keyword for my niche and then Google’s wonder wheel gave me 8 other popular searches related to this topic. All of those searches were pretty different, but when I started clicking on some of those keywords to open up the wheel some more I noticed that one specific phrase kept showing up.

Of course there were different variations of that reoccurring phrase but the theme was the same. This told me that this specific sub-niche was very popular in the main niche.

After that I did my normal SEO keyword research for that sub-niche and found that it was a super easy keyword to dominate. This is something I would not have been able to guess and instead Google did the thinking for me.

How Do I Do SEO Keyword Research?

For those of you wondering what my method is… I type whatever keyword I found into Google with “quotes” around it. I’m looking to see how many results Google tells me there are by looking in the top right corner where it says 1 – 10 of XXXXXX.

If that number is less then 10,000 then I know I have a great shot. That’s not where it ends though because next I go to the keyword difficulty tool and check out the score it gives me.

If when I type in my keyword and press submit I receive a score of less the “40″ then I now know I have an almost certain shot. Sure enough the super popular keyword I found last night DID have those winning numbers behind it.

Where Is The Google Wonder Wheel?

All you do is go to Google.com like normal and type in any keyword just like you would any other day. Then once it’s displaying your results there will be a link that says “show options” in the upper left corner (below where you typed in your keyword).

When you click that link you are show quite a few new options to expand your search and one of them is the “wonder wheel.” Try it out in your niche and see what it tells you!

Go Bigger,
Justin Brooke

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  • Hi Justin,

    I just would like to be sure I understand it. If I find for example a low competitive keyword in my niche and I'm looking for its LSI, does it mean that the keywords that Google shows me then must be used to build my website structure ?

    Or LSI must be used within my webpage ?

    According to what I read here, I think it must be the web site structure isn't it...

    All right, but what if those keywords are very competitive keywords ?

    Another question: must I put many keywords within each webpage and what's the best way to put them within my webpage ?

    For instance "Internet Marketing" or "Internet, Marketing"
  • It means that your site as a whole will target the main keyword for
    example Tomato Growing.

    Then other pages and inside the content will be the LSI keywords like
    "growing cherry tomatoes" "caring for tomatoes on the vine" and "best
    soil for tomato gardening"

    Google see's the site is about Tomato Growing and then confirms it by
    all the related conversation on the site.

    Hope that clears things up...

    --
    Justin Brooke
    800-758-2651
    SiteFling.com

    Sent from my bat phone...
  • Pam
    Hey Justin,

    I was recently introduced to Google's Wonder Wheel and now I came across your post. This tool is too cool and has already helped me to target some great keywords.

    Thanks for shedding more light on this great tool.

    Pam

    <abbr>Pam’s last blog post..How to pick a needle out of a haystack</abbr>
  • This is awesome, Justin!

    I mean, when Google hands you what GOOGLE thinks are related keywords - basically on a silver platter - I say, "Let's eat!" What could be easier?

    Thanks!

    <abbr>Bill Romer’s last blog post..The Biggest Defining Moments In My Internet Marketing Career</abbr>
  • I will definitely be checking this out. It is amazing how many free tools that Google makes available. I guess that is why they are so popular. The more you give, the more you will be rewarded. I like that philosophy.

    Keep the great information and resources coming!

    <abbr>Chris Jensen’s last blog post..What is Google Wave?</abbr>
  • Oh I almost forgot to ask... Justin, when you're doing that Keyword research are you solely looking at the number of sites in brackets and the keyword "difficulty" or do you also look at the number of searches per month to see whether it is worth spending your time on?

    <abbr>Mikael @ Retire Rich’s last blog post..Top URL Shortener – How to Create Shorter Links</abbr>
  • Justin Brooke
    I used to care about the keywords getting a lot of traffic, but now I care more that it's a buyer typing in the keyword. For example I may target something like "buy flat screen wall mount" and maybe it only gets a handful of searches per day... But that's a handful of BUYERS per day.

    Those kind of keywords are ignored by most marketers who are chasing the "big traffic dream" so I come in and rank really well for them. Sometimes taking over the whole page.

    One keyword might not make me rich but If I do one keyword per day then in a month I have 30 of those. 30 x 3 = 90 which means I now have 90 BUYERS per month checking out my offers.

    3 months later I have 270 BUYERS per month checking me out... 6 months... a year... Once you see which affiliate programs or which products are sending you the sales you add on PPC in all 3 search engines and triple your exposure.

    When I build a "money" site I don't care how many people come to it... I care how many people buy from it.
  • And that is excellent advice ;) Thank you for make that clear Justin. I appreciate it.

    <abbr>Mikael @ Retire Rich’s last blog post..Top URL Shortener – How to Create Shorter Links</abbr>
  • Besides being great for related keyword research I also find it great when you need to structure a new site. I believe that if you structure it the way that the wonderwheel shows you then you are instantly on the right track (in the eyes of Google).

    It doesn't get much easier than that to come up with your sites categories. :)

    /Mikael Rieck

    <abbr>Mikael @ Retire Rich’s last blog post..Top URL Shortener – How to Create Shorter Links</abbr>
  • This website has very good information. I learnt a lot by reading here.
  • Vince
    Hey Justin

    Thanks a bunch, that's going to be pretty useful.

    I'm really enjoying your stuff.

    Hope you guys have an easy move back to Florida, use to live in Sarasota but now live in Colorado. Still miss the ocean!

    Best

    Vince
  • Justin Brooke
    Sarasota to Colorado that's almost as odd as when I moved from Port St. Lucie to Idaho ;-)
  • Hey Justin another great tool. thanks.

    It would be great to be a fly on the wall As long as you didn't swat me - haha)following your routine everyday, Man you must do some research to keep on coming up with the goodies!

    Well done

    Maggie

    <abbr>Maggie’s last blog post..Being Creative - Writing an eBook</abbr>
  • Justin Brooke
    We only swat mosquitos!
  • Justin,

    So when I click on each of the search terms surrounding the one I just put in, the numbers start increasing as far as searches found. Those additional words are the LSI words... correct?

    I have also noticed that when I put in certain phrases that no additional terms pop up... Is it safe to say in this case that we have a winning long-tail keyword if we get this situation?

    Clint

    <abbr>Clint’s last blog post..My Top 3 Favorite Tools (Ok 4…) You Couldn’t Do Without…</abbr>
  • Justin Brooke
    LSI = helper words...

    For example Tomato Growing is your main keyword. LSI keywords would be fertilizer, planting, gardening, greenhouse. Things that help Google understand what you are talking about.

    Even in "Tomato Growing" - Growing - is an LSI keyword that helps Google understand what about "tomatoes" you want to know about.
  • Very cool tool, thanks for sharing!

    -Red
  • Justin Brooke
    Thanks Steve and Red, glad you liked it
  • Hi Justin

    Just trying out the wonderwheel. Looks like a pretty interesting way to check out more keywords to research.

    Thanks also for the keyword difficulty tool.Haven't come across that one before.

    Good Luck With The Move

    Steve
  • Hi Justin
    Yeah great post
    Thanks for the valuable information you always delivering here.
    Now I have a question :
    Some SCO experts are claiming that LSI It's not working even if the search engines seems like do it .You can find proof if you run a search comparison between a keyword and his plural or synonymous words .You'll get difference results with a very low % repetitions so semantics mining does not affect search engines .
    Who 's right?
    Mariano

    <abbr>Mariano Kasio’s last blog post..</abbr>
  • Justin Brooke
    It sounds like the person or persons you heard that from are very confused. Of course you'll get different results if you run a search comparison between different keywords... Even if those keywords are just the plural or synonym versions of the base keyword.

    LSI keywords are only there to help Google understand what the content is about. Like my example where I say if your main keyword was "fork" then how would Google know if you meant a "fork in the road" or a "fork you eat with."

    Your LSI keywords like spaghetti, plates, knives, and spoons would tell Google that you mean a fork that you eat with.

    Absolutely necessary and don't just take my word for it. Here's an article by the most authoritative blog on SEO about LSI...
    http://www.seomoz.org/blog/the-search-engines-s...
  • Mariano heard Leslie Rohde from StomperNet explaining LSI on one of their videos.

    What Leslie was explaining was that the Big G's search engine is not built on LSI - but he did NOT say that using 'LSI' keyword phrases is useless. Heck, that's just the difference between searching with a single word and searching with a phrase. The phrase conveys the meaning.

    <abbr>Steve’s last blog post..Using My Way Links To Build Incoming Traffic</abbr>
  • Mhdoc
    I'm new to you site so you may have discussed it before, but an wondering where you tie into the value of a keywor(s).
  • Justin Brooke
    The value of a keyword is based on how targetted it is to your offer, whether you can get ranked for it, how much demand it has... This is really a very hard question to answer.

    It's easier to explain what we use keywords for...

    As you probably already know people type keywords into Google and other search engines to find information or solutions that they want. Well the more people that type in any one specific keyword the more valuable it is to have your information or solutions show up for it.
  • I just wanted to add that it is not just the number of searches that matters. I know you sort of said that, but at the end you said it is more valuable if it has more searches.

    However, showing up for terms like "weight loss" is not nearly as valuable as showing up for "lose 15 pounds in 30 days", even though the second one isn't searched nearly as much. I know you discuss this elsewhere, and it is kind of common sense, but I just wanted to clarify.

    Mhdoc, you should check out the previous post with the Twenty Minute Tackle from last Tuesday. It goes into keyword research and discusses which keywords are valuable. I think the last post will help you out. And you should check out the Site Fling Mafia. It's great stuff there, and if you are new then you should really check it out. (No, I am not affiliated with Justin & Chaunna in any way)

    Shawn
  • That google wonder wheel thing is sweet!
    Thanks for sharing bro!

    Keyword difficulty is a great resource too!

    I see your traffic is going up...

    Cheers to one of the BEST IM blogs out there!

    Continue to Dominate! :)

    Dbk
  • Justin Brooke
    Thanks and yeah traffic has been quite nice for us ;-)
  • Hey Justin,

    Great content... thanks a bunch man. This is great info, I'm using it to do some KW research tonight! Thanks for putting out great content, even when you are busy getting ready to move! :) Thats dedication!

    Tim
  • Justin Brooke
    Thanks man, it's our job (literally) to make sure we're putting out good content even when we are busy.
  • GRAHAM-BELL
    THANK YOU

    THANK YOU

    THANK YOU
  • Justin Brooke
    YOUR WELCOME

    YOUR WELCOME

    YOUR WELCOME

    ;-)
  • Justin:

    I found out about the "Wonder Wheel" a week ago, but was not sure how to use it. I just took the keywords that were showing up and used them (not good). Thanks for the tip to use the keywords to research deeper with previous methods.

    David
  • Justin Brooke
    Glad I could help you go in the right direction ;-)
  • Thanks for another valuable free resource Justin. I can't believe you are selling the android site. It looks like a good cash cow to me. By the way can you tell me a little bit more about shoemoney and how it fits in to your strategy? I noticed you were promoting it in one of your e-mails.

    Thanks,

    Adrien
  • Justin Brooke
    Shoemoney tools are a bunch of SEO and PPC tools that help me do my job better which is to create highly optimized websites and ad campaigns.
  • I will give it a try then. Thanks.
  • Yeah heard about the option from Google but didn't see the Wonder Wheel.
  • Justin Brooke
    It's a pretty cool tool... surely not revolutionary but definitely useful
  • Man, where do you keep coming up with this stuff! This is great! Gonna put your article in an upcoming post!

    To Your Success!
    Clint
  • Justin Brooke
    I keep my ear to the streets... If I'm gunna try and call myself an expert then I better be able to deliver right! ;-)
  • I just started to use this shortly after Tuesday's Twenty Minute Tackle. This is a really cool tool that I have used to find some awesome keywords.

    I have seen a lot of people on the Warrior Forum say it is useless and it is no good for keyword research, and it would actually be easier the old way. I disagree, but I haven't bothered to argue it because if they can't see the value then that is just one more way I can stay ahead of my competition.

    Shawn
  • Justin Brooke
    No way dude I can't believe someone in the warriorforum would say something negative about anything. It is the most positive and uplifting place in the world. hahaha LoL ;-)
  • I'm with Shawn - went to the WF today and just shook my head. So many raw newbies (or newbies to the WF anyway) spewing so much negativity. It's enough to make wavering people just quit...hmmmm.

    Anyway, great post, good tool.

    <abbr>Steve’s last blog post..Using My Way Links To Build Incoming Traffic</abbr>
  • LoL. It was pretty interesting, there was actually one person who made a negative comment saying it was useless and then about 5 people just said stuff like "Amen", "Ditto", etc. (Really lame comments with no real value...)

    I have actually been spending less and less time on that forum because a lot of the people there really have no idea what they are talking about. Luckily there are people who have great blogs that know what they are talking about...Thank you Justin. :)

    Shawn
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