Warning: This article is no longer applicable.
Search engine queries are no longer case sensitive.
UPPERCASE and lowercase return the same results.
We recommend using a new keyword research tool called Keyword Discovery.
A comparison of Keyword Discovery with WordTracker is listed below.
Wordtracker comparison
Click on the link below for a free trial of Keyword Discovery's, Keyword Reseach Tool
Are You Targeting The Right Keywords?
By Michael Wong
In this article, I will show you which keyword research service
to use, why you need to use such a service, and how it will help
your search engine rankings.
Here are some keyword research services to help you out:
* Overture Search Term Suggestion Tool:
* Word Tracker - Word Tracker helps you find all keyword
combinations that bear any relation to your business or service:
I recommend using Word Tracker over the Overture search term
suggestion tool. Let me show you why this is with a few simple
tests.
Which is the more popular of these two search terms?
a. marketing strategy
b. marketing strategies
If your answer is "b. marketing strategies," then you're one
smart cookie! Because you're right.
Now, try this test. Which of these two search terms is more
popular?
a. marketing strategies
b. Marketing Strategies
Notice that the second search term has the first letters
capitalized. A bit tougher, right?
If your answer is "a. marketing strategies," then you're good! A
round of applause for this wise person. Because you're right.
Search Engine Submission by Addme.Com
-
"Now With More Engines"
Professional search engine submission to 1000's of search engines, classifieds, and announcement services.
more...
O.K., last test. This one is a tough one. Which of these two
search terms is more popular?
a. marketing strategy
b. Marketing Strategy
Well, if your answer is "b. Marketing Strategy," then I want you
to be my mentor! Because you're right!
Here are the search counts according to WordTracker:
Marketing Strategy - 446 searches
marketing strategies - 347 searches
marketing strategy - 268 searches
Marketing Strategies - 22 searches
Notice the different variations of all lowercase and first letter
of each word capitalized?
Here are the search counts according to Overture:
marketing strategy - 28030 searches
Overture search term suggestion tool disadvantages:
* Compiles singular, plurals, upper and lowercase keywords as
one search term.
* Only returns search terms that include the keyword/s you
searched for - WordTracker returns many more keyword combinations
that bears any relation to your business or service.
But why is this important?
Well, if you wanted to target searchers looking for marketing
strategies, you would want to know which search term is more
popular. Imagine targeting "marketing strategies," without
realizing that "Marketing Strategy" is a more popular search
term.
Another reason is that some search engines, such as Inktomi,
still take case sensitivity into consideration when ranking Web
pages.
Here's a table of Inktomi powered search sites that provide
case-sensitive search results.
Search
Rank*
Audience Reach*
Case-Sensitive?
ICQ
-
-
Yes
iWon
-
-
Partial
LookSmart
6
9.6%
Partial
MSN
1
36.3%
Partial
Overture
8
9.2%
Yes
(* Source: Jupiter Media Metrix, March 4, 2002)
Knowing exactly what your customers are searching for is very
powerful. I have used this strategy to help me obtain thousands
of top 30 rankings for my sites and those of my clients, over the
years. I highly recommend that you reconsider your keyword
targeting strategies.
Side Note: You may be wondering why there is such a big
difference between the number of searches provided by WordTracker
and Overture. The reason is that the figures for WordTracker is
taken from its database, which only captures a small percentage
of all the searches on-line.
Whereas Overture's figures are compiled from the total number of
queries conducted through Overture and all of its affiliate
partners such as Yahoo!, AOL, and MSN. So now you know what the
numbers actually represent in the Overture search term suggestion
tool.
Written by Michael Wong (C) Copyright 2002.
Michael is a search engine optimization specialist and author of
"Search Engine Optimization Strategies: Top 30 Search Engine
Optimization & Submission Strategies For Dummies." Michael's
ebook reveals the techniques he used to obtain 2,000 top 30
rankings on a single site.
