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Is using Google’s keyword tool for ideas pandering to SEO?

April 15, 2009 By 14 Comments

Getting new, fresh ideas for posts can be really hard. Honestly, now that I’m not pro-blogging anymore I just don’t seem to have the post output I used to have. There are hundreds of posts on how to get ideas for posts, but this post from the Reachd blog caught my eye:

Here are the steps that I would follow if I were to use keyword research to generate blogging ideas

1. Go to Google Keyword Tool

2. Enter a broad keyword in the box on that page

3. Sort the keywords by “Average search volume” by clicking on that particular column

4. Look for topics or searches with no less than 100 / month. It is difficult to decide what a perfect minimum number is because it varies by industry.

After I’ve got my topic or keyword phrase I would write a quick blog post about it.

[From Use Keyword Research to Get Blogging Ideas « Reachd Blog]

Hmm. Okay so you pick something like “blog”, see what’s popular, and then use that to inspire a post. Here are the results for “blog”:

Google Keyword Search for blog

From the looks of this chart then lots of people search for blog free (free blog then should work) and how to blog. Hey, great topics for a post. Choosing a free blog platform is something I’ve often talked with people about (I always recommend WordPress.com of course).

How to blog is something I’m writing a book about (I do talk about other stuff, don’t worry) so I know that’s pretty interesting to most folks. The question is then: are you getting ideas for things that people are interested in or are you pandering to SEO and Google?

My gut feeling is that it’s a little of both, but tipping a hair too far to the SEO side for a personal blog, however if you’re writing a business blog or are trying to increase your traffic it could be gold.

For example if I were still writing on my men’s grooming blog (it might still come back) and wanted to talk about beards:


Google AdWords_ Keyword Tool-2.png
I can see talking about beard trimmers, growing a beard, and beard styles could be great post topics because people are interested in those topics. Now would there be great ads for those? Who knows, but there certainly would be a good chance at getting decent search traffic from Google for those posts.

So, do you think I’m being too hard on Reachd?

Filed Under: Blogging, Internet Life, Social Media Tagged With: , , , ,
  • http://blog.reachd.com Rodney

    Tris,

    No I don't think you are being too hard on Reachd. Wait just a minute I'm Reachd (sort of) My post was written for business that are or plan to using blogging as a piece of their marketing strategy. And without trying blogging panders to SEO because.. Google loves content & Links and blogs are generally full of both.

    Thanks for the follow up post

  • http://blog.reachd.com Rodney

    Tris,

    No I don't think you are being too hard on Reachd. Wait just a minute I'm Reachd (sort of) My post was written for business that are or plan to using blogging as a piece of their marketing strategy. And without trying blogging panders to SEO because.. Google loves content & Links and blogs are generally full of both.

    Thanks for the follow up post

  • http://intensedebate.com/people/trishussey Tris Hussey

    Whew. Rodney I'm glad you liked the post. You're right of course, if you want to write a post about flooring it's a good idea to know what people wonder about. Sent on the TELUS Mobility network with BlackBerryFrom: IntenseDebate Notifications

  • http://intensedebate.com/people/trishussey Tris Hussey

    Whew. Rodney I'm glad you liked the post. You're right of course, if you want to write a post about flooring it's a good idea to know what people wonder about. Sent on the TELUS Mobility network with BlackBerry
    From: IntenseDebate Notifications

  • http://www.arizonainsurance.org Tucson Insurance Guy

    I think it doesnt hurt to use google keywords, Ive actually purchased a bulk of keywords from adwords to see which keywords had the most activity. Costly research but accurate.

  • http://www.arizonainsurance.org Tucson Insurance Guy

    I think it doesnt hurt to use google keywords, Ive actually purchased a bulk of keywords from adwords to see which keywords had the most activity. Costly research but accurate.

  • Pingback: Principal Seo Aspects To Attend To Before Beginning Web Design. | Wyrdpress

  • http://leadremarks.com Jay Martin

    I think doing a bit of SEO research is a good idea. If you’re going to invest your time into an article, you should maximize it’s impact as much as possible using any legitimate methods available to you I think.

    • http://www.trishussey.com/ Tris Hussey

      Pretty much bang on. If you’re serious about doing this right, you should just make sure your words count. Thanks for the comment!

  • http://leadremarks.com Jay Martin

    I think doing a bit of SEO research is a good idea. If you’re going to invest your time into an article, you should maximize it’s impact as much as possible using any legitimate methods available to you I think.

    • http://www.trishussey.com/ Tris Hussey

      Pretty much bang on. If you’re serious about doing this right, you should just make sure your words count. Thanks for the comment!

  • Guest

    I think you need to be looking at the exact keyword or exact phrase when doing this as the exact option is really the only worthwhile option in my opinion – the one thing with blogs as you know is that they must be update regular big time or they loose their purpose!

  • http://www.websitefound.co.uk Guest

    I forgot to say – beard trimmers would make a good niche!!

  • http://www.moldremediationremoval.com/ Mold Removal Ontario

    I think it doesn’t hurt to use Google keywords, Ive actually purchased a bulk of keywords from ad words to see which keywords had the most activity.

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