Back to SEO Basics With Keyword Research

As you probably know by now I'm a big fan of getting the basics right when doing SEO, so this article from High Rankings should be really helpful if you want to know more about keyword research.

SEO software - a quick review

I've recently had to do some research into SEO audit tools for my job, and since this is something I haven't really talked about before, thought it was worth a post. This should help remind SEO beginners that there is software out there to help if you're not an SEO wizard!

In the past I've used Axandra IBP and webCEO and found them very useful tools, so i'll focus on these today.

Why use SEO software?

As many of you will know if you've worked on SEO before, even though some tasks are very straightforward, optimising a site can be very time consuming...and this is where SEO software comes in.
Both IBP and webCEO include functionality that allow you to assess your site for search engine friendliness based on the most common variables included in search algorithms, saving you a lot of time in research.

What features are available?

Both solutions offer a wide range of features, from search engine ranking analysis against chosen keywords to technical audit (code structure, w3c compliance, kw density, metadata).
One of the biggest benefits is that alongside analysis, you also get recommendations on how to improve your site, both for onsite and offsite variables (link analysis and link builders are part of the packages).
Both software also offer keyword research tools which are essential to any SEO, with IBP offering Wordtracker as part of the deal.
Here's a fully comprehensive comparison chart which should give you all the information you need about the features

How much does it cost?

webCEo offers a free version and IBP starts at €250 for the standard solution so affordability should not be an issue.

One thing to bear in mind with both tools is that the cost only includes 3 months worth of free search engine updates, so you'll need to buy updates on a regular basis to get the most accurate results for rankings.

Which one to choose?

While I'm only referring to 2 different tools here, the market is full of similar options, so the choice is yours. However, having used both IBP and webCEO in the past, I do think they are some of the best available.
From a user interface/usability point of view, I do have a preference for IBP, but webCEO is slightly cheaper and offers a few extra features that could make a difference if you're looking for deeper analysis.

Whether you're new to SEO or need a tool for ongoing improvements, SEO software are great time savers and will help you maximise the impact of your site in SERPs. They should also save you a lot of money if you can't afford a search marketing agency audit.

The easy way to do keyword research

Who said you need expensive tools and agencies to do keyword research?
A very good article on Search Engine Land about the use of SERPs to find out more about keywords
http://searchengineland.com/3-ways-to-use-googles-search-results-for-keyword-research-39474

Keyword research has always been a long and complicated process, especially if you don't have the right tools, but with a bit of common sense you can get a lot of information directly from the results page in the main search engines.

SEO on a shoestring - the free tools that could save you a headache

You're a new business, you've got a shiny new website with all the bells and whistles and you're ready to do business online....it all sound great up until now, but how do you get people to your website??
Even though people are more and more internet savvy these days, it is still clear that Search Engine Optimisation, aka SEO, remains a bit of an unknown subject for a lot of companies (lucky for me, keeps me working :) )
So if your marketing budget doesn't allow you to use the services of a search marketing agency or SEO professional, where do you start? I thought I'd compile a quick list of tools that should get you started and put you on the right track. Many of the tools listed below are the ones that I use on a daily basis and even though they may not be the best, I find them really useful and I'm sure they can help you achieve some good results.

Google Webmaster Tools
Although I do not want this post to sound like a huge endorsement for Google, I have to admit that they offer some of the best free tools for SEO on the market. Webmaster tools allows you to verify your website with the biggest search engine in the world and gives you a rather impressive list of options to choose from to check that your site is being indexed properly, so it should definitely be on your SEO checklist.
And if you're completely new to SEO, reading the Google Search Optimization starter guide should give you all the basics in an easy to understand format.

Keyword Research / website trends
Staying with Google (I can see a theme building up here!), make sure to use Trends, Insights for search, and trends for websites to understand what keywords are being searched for across the world, seasonality, country specific searches and find out how websites perform. The keyword tools will help you decide which keywords to focus on for your business.
To help you decide which keywords to use for your business, use the Google Keyword Tool. Start with some core/generic keywords for your business and expand your list with suggestions made by the tool. Don't forget that long tail keywords (very specific search phrases with 2 or more keywords) can sometimes convert at a higher level than generic and very competitive keywords.
I'd suggest using more than one keyword research tool, and WordTracker is one of the best out there. Other options are keyword discovery and Bing webmaster tools

Web Analytics
Yes, you've guessed it, my tool of choice for analytics on a budget is.....Google Analytics. I'm sure I've talked about Analytics at length before, but despite its flaws, it is still the best free analytics tool out there, and it will give you great insights into your website when looking at search engine activity, keywords referrals and much more.

Link popularity
Because link popularity is such an important part of search engine rankings these days, you need to make sure that you increase your LP on a regular basis. While this remains largely a manual process, you need to check that what you're doing is working. I've been using MarketLeap for years now to check LP, but all the major search engines provide functions to check your incoming links.

Finally, now that you've got all the tools to get you started, make sure you read about SEO as there are a lot of blogs and forums that will provide you with a lot of information. Consider SEOmoz, search engine land and the Google blog amongst many others.

Happy optimising, and remember that as for many things, common sense prevails and always keep your customers in mind when doing SEO!