Ok. I admit it. Despite the fact that I have been doing web marketing since the 90s, I'm tempted to believe that there really is a magic bullet. That if I just do this one new trendy Internet marketing strategy or buy the latest e-book on the SEO "secrets" that some company suddenly discovered, all my wildest dreams of wealth will come true.
Don't be enticed by the thousands of slick sales letters out there offering you a short cut. Sure, they may save you time from having to learn it yourself, but giving you untold riches. Um. NO.
Well, when I step back and take a deep breath, I realize it's all a bunch of garbage. There is no guaranteed "grand slam" secret. Most of things you'll try on the web will be singles, an occasional double or triple, and once in a rare while, you'll enjoy the
delightful experience of a marketing home run or even a grand slam. And just so you don't get cocky, you'll strike out too...
There's no doubt the web landscape changes fast. New ideas. New strategies. New technology. New lingo. Marketing "gurus" who try to convince you to major in the minors and demand you pay them for it. Yes, I have fallen prey to these schemes. I thought to myself, "I am missing the boat here! I need to get in on this [fill in the blank here] trend! If I don't do it now, all is lost forever!"
When I get insecure, I start groping for my plumb line. And for me it always comes back to this. Keywords - the foundation of search. Keywords always brings me comfort for some reason. They can't hurt me. They just are what they are. They come in all shapes and sizes. Odd, ugly, suprising, uncommon, fun, cute, sexy, sad, hip, disturbing, and just plain hilarious. They tell the truth about the motives of people. The divulge a person's deepest desires, needs, hopes, and dreams. KEYWORDS ARE X-RAYS OF THE WEB IN THEIR RAWEST FORM.
Keywords keep me sane when I am surrounded by a tornado of 20 new, maverick Internet marketing ideas.
Ok. So, what's the point? Here it is: Never drift far away from your primary keywords.
Primary keywords are the keyword phrases that do the most effective job at getting you your desired result online. This might be a sale, a newsletter sign-up, a page view, a video view, etc.
Look for your words wherever you go on the web. Do searches with them in the obvious places but also in small niches, vertical search engines, directories, blogs, social bookmarking sites like Squidoo, StumbleUpon, Orkut, Yahoo! groups, and local search sites. Who knows what will happen to any of these websites, but rest assured the forces which drive those keyword searches will always be around.
Query Google for your keyword phrases and then click on the 20th page instead of just looking at the first two pages. You might find some surprising results, great websites, and possible joint venture and link partners. Purposely misspell your keywords and try those searches.
The whole point of keyword research is for you to understand your audience. Don't get hung up on the execution of the latest keyword strategy or the technology. New technologies will always come around, and if you can't implement them yourself, be assured that you can find someone who will. Focus on your audience and the scope of keywords they use. This really is "their language."
Here's a little story. I live in Southern California, so I speak a bit of bad Caucasian Spanish. Yes, I took all the classes in high school and college, but I wouldn't call myself fluent. However, when I have an opportunity to speak Spanish, I do. And the person I speak to is almost always grateful for my efforts no matter how pathetic. The person usually smiles and waits patiently for me to bumble along with Spanish
verb conjugations and getting the right gender for those pesky nouns. The person knows I am trying. When our conversation ends I sense we really communicated on a level deeper than words. The point is: WE CONNECTED.
I suspect in many ways, that's all your web visitors want from you. They want to find someone who understands their needs and can connect with them. You don't have to speak their language perfectly, but if you can show you've gone the extra mile to at least try, you just might win their trust and their business. I don't think people want perfection. They want sincerity.
So whatever new Internet marketing flavor of the month gets thrown at you, run it through your "keyword filter" to see if it's viable for YOUR business.
Ok, I'll stop waxing philosophical now. Go re-examine those keywords of yours, and look for some new ones too!
Cheers!
