Keyword research is a fundamental part of achieving pay-per-click and search engine optimization success. Learn more about Keyword research now!

1. Keyword Research - How to Find Profit
Driving New Keywords Every Day
Keyword research is a fundamental part of achieving pay-per-click and search engine
optimization success.
There's little debate among search marketing experts that identifying and optimizing for the
specific words that people are typing into search engines is a crucial element of a successful
search marketing campaign.
But keyword research is a difficult process. In order to successfully market through search you
need to:
Continuously discover quality and goal-producing new keyword opportunities to create
a competitive advantage.
Effectively and continuously turn your keyword research into action.
Make keyword research a supporting piece of your overall search marketing efforts
so that your researched keywords actually lead to profits for your business.
So the question becomes: How do you, the search advertiser, go beyond a static list of keywords
to create a continuous stream of keyword phrases that improve your bottom line?
Easy: Use WordStream.
WordStream's keyword research tools provide customers with three core benefits not offered by
traditional search-based keyword products:
Continual, Exclusive Keyword Research - WordStream offers you a living, breathing
list of keywords that grows your traffic and lowers your costs per click and cost per
action with time. And the keyword search tool creates its list from your own data, so you
have exclusive access to it.
Keyword Data You Can Act On - The software allows you to organize and put into
action insights surrounding your keywords and your search queries.
A Full-Featured Search Marketing Solution - WordStream integrates your researched
keyword data with keyword grouping, workflow prioritization, and paid and natural
search marketing tools.
These will help you to automate the process of extensive, perpetual keyword research, creating
an environment of increased search marketing productivity and value for your company or client.
We'll discuss more about what, specifically, this advantage really is and how WordStream
procures it for you in the coming paragraphs.
First, we need to look at the traditional keyword research process.

2. The Old Way of Conducting Online Keyword Research
Traditionally, keyword research is thought of as a process involving the following steps:
Brainstorm - First, you come up with some keyword ideas you think relate to your
business.
Find the Best Keyword Research Tool - Next, you select any of a litany of keyword
tools, some paid and some free, to generate new keyword suggestions.
Conducting Keyword Research - Finally, you type in a word or phrase, and you get a
static list of some variations of that word or phrase, maybe even some synonyms, and
that's it.
Next, you tweak and optimize for the keywords you're targeting:
PPC Management - If you're managing a PPC account, you run this campaign and
attempt to optimize bids and use different keyword matching types.
SEO Management - If you're managing an SEO account, you monitor how those
keywords are performing, whether they're driving traffic, and what you can do to get
them to rank higher.
If you're going to bother using a basic keyword research tool, we see no reason to pay for a
subcription or even use any other free tool when WordStream's Free Keyword Tool is the fastest,
most accurate and most comprehensive free keyword suggestion tool available. You'll get far
more keyword suggestions, including long-tail variations, from more diverse sources, all at no
cost. You can take those keywords further by using our Free Keyword Grouper to organize your
suggestions. Or try the Free Keyword Niche Finder to get suggestions that are already structured
into relevant keyword groups.
But even with thousands of relevant keyword suggestions, there are a few important problems
and substantial challenges associated with this traditional method of keyword research:
Stagnant Campaigns - The most-searched-for terms generally don't change very much
month to month. As a result, when you utilize popularity-based keyword research tools,
you're creating a static list of a few hundred keywords. Since this list doesn't change
much, you're always targeting the same keywords. You never expand the reach of your
message.
No Differentiation - If you use a traditional tool for keyword research, everyone else
who uses that tool is bidding on and attempting to rank for the same terms you are.
A Disconnect Between Your Marketing Efforts - This list is generated with no real
regard for your website, your customers, or your goals; it's merely relevant to the term
you typed in. Beyond that: what do actually do with the list of keywords when you get a
hold of them?
So how do you answer these challenges and overcome these shortcomings? What's the
alternative to the traditional way of finding keywords for websites?

3. The WordStream Keyword Research Tool
WordStream's keyword research tool goes a step beyond traditional keyword research:
WordStream offers keyword management software. This means aggregating actual keyword data
from multiple sources, continually updating that data, allowing you to prioritize and organize
your keywords, and providing you with tools to turn keyword research into highly profitable
search marketing activity.
Let's take a look at how WordStream's keyword software answers each of the problems listed
above.
Researching Keywords Using WordStream
First, the software will analyze keyword data from various sources:
Historical data (log files or Web analytic data through Google Analytics Integration)
Suggestions from our free online keyword tool or our embedded keyword suggestion tool
New search traffic to your site
First, the application will parse your website's logs and identify the keywords from your pay-per-
click campaigns and from organic search that people have used to reach your site.
You can supplement this private data with our keyword suggestion tool. This is the traditional
way of generating keyword suggestions based on a descriptive word or URL; we don't
recommend relying on the tool as the basis of your keyword research, but it's useful if you're
looking for additional relevant keywords or if your site is new and you lack extensive log file
data.
A voluminous list of keywords that have already driven visitors to your site (and are
subsequently relevant to your business) along with any other data you want to import will be
captured and stored for you.
Thanks to our keyword source analysis feature, you can analyze all your keywords in aggregate
or drill down to focus solely on actual keywords (paid and organic), paid keywords, organic
keywords, or suggested keywords.

4. But the really powerful thing about the way WordStream handles keywords is that this list will
then become dynamic and actionable.
By installing a snippet of JavaScript on your site, WordStream will continuously introduce new
keywords into your account. You can then determine whether or not to take action on those
keywords in a variety of ways.
Do More Than Just Research Keywords
In addition to offering continuous, dynamic keyword research, WordStream also loads your
keywords into an interface that is immediately actionable:

5. From here, the software can offer suggestions on keyword groups to create, ad groups to
optimize, or even content to create:
In the above example, keyword groups are suggested based on traffic driven, the number of
keywords in a potential segmentation, and goals you designate (like sales, leads, downloads,
etc.). In this example, we can create a number of keyword groups with the click of a button, but
we could just as easily leverage the same technology to decide which ad groups to create, which
landing pages to author, or which keyword groups to segment, making your researched keywords
a supporting piece of your overall keyword management and search marketing strategy.

6. When it comes time to create landing pages, blog posts and other content for your site, the
WordStream SEO for Firefox plug-in helps you optimize that content with your best keywords
by connecting your research to your content management system or blogging platform. After all,
your keyword research is worthless if you don't follow through and use it to author targeted
content.
By leveraging WordStream's keyword research tools, we've created a keyword list that is:
Dynamic
Actionable
Part of Our Overall Keyword & Search Strategy
Effectively addressing each of the shortcomings present in the traditional keyword research
model.
Keyword Research Software for Your Business
This new, WordStream approach to keyword research leads to three key consequences for your
business:
Increased Productivity - WordStream allows you to discover and maintain
exponentially more keywords than you could otherwise hope to have suggested to you,
and fuses your keyword research with the tools you'll need to turn that information into
profitable action.
Enhanced Relevance - Keyword suggestions generated by our keyword generator tool
will pertain to your website, your offering, and your current PPC campaigns, and you'll
be able to prioritize your activities based on real data from real customers who interacted
with your site.
Added Value - By increasing your productivity and creating more relevant search
campaigns with more accurate keyword targeting, you'll see more conversions at a lower
overall cost.
Our Keyword Research Service
You can generate your own tailored list of exclusive key terms and watch as new keywords are
researched and suggested daily. Then act on the data in a meaningful, profitable way. For free.
Learn more about WordStream's keyword research tool-set by:
Trying WordStream Free Today
Requesting a Live Demonstration
Signing up for our Search Marketing Webinar
Subscribing to our Newsletter