Keyword research can be intimidating, whether you are starting from scratch or if you need to overhaul the strategy you have in place.

Keyword research should be the basis of your Search Engine Optimization strategy. Identifying the keywords that relate to your products and how people search for your product is important from both an SEO standpoint and a user behavior standpoint.

Keyword research is NOT as simple as using product names or using a free keyword tool and choosing the most popular terms.

Here are some questions you should ask yourself when you start to identify your keyword list:

• Do you have log files?
• Do you have a site search engine?
• Do you have web analytics that can track a user visit so you can see if keywords relate to a purchase?
• Do you have analysis of your PPC clicks through and conversions?

Using your own website data to identify valuable keywords should be the place you begin. If you can track how people are finding you and which keywords actually end up resulting in cash, then you are really half-way there. Using this data as a jumping-off point, you can then create the remainder of your keyword strategy.

For instance:

• Are your “conversive” keywords specific or general?
• Do your keyword trends appear to be brand driven?
• Are there obvious clusters of related keywords?
• How popular are they keywords you need to target?

Once you have these questions answered, you can begin to formulate your strategy. Some other helpful methods of developing a solid keyword list:

• Brainstorm with your employees/coworkers
• Ask friends and family how they would search for what you do
• Review of competitor websites
• Review of your own FAQ’s

You’ll probably need to use a keyword research tool so you can find related and popular terms. As an expert in your industry, your knowledge is invaluable, but remember that non-experts are also searching for your products, or looking for the solution you provide, so you need to think “out of the box.”

By using keyword research tools, you’ll see options of which you might not have thought. When you are deciding on a keyword research tool, learn from where they pull their data and how frequently. The free tools are great, but if your business is particularly seasonal, you need to be wary of the data you gather. For instance, you may want to subscribe to a keyword research service with a full annual data set rather than something that only gives three months of results at a time.

When you start your research, a smart person will start organized and stay that way. One great technique is to cluster your keywords by product, service and brand. (This will also help you in your ultimate implementation.) Additionally, be measured in your keyword approach. You can find thousands of keywords to use, but if you try to target too many, you’ll never be successful. Finally, see how successful the campaigns are and evolve your campaigns based on the data you collect. The search engines and your market will constantly evolve and shift and you need to keep up with them!