We created a rather nice little keyword tool many moons ago called Seed Keywords. The idea was simple, create a scenario or problem and ask people to provide the search phrases they would use to solve it. We figured that getting real search phrases from real people in response to a very specific problem would add some spice to the mix, and it did. It's proved to be a useful tool in people's SEO and search marketing armoury.
Ditch The Jargon
The whole point of it is to get realistic data on the sorts of things that potential customers might type into Google rather than getting bogged down in industry jargon which might not really reflect what your audience call the thing that you do.
So rather than guess, why not just ask them!
How it works is that you start by creating a scenario. Once you've done that Seed Keywords will generate a url which you can share with as many people as you like, by email, text or social media.
Respondents then click on the url to get to a page that shows them the scenario and asks them to type in the search words they would use if faced with that scenario.
It's a very simple idea but totally invaluable if you want to know how best to optimise a new website for search engines.
Real Search Data
Once your website has been live for a while, you can use other tools to find out what your site is ranking for. Google Search Console uses real, accurate data to show you how often your site has shown up in Google results pages, which position it shows up in on average, and how many clicks it is getting. You can then see what opportunities there are to improve what's already there or fill the gaps with additional content.
Create Interest
Recently a number of bloggers have picked up on the tool and because of this the traffic to it has dramatically increased. It's just another example of how creating content or something useful creates interest in your website, and for interest in your website read links to your website, and we all know that links are important, right?
So, if you're doing keyword research and you're not sure what people might be searching for, give Seed Keywords a try, it just might give you some valuable insights into what your customers are searching for.
