Creating a Good Keyword or Domain Watch List for SEM and SEO Competitors

One of the special features of the keyword research and tracking tool KeywordSpy is a watch list in one corner of its page. This watch list is made for the competitors you would most like to keep an eye on. Now, not all the time your competitors are at the top of your game. There'll be times that their share will fluctuate and you may not feel the least threatened by them.

But suppose you find yourself in the situation that your competitors aren't what you make them out to be. So you have to redo the search, and clean up the rankings. But if you had the right choices from the start, you wouldn't have to change the rankings ever so often.

So how can you come up with an effective PPC and SEO watch list? One technique is by checking the Time Machine function, also available at KeywordSpy. Over a span of months you will see what web sites would bid on keywords more consistently.

Supposing we have a site that would bid on 400 to 450 keywords from June to August for their PPC campaign, then will fall down to an average of 300 from September to November, then partially back up to 350 from December onwards. There's hardly little fluctuation there, so it seems a good candidate for the research watch list.

But then we come across a competing website that bids on an average of 600 keywords from June to September, then fall drastically down to 150 come September to October. Then the number will rise up to 200 for the last two months. Is this still a likely candidate for the watch list? The answer is, it depends on what parameter you would like to follow. If you count on the total average for the year (and yes, it is still quite a big one all in all) , it is still viable and you would think that numbers would be up for the year.

Another thing to consider would be the seasonality of the product you're promoting. Flowers would always be in demand come Valentines or Memorial Day (US), so expect numbers of it to be up on those said dates. Whilst we see a steady decline in certain models of cellphones (most probably no one will be looking for a Motorola KRazr or a Nokia N96 model real soon), so it may be better to put off keyword bidding and PPC and SEO campaigns focusing on such models and always be on the lookout for more modern paraphernalia.

Remember, your research watch list will be the key to your hold on your prospective PPC and SEO market, and is there to serve as a handy, quick reminder of what you will be up against in the tight keyword research and tracking race. Make informed choices for the list so that you keep your game on.

PPC or SEO: Which will click?

When doing marketing and advertising blasts for web sites, terms that pop up while executing the campaigns are the PPC and SEO facets. While the more traditional SEO is still a force to be reckoned with in a site's place for prominence in search engines, PPC is employed now by companies wanting to get ahead in the race for Web prominence, and incorporating a large chunk of their budget for prime spots on the Web's prized search engines and keyword research and tracking tools.

PPC, the most common SEM form, would give you an advantageous position with mileage, as searches for your product would pop up in the top tiers of search engines when a keyword of yours is searched. Add to that exposure via links on websites and blogs, where among the topics discussed may comprise a keyword you are bidding on. A sure shot deal? Yes, but if you've enough cash for it, and if your campaign does not limit itself to just one or two paid search engines.

Such could be a mistake when companies wanting to go into PPC, but whose content extending merely to just only Google, or only Yahoo for their search engine of choice. That's because the Web is just more than a one search engine site. Competitors relying on organic means would still see their visibility stretch farther, as it is on a good SEO campaign. If that happens, a one-sided PPC campaign may just be a feeble attempt; and may not shake up the market, as was the PPC advertiser's original intention.

Traditional SEO writing is not constrained by costs, but still carries with a magic touch for any website if executed efficiently. With the aid of polished graphics and strategically embedded meta tags which let out a combined scream of, "You'll never go wrong with our site!", the case for SEO implementation in dotcom businesses rings truer than ever. Notably for new web entrepreneurs who'd want a chunk of the online action--and profit.

Moreover, the chance for websites to increase their traffic and visibility through white hat means would bring a favorable light to them. Add to that the social media optimization (SMO) factor, as can be seen through forums where consumers offer their thoughts about the websites, among others. As noted Internet marketing expert Dr. Randall Hansen observes:

"...while buying keywords may be a good way to build or sustain traffic, most experts have much more respect for sites that build their traffic (visitors) organically ..."

So, while PPC gets you definite mileage, SEO provides you with inexpensive means of promoting your sight by strategically yet tastefully embedding your keywords, with the aid of material derived from extensive research. Master these tools of the trade, and a venture into Internet marketing--SEM, more so--will rake in the revenues you so aspire for.

Now, once sure of marketing strategy, be it PPC or SEO: the next question is: what tool can I use? One need not look further from where you're reading. KeywordSpy, as an keyword research tool has emphasis on both PPC and SEO keywords, allocating each a sizable portion in its interface once you begin that all too crucial first search for a keyword or a domain. Such is the case also with domains competing for a keyword: you get to see the top half of competitors paying for the keyword, while with the other half with the ones organically incorporating them. (Not to mention a nifty mini-screenshot of the landing URLs; a feature which has won Keywordspy favorable ratings among its users.) The site operates on the principle which realizes that neither one type of keyword quite dominates the other (PPC has still yet to pull away completely from SEO), giving the most comprehensive and worldwide-encompassing list at this point.