You can ask them about the free trial. I know recently they've eliminated the one day use so you're stuck with either a week or more.

I never used the free trial so I wouldn't know specifics about what it offers/doesn't offer (ie possibly different results from the 'full working' version, but don't count on what I say until you find the real answer ).

I suggest using keyword universe then using keyword researcher. There's no harm in using both, I mean you're going to have to sometime.

I started using keyword universe, it has lateral and thesaurus. This is essentially a good way to brainstorm other related keywords. Keyword researcher is more precise in the filters you can set. The discrepancies between these two are small because they both give you search counts, KEI and competition.

KEI................. better know as "Kills Every Im'er" ... I see now I'm not alone here in that belief and am in excellent company, in fact.

Post edited by: Eowawa, at: 2007/05/11 12:36

I agree. I've noticed that while you may get lots of competition, it doesn't necessarily mean the competition is worth noticing. To my surprise it seems that 99.9% of sites employ no SEO techniques - no silos, no metatags, and miscellaneous content.

So, in researching niches, KEI does indeed seem a poor indicator...

...did I read that from some book lately?? Maybe Holly's... Always gotta learn the hard way

Markus

What is too much competition? I think I read in your book that if it gets 200 searches a day and a million competing, thats a niche. But is that on your broad term. What is good number to compete against, 300 , 500, 50? This is where I am having trouble

You want to use the guidelines mentioned in holly's book to pick out "golden" keywords and then ultimately ranking for harder keywords. Even what she states is just a matter of opinion. Maybe, down the line you'll find that 100 searches and 1.5 million is good for a niche as well. You really have to go through the WHOLE process before you know what's a good niche market

When you're thinking about broad and narrow keywords, it's going to be pretty subjective but you WANT narrower(long-tail) keywords as they're more qualified for what the person is searching for. An example would be like art versus bronze metal art classes new jersey. Art could be literally anything so it'd be a poor choice for a niche.

You really can't knit pick too much about the numbers. The numbers give you a feel for the market. Don't spend too much time worrying about keyword research. I know according to one author's ebook he spent 15+ hours nailing down a 'superficial' list of keyword terms. I duplicated the process and it took me just as long and that's just the start...what comes after is useful for what should be on your site but...

If you ask me, this is kinda crazy in the beginning. This might be better later on once you've got your web design down, content and traffic flow to help with SEO but beginners want results fast. So you want eyes on your site ASAP!

Also, the competition doesn't really matter too much if you're an expert or have some kind of 'insider' information in the field. I'm sure there are a bunch of people going for what's hot and have no clue what they're doing then get mad because of dismal results.

You have to think... you're competing in a niche that people know what they're talking about. Go for what you know and work it from there. Once you've nailed this down you can go for what's hot.

BUT WAIT! you might be thinking well I can just learn as I go... why would you do that when you've ALREADY got a head start in what you already know?!

Hopefully this didn't confuse you anymore