Search Engine News from Piedmont Design

If you’re looking to research keywords, there are a number of tools for doing so on the web.  The (major) ones I know of are:

• Wordtracker - http://wordtracker.com/ Wordtracher is nice because it is designed for SEO types rather than for ad buyer so the tool provides a score for which keywords appear underrepresented.  It requires a subscription, but you can have unlimited free trials (only for MSN but that’s good enough).
• Google Adwords - https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal Google’s tool is listed here second because it’s Google (85% marketshare?). 
• KeywordDiscover - http://www.keyworddiscovery.com/ I’ve not tried this yet but I’ve heard good things about it from smart folks.  I can’t see spending $40 / month though unless it’s superb.
• Digital Point - http://www.digitalpoint.com/tools/keywords/ You create a free account and it tracks keywords for you over time.  It’s a great thing to set up and then foorget about.  You need a Google API key but they have a link on the site for it.
• Yahoo Overture - http://inventory.overture.com/d/searchinventory/suggestion/ I’ve been using this one forever (since it was goto.com).  I don’t know that there’s anything special about.  Rumor is that in recent months it’s been getting less accurate, but I still like it.  It’s really straight-forward… no login or anything.

The Other Guys

• Good Keywords - http://goodkeywords.com/
• Keyword Count - http://www.keywordcount.com/index.php/welcome
• Keyword Density - http://keyworddensity.com/
• NiceBot - http://nichebot.com/
• SEO Book - http://tools.seobook.com/general/keyword/

If you have any more majors to add, please post or email me.

Per an article at WebProWorld:

The Japanese testing of AdWords on mobiles proved successful enough that Google has quietly debuted the service in the US.

This is a bit too bleeding edge for my taste. I pay for mobile content by the kilobite and would resent searching and getting ads instead. It’s hard to be unobtrusive on a small phone screen. Any space used by ads better be done well or else I’m switching. I tend to use Google, but that would drive me away fast.

I have been contemplating starting an SEO blog for some time but have been quite hesitant as the market seems crowded and the quality of many of the blogs is quite high.  Why then have I chosen to do it?  A couple weeks ago I read a post at SEObook.com (which has one of the best SEO blogs I’ve come across) talking about experts who fail to archive their answers when they help people.  I’m not sure I’m comfortable calling myself an SEO expert, though I sell my SEO services to clients. (I’d never thought about that before!)  I do believe that I have provided clients a good bit of value through the years by passing along what I know.\

Honestly though, what I want most for this blog is a place to point friends and clients who are interested in SEO but not interested in paying for SEO.  I follow read some great blogs and come accross valuable resources weekly… rather than talking with folks and trying to remember URLs and communicate the basics, it would be easier to put that here. 

I do hope to provide some value to users and I appreciate you taking the time to read my blog.  I’m always open to feedback and suggestions.