Does the thought of figuring out your keywords or how to use search engine optimization (SEO) make you cringe? I am going to share a way to get you started that will not be scary, cost a bundle, or require technical skills.

First, I would like to get on my soapbox for a bit to explain why it’s important to have even a basic relationship with your keywords and SEO.  This is how people find YOU. Just by knowing how people are searching for you and your competitors will give you an entirely different vantage point of your target market and exactly how to speak to them both online and off.  How valuable would it be to know the exact terms, words and phrases that your potential clients and customers are using when they talk to themselves!

OK… now I have your attention.

This is how YOU can find those words and it is absolutely FREE. Hint…. they are often NOT what you think they are!

Google Keyword Planner

When it comes to keyword tools, the Google Keyword Planner is probably all you will ever need. The Google Keyword Planner pulls its data straight from Google’s database. Here you can find out:

• exactly how many people are searching for the keyword terms you’re targeting every month
• similar terms people tend to search for
• terms people are typing into Google to find YOU and YOUR competition

What’s great about the Google Keyword Planner is that you can figure out what keywords Google thinks are relevant – Straight from Google. Google likes to rank sites that target groups of related keywords. Does Google think your keywords are related? Why not ask Google?

Google’s keyword tool offers a wide range of different tools and options. I am just sharing one simple strategy here to get you started.

Google Keyword Planner Overview

Step 1: Go to the Google Keyword Planner

To access the Google Keyword Tool, go to: https://adwords.google.com/home/tools/keyword-planner/

Step 2: Search by Website

Enter your URL into the Google Keyword Planner – website field. Google will pull up a list of all the keywords they think are relevant to YOUR URL.

Here is a trick…. another common way to find keywords is to enter a competitor’s URL into the Google Keyword Tool – website field. Google will pull up a list of all the keywords they think are relevant to that URL.

This is a great way to “model” keywords that you wouldn’t normally think to search for.

Step 3: How to Select Keywords

A list of words will display that were actually typed into Google to find the website entered. Go through the list and select a few.  It is always a good idea to have a mix of high, low and medium competition keywords mixed into your copy … Google loves to see that kind of depth and value, the best words to use are words that will blend well into the conversational tone of your content.

Step 4: Downloading the Results

If you want to download your results offline, just click “Download.” You’ll be able to save your results in spreadsheet format, with both the keyword data and the volume data.

Step 5: Easy Keyword Application

Simply use these keywords and phrases in your online content in social media posts, website content, sales, copy, blogs and newsletters.  You will increase your SEO with very little effort and without learning anything more about keywords.

This is one simple strategy, there it much more to learn and apply. But start here and see what happens!

Questions?  Just comment below or ask on our FB page!