Do you ever feel like you understand just enough about keyword research to be

dangerous - but ineffective? Don't worry, many online marketers feel the same way.

Let's see if we can fill update your keyword marketing knowledge for the

upcoming 2009 year.

It seems like new information is uncovered about keyword research and

search engines every new year, and this new year is no exception.

Although many marketers make keyword research out to be a complex, "make

or break" kind of marketing endeavor, it really boils down to one thing:

what do people really want?

Finding out what people want is at the very core of what keyword

research and internet marketing are all about.

Keyword Research and "Buying" Psychology

Before we talk about the two main keyword research streams, let's

address a couple of the basics about keyword research. Why? Because

basic theory behind keyword research generally reveals the underlying

psychologies of shoppers and buyers on the web. That's a pretty vital

piece of information.

When searching for "shoppers" and "browsers" in your marketing

campaigns, use short, general types of keywords. This will give you a

broader audience who may not be ready to hand over their credit

card information to you right away. So instead of using "Canon PowerShot

P200" as a keyword, you would instead use something broader like

"digital camera review" or "best digital camera."

Targeting a buying audience however, means that you know what people

want, and those people are not shy about telling you what they want. This

equates to a gift buyer walking into an electronics store and asking the

clerk "Where is the PlayStation 3 Super Bundle?" This "shopper" is

actually a "buyer", ready to buy right now and does not want to waste

time. On the internet, the same principle applies. When someone is

searching for very specific product information they are either ready to

buy right now, or they are gathering information because they will be

ready to buy soon.

Whether you are searching for browsers or buyers, you want your product

and business to be the first one they consider when they finally do make

that buying decision.

Why would you even want to distinguish between a "shopper" and a

"buyer"? Well, for one thing, your company may be in a 'branding' or

'establishing' mode. Typically, it would be smarter and more profitable

in the long run for your internet business if you can demonstrate

significant market share and branding power at the beginning of your

market launch, and then begin making the shift to more direct, aggressive

sales-oriented online marketing.

Another probable reason for targeting browsers over buyers is that your

company may in fact be trying to establish branding and consumer

confidence using the one-on-one approach. In other words, email

marketing. Having a "shopper" fill out her email address in order to

access your information database enables you to establish your internet

company as a trusted, worthy source as you send her valuable coupons,

deals, and relevant articles - all the while slowly planting into her

mind your brand and your product.

Keyword Streams

Determining where your keywords are flowing to can be an indicator of

your marketing intent. For instance, if your keywords and phrases are

broad, general keywords that are flowing towards organic search results

in the search engines, then your business intent is most likely going to

be market share, list building or "branding" for your chosen keywords.

Similarly, if those same broad, general keywords are flowing towards

the pay per click search engines, your intent is probably also branding

• just at an accelerated (though much costlier) pace.

These two "streams" - organic search results and pay per click listings,

require different approaches and different keyword research. Usually

your keyword campaigns for the pay per click results will be much

different than those you would use in search engine marketing.

Achieving market share or branding (and to a lesser extent, list

building) from the pay per click search engines will require your

keywords to be short and general - which will result in greater exposure

to your market. Regardless of where your comfort level is for bidding,

you will nevertheless need to bid high enough to be on page one of the

search results page. This is an important consideration, since business

on the first page of a search result will be considered by the public as

"the real players", no matter what your market.

As you shift towards a sales focus, be sure that your keywords become

narrow and more specific. As in our example above, buyers know exactly

what to look for, so give them what they are searching for. Let the

majority of your budget flow towards your keyword list, and test every

thing.

Eventually your research will lead you to both streams, but be prepared

for vastly different results, particularly with organic search results,

where search engine updates can often derail entire year- long marketing

campaigns, if you're not careful.

Keyword Buzz

Often internet marketing can become an isolated, disconnected endeavor.

To keep your market research relevant and fresh hop over to

www.serph.com. Serph is a search engine that tracks web 2.0 properties,

digging up the latest buzz from blogs, social media sites, and

bookmarking sites.

Why would you want to spend your research time here? Because Serph can

reveal what people are talking about in your target market right now,

not buzz from last month or even last week. Getting the daily buzz from

Serph not only keeps you in the know, but it also can turn up search

phrases and related ideas that you simply might not ever see from

your keyword software or subscription program.

Spending even 10 to 15 minutes on Serph can not only get you "caught up"

on what the real world thinks about your marketing or even your

competition, but it can allow you to peer into other people's thoughts

about your target market, and can often jump start new ideas and

critical information that can give your company a great advantage

over your competition. At the very least, you'll never be caught trying

to target your market using old outdated terminology. That in itself is

worth a daily visit to Serph.

These three strategies, buying psychology, keyword streams, and keyword

buzz will breath new life into your keyword research, and open new doors

of profitability for you in the new year.