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How important is Keyword Research in PF blog postings? What to do in a highly competitive topics?

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11:28 am
May 16, 2013


UberSteward

Member

posts 69

I have a quick question for all you fellow Yakezie members.

In PF blogs, should you do keyword research before making a post. I know many keywords related to PF is very saturated already, but I still had to get in since I can’t imagine myself writing about anything else. 

I use market samurai to do keyword research and keywords like college loan debt, save on ____ (you fill in the blank), anything related to insurance and mortgage has very high competition and I just don't see my blog out ranking them on google.

How should pf blogs strategize their posting when competition is high?  I read from A-Blogger like Pat Flynn and Niche Pursuit that most people fail in blogging because they don't do their keyword research in the beginning.

Let me know what you think.Confused

Peter

Christian Personal Finance & Time Management

http://www.UberSteward.com

Facebook | Twitter

UberSteward@gmail.com

 

12:28 pm
May 16, 2013


Edward Antrobus

Fort Collins, CO

Member

posts 1008

My feeling is that you should pick topics based on what you know and have a string opinion our unique insight on. Write about those topics, do dime basic optimization, be authoritative, and the rest well take care of itself.
I have one post that is currently contributing roughly a third of my traffic and is ranked #2 for it's keyword, only behind the company I'm taking about in the post. And it happened just the way I described.

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6:37 pm
May 16, 2013


ConsumerFu

Member

posts 48

Post edited 6:41 pm – May 16, 2013 by ConsumerFu


I agree with Edward about keyword research when it comes to picking topics for general personal finance blogs, however, keyword research can be a useful tool when writing headlines or when you want to include related terms in your post.

 

If you are building a single topic niche site, then obviously you should do your keyword research up front.

Please visit us at http://consumerfu.com

Twitter @ConsumerFu

4:35 am
May 17, 2013


MoneyBeagle

Member

posts 1466

My personal opinion is that I write for the moment.  I don't really care about rankings and all that anymore.  I've also found that the articles in which I do rank are ones that I never would have guessed, and for the few times I've actually thought I would rank high, I get nothing.

In other words, I wouldn't focus on it, but that's just my approach and how I stay interested.

Member Site: Money Beagle

Visit Money Beagle    -    Email    -    Twitter    -   Facebook    -  Google+

8:29 am
May 17, 2013


PK @ DQYDJ

The Intersection of Politics, Economics and Personal Finance.

Moderator

posts 361

Anyone know how many people do explicit keyword research with an external tool?  I'm sure it happens, but I wouldn't say a majority of us use an LTP or a MS for our sites.

Sometimes if I can't come up with a good title for the 'Search Engine' title box (I'm using the Genesis theme framework, there is something similar with other plug-ins) I will take a quick look at the AdWords tool to come up with a better title.  (What DO people search for when they look for food shopping by income?  Beats me!)

Anyway, four years of being a bad blogger have led to a few observations:

  1. 'Newsjacking' will let me get search results almost immediately.  I posted a "2012 S&P 500 Return"… on January 1, 2013 and I posted a "Who Won the 2012 London Olympics" article.  Newsjacking is the Neil Young strategy – "it's better to burn out than to fade away" (hijacked in Kurt Cobain's suicide note – Neil Young is still very much in the music business).
  2. 'Timeless Content' takes longer, but… 4 years, this is most of my stuff, heh.  I've been seeing some article gain prominence 3 months after the fact, but the big switch (what Sam and I called 'the fine wine') takes six months.  This is the Rolling Stones strategy – you'll constantly be getting traffic for your older stuff, but not as much search love for the newer things.

Actually, the band metaphor is incredible – 'subscribers' are like your hardcore fans, they'll "buy" anything you put out, the clingers are search traffic.

 

Okay, I need to stop there – this is too hilarious to not turn into a Yakezie article.

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9:39 am
May 17, 2013


This That And The MBA

Member

posts 240

I use scrapebox a bit for keyword research.  one of my go to weapons when i am struggling.  I also use ultimate niche finder for somethings on my niche sites and to set up as pages on the site…

ms and ltp are my main weapons though.

-Christopher-

Email: thisthatandthemba@gmail.com

Website: http://thisthatandthemba.com

Come check me out and let me know what you think of my site!!!

11:10 am
May 17, 2013


UberSteward

Member

posts 69

Edward Antrobus said:

My feeling is that you should pick topics based on what you know and have a string opinion our unique insight on. Write about those topics, do dime basic optimization, be authoritative, and the rest well take care of itself.
I have one post that is currently contributing roughly a third of my traffic and is ranked #2 for it's keyword, only behind the company I'm taking about in the post. And it happened just the way I described.

Thanks Edward.  Can you elaborate little more on "basic optimization"?

Peter

Christian Personal Finance & Time Management

http://www.UberSteward.com

Facebook | Twitter

UberSteward@gmail.com

 

11:15 am
May 17, 2013


UberSteward

Member

posts 69

PK @ DQYDJ said:

Anyone know how many people do explicit keyword research with an external tool?  I'm sure it happens, but I wouldn't say a majority of us use an LTP or a MS for our sites.

Sometimes if I can't come up with a good title for the 'Search Engine' title box (I'm using the Genesis theme framework, there is something similar with other plug-ins) I will take a quick look at the AdWords tool to come up with a better title.  (What DO people search for when they look for food shopping by income?  Beats me!)

Anyway, four years of being a bad blogger have led to a few observations:

  1. 'Newsjacking' will let me get search results almost immediately.  I posted a "2012 S&P 500 Return"… on January 1, 2013 and I posted a "Who Won the 2012 London Olympics" article.  Newsjacking is the Neil Young strategy – "it's better to burn out than to fade away" (hijacked in Kurt Cobain's suicide note – Neil Young is still very much in the music business).
  2. 'Timeless Content' takes longer, but… 4 years, this is most of my stuff, heh.  I've been seeing some article gain prominence 3 months after the fact, but the big switch (what Sam and I called 'the fine wine') takes six months.  This is the Rolling Stones strategy – you'll constantly be getting traffic for your older stuff, but not as much search love for the newer things.

Actually, the band metaphor is incredible – 'subscribers' are like your hardcore fans, they'll "buy" anything you put out, the clingers are search traffic.

 

Okay, I need to stop there – this is too hilarious to not turn into a Yakezie article.

Thanks for the meaty reply PK.  Your blog looks pretty established and authoritative.  When you say 4 years of bad blogging, are you referring to this site as well?

Peter

Christian Personal Finance & Time Management

http://www.UberSteward.com

Facebook | Twitter

UberSteward@gmail.com

 

10:14 am
May 18, 2013


PK @ DQYDJ

The Intersection of Politics, Economics and Personal Finance.

Moderator

posts 361

UberSteward said:

Thanks for the meaty reply PK.  Your blog looks pretty established and authoritative.  When you say 4 years of bad blogging, are you referring to this site as well?

Yeah – but don't conflate 'bad blogger' with 'bad writer', heh – I feel my writing is strong, it's in the other aspects of blogging where I needed the dose of reality.  I think almost four years of publishing has beaten me up to the point where things are solid now.  I just wouldn't want you to go down my road… there are too many curves and it has a low speed limit.  There are better paths.

If I was starting today, I'd aim at the social aspects first.  You've only got so much time, so try to crank up your subscriber numbers – RSS and email and Twitter (email is higher value, but try to get both.  Also, Facebook – I don't do as much here but many people love it.  Google + too if you're not anonymous!).  Dive into the social aspect.

Six months from now, one of your least expected posts will get your most search traffic.  It's a sign.  Now that you've got some seasoning, you know what Google likes from your site, and you won't be so far removed you forgot how to promoted that piece (Carnivals?  Twitter? Etc…).

Read Jeff Rose's tips elsewhere in this forum, too.  Notice his timeline – once he was established at around 2+ years, he started diving into the tools (he lists a few – Market Samurai, SeoMoz, etc.) – but by that point, he had some successes so he knew where to concentrate.  I think if you dive into that part too early it'll probably hurt your motivation.

Don't Quit Your Day Job…

http://dqydj.net or http://yourdayjob.net

Follow us at @dqydj_net on Twitter and connect with us on Facebook.

11:30 am
May 18, 2013


Barbara Friedberg

Member

posts 1302

PK @ DQYDJ said:

Anyone know how many people do explicit keyword research with an external tool?  I'm sure it happens, but I wouldn't say a majority of us use an LTP or a MS for our sites.

Sometimes if I can't come up with a good title for the 'Search Engine' title box (I'm using the Genesis theme framework, there is something similar with other plug-ins) I will take a quick look at the AdWords tool to come up with a better title.  (What DO people search for when they look for food shopping by income?  Beats me!)

Anyway, four years of being a bad blogger have led to a few observations:

  1. 'Newsjacking' will let me get search results almost immediately.  I posted a "2012 S&P 500 Return"… on January 1, 2013 and I posted a "Who Won the 2012 London Olympics" article.  Newsjacking is the Neil Young strategy – "it's better to burn out than to fade away" (hijacked in Kurt Cobain's suicide note – Neil Young is still very much in the music business).
  2. 'Timeless Content' takes longer, but… 4 years, this is most of my stuff, heh.  I've been seeing some article gain prominence 3 months after the fact, but the big switch (what Sam and I called 'the fine wine') takes six months.  This is the Rolling Stones strategy – you'll constantly be getting traffic for your older stuff, but not as much search love for the newer things.

Actually, the band metaphor is incredible – 'subscribers' are like your hardcore fans, they'll "buy" anything you put out, the clingers are search traffic.

 

Okay, I need to stop there – this is too hilarious to not turn into a Yakezie article.

I love the music references. BTW, saw the Stones a couple of years ago, aaamaaaazing!!

 

What the heck is:  an LTP or a MS for our sites.

8:42 am
May 19, 2013


Financial Samurai

Admin

posts 1803

Post edited 8:45 am – May 19, 2013 by Financial Samurai


UberSteward, if it helps from another blogger's perspective, I've never done any keyword research apart from thinking in my head what someone might logically search for. Often times I question whether the title should be this or that, but I've never bothered to check out Google Tools, Market Samurai, or whatever to see which words have more or less searches etc.

Part of the reason is because it feels like work, and that's the last thing I want to feel like I'm doing for my hobby. Another reason is that my site has grown without doing any research so why bother. Maybe my site would have grown further if I did do research, who knows.

Market Samurai and Long Tail Pro are good affiliate programs for bloggers whose main focus is to make money blogging, as well as for niche sites which have really gotten hit after the EMD update last fall. I should put them up on Yakezie.com, but I'm also lazy as well :)

I recommend just writing what you think makes sense. More fun and better longevity!

Sam

Regards,

 

Sam

Financial Samurai - Helping you achieve financial freedom sooner, rather than later.

Yakezie Network Founder 

12:50 pm
May 19, 2013


PK @ DQYDJ

The Intersection of Politics, Economics and Personal Finance.

Moderator

posts 361

Barb Friedberg said:

What the heck is:  an LTP or a MS for our sites.

Just my penchant for stupid acronyms acting up; Long Tail Pro and Market Samurai.

Don't Quit Your Day Job…

http://dqydj.net or http://yourdayjob.net

Follow us at @dqydj_net on Twitter and connect with us on Facebook.

1:06 pm
May 21, 2013


Barbara Friedberg

Member

posts 1302

Thanks for the clarification PK. I took a trial of market samurai and the learning curve seemed greater than the effort I was willing to put in at the time. I'm transitioning into a new business model with my site and may investigate these tools more in the future.

12:04 am
May 22, 2013


UberSteward

Member

posts 69

Financial Samurai said:

UberSteward, if it helps from another blogger's perspective, I've never done any keyword research apart from thinking in my head what someone might logically search for. Often times I question whether the title should be this or that, but I've never bothered to check out Google Tools, Market Samurai, or whatever to see which words have more or less searches etc.

Part of the reason is because it feels like work, and that's the last thing I want to feel like I'm doing for my hobby. Another reason is that my site has grown without doing any research so why bother. Maybe my site would have grown further if I did do research, who knows.

Market Samurai and Long Tail Pro are good affiliate programs for bloggers whose main focus is to make money blogging, as well as for niche sites which have really gotten hit after the EMD update last fall. I should put them up on Yakezie.com, but I'm also lazy as well :)

I recommend just writing what you think makes sense. More fun and better longevity!

Sam

Thanks Sam for another refreshing take.  I actually found myself losing motivation past week overwhelmed and intimidated by all these other great blogs and bloggers that I came across.  Out of nowhere, it just felt like work and a daunting task.  Soooo much to do…  I'm just glad I somehow stumbled on Yakezie early on.  Thanks for the input.

Peter

Christian Personal Finance & Time Management

http://www.UberSteward.com

Facebook | Twitter

UberSteward@gmail.com

 

2:58 pm
May 22, 2013


First Million is the Hardest

Buffalo, NY

Member

posts 119

Maybe it's a mistake, but I've never done any keyword research for my posts. I just focus on writing a good post on whatever topic I've chosen and let things happen naturally. The PF niche is so competitive anyway that you could drive yourself nuts finding a keyword or phrase that doesn't have an insane amount of quality competition. 

 

The things people type into google that bring them to my site are usually pretty long phrases and questions. And the posts of mine that bring me the most search traffic are those that I really honestly wanted to write about for my own purposes, not because I thought they would appeal to the masses. 

9:13 am
May 28, 2013


Anton Ivanov

San Diego, CA

Member

posts 129

I'm new to the blogging scene, so my opinion is probably not as authoritative as the other posters', but I do both – I write about what I want to write about, but I also optimize every post for a particular keyword/phrase. I first pick a topic that I'm interested in, then use Google AdWords Keyword tool and Google Trends to see what people are searching for and what is the most popular/least competitive. This helps me refine my topic.

 

I use Yoast WP SEO plugin and am very happy with it. After picking my keyword and writing my post, I work on getting as many "green lights" as possible – making sure the post is maximally optimized for SEO.

 

Now I know that I'm not going to rank high for every keyword I choose. And, as the others pointed out, my most viewed posts may not be the ones best optimized in the future. But my logic is that by doing my best to optimize each post for SEO, I set myself up for as much success as possible.

8:27 am
May 29, 2013


PK @ DQYDJ

The Intersection of Politics, Economics and Personal Finance.

Moderator

posts 361

Anton Ivanov said:

I first pick a topic that I'm interested in, then use Google AdWords Keyword tool and Google Trends to see what people are searching for and what is the most popular/least competitive.

 

As long as you don't get too hardcore with that you'll probably be in decent shape in 12 months.  The problem is, of course, writing for the algorithm can get boring – so if you're burning out you should drop the tools.  Remember, G is fickle.

Don't Quit Your Day Job…

http://dqydj.net or http://yourdayjob.net

Follow us at @dqydj_net on Twitter and connect with us on Facebook.

2:13 pm
May 29, 2013


thefrugalmodel

New York City

Member

posts 17

This is a question that also plagues me. I'm using the free SEO Yoast Plugin, and it seems to help me, but I've been struggling with all of this Meta Tag optimization stuff. I installed the "All in one SEO pack" to help me with the meta tags, but to be honest it just makes things a lot more confusing. 

 

The overwhelming response here seems to be don't worry about Meta and all of these other more specific SEO tools, but is that a mistake? There does not seem to be any truly easy to understand tutorial out there that teaches beginners about SEO – I'm thinking because it's just basically really freaking confusing. 

Ashley at TheFrugalModel.com

Learn to live luxe for less with tips and advice on saving your money

Follow me @thefrugalmodel

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2:27 pm
May 29, 2013


sooverthis

Kentucky

Moderator

posts 1041

Ashley – I hope this doesn't come across as super self-promotional, but I have two posts for super super beginners on my business site: SEO 101 (link) and SEO 102 (link). I've been debating whether to keep going with that series because a lot of newer bloggers have emailed me to say it helped them wrap their heads around SEO enough to get started.

 

 

 

4:35 pm
May 29, 2013


riksace

Member

posts 22

I think you should consider a combination of both. If you have a really good slant on a highly competitive topic, still write it and promote via social networks. With regard to keyword research, look for longtail type of terms which will give you a better chance of ranking.

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