Overture SEM

Probably one of the most widely used tools for determining niches online is the Yahoo! Search Marketing Resource Center. I'm normally a die-hard fan of Google, but as they don't have a tool like this, we'll use this one! When you get to the Yahoo! SMRC, there will be a link that says Keyword Selector Tool. This link opens up a pop-up window that lets you type in a keyword, and then it displays relevant keywords and an estimated number of searches for that keyword. For our example, I'll type in "Branson" (a town not too far from here where there are several vacation attractions). When I type in Branson, I get a table like this:

This table shows me that "Branson Missouri" is searched for twice as often as Branson. It also shows me that for the most part, people that are searching for Branson are looking for a place to stay. As a rule of thumb, you can multiply these results by three to see the amount of total searches through the major search engine players. If I were a hotel owner, I'd cater my web content for these trends! Mix this in with our next tool, and we're smarter than ever!

Google Trends

Google Trends shows search trends and information for a range of near two and a half years. If you type in a comma separated list of keywords, such as "branson vacation, branson mo, branson missouri," it displays a graph showing the search volume for those terms. Probably one of the handiest tools, in this case, is the "Cities" tab below the graph. The Cities tab shows where most of the search engine traffic comes from, with the primary concern being your first keyword. In the case of the search terms just mentioned, most folks looking for "branson vacation" are coming from Tulsa, Little Rock, and the two Kansas Cities. 

Slow Mo Recap

By using Google Trends and Y! SMRC together, you can position your website so that it will fit in with what the world is looking for. Doing this will undoubtedly position your business where not many other businesses find themselves. Of course, there are many things that you'll want to do to get your website to the top of those search terms, so come back tomorrow for a good bit of advice on that!