How To Use Google's Keyword Tool

I have a scuba diving blog. I give it very little attention, and it's really just a hobby site which I will either one day sell, or start work on properly, with a view to turning it into a site that talks about diving, but also sells diving equipment.

But for today, I'm going to use it show you one way to benefit from Google's keyword tool.

I'm planning to start a link campaign with the site, to make it more visible in search. I talk to other divers often, and many offer to place links to my site on theirs. My problem is I don't know what anchor text (the actual words for the link) I should be using, so I called on Google for some help.

Step One - Find out what people are searching on

I accessed the keywords tool, and typed the word "diving" into the box. Once I'd clicked on "global monthly searches" the content was reordered for me, and here's what I saw:

Step Two - Asses the information

There are some obvious things in that screen, but when you start to drill down, you can glean so much more. Here are some key points I took from it:

• Twice as many people search for "gear" as opposed to "Equipment." The term I've been using is "kit" which comes nowhere.
• "Scuba" is a term a lot of people use in search, and it's not one we Europeans use much at all.
• "Padi" (The training agency) is also used a great deal.
• The top two search destinations for diving are "Florida" and "Hawaii."

Step Three - Formulate a plan

This was a cursory glance, but based on what I learned, it's easy to come up with an action plan:

• Change the term "Dive kit" (which is used often on the site) to "Dive Gear."
• Start talking about "Scuba diving" rather than just "diving."
• Write some posts about my experience as a Padi diver.
• Get guest posts from dive instructors or people who regularly dive in Florida and Hawaii.
• Until my next review, use the anchor text "Dive gear" whenever I'm linking back to the site.

Is that helpful?

Maybe these will be too:

1/ Switching to a virtual private server

2/ How to write an article rich in keywords

3/ How to use Aweber as a blogger

There's much more on this in The Beginner's Guide to Blogging