Needing Help With Keyword Selection and Maybe Some Encouragement

[dreed9]

I've feel like I've read a ton on here about niche websites and choosing keywords and such, but I don't feel like I've gained enough knowledge. I know that I'm not going to get rich right away (if at all), and I don't expect to, but I would like to jump in and just see what I can do. I'm trying to put money aside and look at this like more of a strategy game that I just want to win, but I don't want to put too much time into the wrong strategy.

Anyway, I've been searching tons of random keywords (mostly long tails, because it sounds like that's the best chance for a newbie without much money to be able to rank with) and I've come across tons with what seem to be options and then I look at the search results and see websites and blogs that I don't think I could really come close to. However, I've managed to get very specific and I am thinking possibly this might be it.

I'm using SpyFu and the Google Keyword tool. Here is what SpyFu spits out:

Local Monthly Searches: 300
Global Monthly Searches: 480
CPC: $3.44
17 Advertisers in past 3 months
12.1% click-through rate
196 Ranking Difficulty

I notice it is customary not to give up keywords in a forum (I guess because you guys might become my competition), but I will tell you that my keyword is best + [very specific type of item]. The search term is not a brand name, just a specific type of item. For instance, if I were trying spoons, it might be something like "best fruit spoon". My keyword is related to the food industry.

The top search results for my exact longtail keyword right now are:
#1: Amazon
#2: chowhound (a question in the discussion area of chow which appears to be a huge food-related website)
#3: Cooking
#4: Davidbovitz
I took out any ending of the urls of these websites because I think it was triggering the moderation system.

A lot of the results below this are forums and or blog posts.

Is this possibly profitable? I'm just having trouble figuring out which keywords would be too hard to get into. If this is profitable, is it against any amazon or adsense to have an amazon affiliate link and adsense on the same site, because I think I'd like to do both if possible, as the product itself isn't always an expensive one that I feel like I'd gain a lot of commission from at all times. Also, since it such a specific keyword, would it be better to make it a micro niche site with only a few pages?

I'd appreciate all of your answers and maybe encouragement, as keyword planning has got to be one of the most discouraging things.

 

[srb888]

To get some clicks, I'm not saying sales, you'll have to top the search results, imo. Beating those king kong sites for top spot can be a huge pain though.

Looks like your KW is about Ixxxxxxx Mxxxx? If it is then that's not what a newcomer can rank for, considering those biggies occupying all the tops slots. Look for another relevant KW.


BTW, I think the ranking difficulty tells you that your KW can be a bit easier, but the main thing is IS it a real buyers keyword, which I doubt?

 

[dreed9]

To get some clicks, I'm not saying sales, you'll have to top the search results, imo.

I understand that to be a pretty common theme, but this is the first time I've ever looked into even making money online. I've read that Google tends to favor authority sites and amazon, but with one of the top links actually being to a discussion area of a website, I was wondering if it would be possible to top the results as my content would be more specific to the keyword and would have more information directly related to it. Is that wishful thinking?

I didn't see your edit until I posted. I don't think it is about "Ixxxxxx Mxxxx" because I am unable to decode that. You can post that without the censorship and if it's right and you're suggesting that I move on, I will likely take your advice. That being said, is the existence of the big dogs in the top results always a red flag?

Regarding the ranking difficulty, as I'm still new to this, I wasn't sure how high 196 really was. I read an article or a post somewhere with someone suggesting that anything <200 is doable (though I don't remember where I read it, I've just been sort of sucking in a ton of information the past few days).

 

[srb888]

It's not a huge red flag. But are you sure that your KW is a buyers' keyword? Your sales success depends on that... Your 196 ranking difficulty can mean your KW can rank higher with some effort, but again: is your KW a buyers keyword?

I think it is not, or the big e-tailers (like amazon, ebay, etc) and e-distributors (like alibaba, etc) would make it very difficult for everyone else nowadays to pop up in top 10.

 

[dreed9]

It's not a huge red flag. But are you sure that your KW is a buyers' keyword? Your sales success depends on that... Your 196 ranking difficulty can mean your KW can rank higher with some effort, but again: is your KW a buyers keyword?

I think it is not, or the big e-tailers (like amazon, ebay, etc) and e-distributors (like alibaba, etc) would make it very difficult for everyone else nowadays to pop up in top 10.

To be honest, I'm not sure whether my KW is a great buyers' keyword or not. I think it has the potential to be, as items of my type range from very inexpensive, $10-20, to over $100, and they do get bought. However, it's not something that I picture a massive amount of people to be buying. When I saw a 12% click-through though, it kind of got my hopes up. haha

 

[srb888]

edit ****

Just tell me if there is Youtube result in the top 10?

 

[dreed9]

I hope my image shows up clearly, but that is the image cap of SpyFu. I know 300 people per month isn't a lot of people, but I thought maybe that is what I'm looking for, because I know I couldn't compete with something that 300,000 people are searching for, right?

 

[dreed9]

In youtube there are videos discussing choosing the best ******* (my item type) for use as well as related videos. I'd like to point out, in case I haven't, my kw does not involve a brand.

 

[srb888]

To be honest, I'm not sure whether my KW is a great buyers' keyword or not. I think it has the potential to be, as items of my type range from very inexpensive, $10-20, to over $100, and they do get bought. However, it's not something that I picture a massive amount of people to be buying. When I saw a 12% click-through though, it kind of got my hopes up. haha

I have noticed that when the CTR is high to medium-high (on Spyfu especially, and when it's a product), it generally shows that a company name or brand is included in the KWs. Am I right in your case?

P.S.:
Scratch that last part about co. name... I just read your above post.

 

[dreed9]

I have noticed that when the CTR is high to medium-high (on Spyfu especially, and when it's a product), it generally shows that a company name or brand is included in the KWs. Am I right in your case?

I managed to answer this right before I saw that you asked it. haha. No, there is no brand name.

 

[srb888]

In youtube there are videos discussing choosing the best ******* (my item type) for use as well as related videos. I'd like to point out, in case I haven't, my kw does not involve a brand.

I want to know if the SEARCH result (eg. google) for your KW includes YT result in top 10? The quoted post doesn't make it clear for me. If it doesn't then go for a good video uploaded on YT, and you may rank it in top 10 with or without some help from our BST sellers...

 

[dreed9]

I want to know if the SEARCH result (eg. google) for your KW includes YT result in top 10? The quoted post doesn't make it clear for me. If it doesn't then go for a good video uploaded on YT, and you may rank it in top 10 with or without some help from our BST sellers...

My apologies. I thought you were asking whether I could find related information or keyword matches ON youtube. No, for my longtail keyword, there are no videos in top 10 of google's search results.

So the idea is that I make a related video or videos on yt to gain traffic for the website which will help me rank it?

 

[srb888]

My apologies. I thought you were asking whether I could find related information or keyword matches ON youtube. No, for my longtail keyword, there are no videos in top 10 of google's search results.

So the idea is that I make a related video or videos on yt to gain traffic for the website which will help me rank it?

Yeah. That would be an easier job. But in a video, you'll need to do a good work to get viewers go to your site, and then click on your money link, and then buy... it's a long process, but ranking in top 10 isn't the end of it, it's the beginning of it. YT will help you get to good ranks, but success depends on whether the video converts...

Ranking with video can be easier, conversion is still another bigger headache. But YT can get you going...

 

[srb888]

May be, you can have a great video, and then do some great video seo to it, and then build KWs, buyers KWs, around the video. That would be much simpler than ranking just 1 long keyword/key-phrase.

HTH

 

[dreed9]

Yeah. That would be an easier job. But in a video, you'll need to do a good work to get viewers go to your site, and then click on your money link, and then buy... it's a long process, but ranking in top 10 isn't the end of it, it's the beginning of it. YT will help you get to good ranks, but success depends on whether the video converts...

Ranking with video can be easier, conversion is still another bigger headache. But YT can get you going...

That doesn't sound terrible though. Is youtube likely the best way to get traffic?

Would simply creating a few articles about the type of item, a few reviews of different brand names and different models in each brand, etc be enough to rank without youtube? I was thinking of one article explaining, "this item is used for this. It's important to use this specific item for this for these reasons." and a few great review articles like, "The best cheap ***" and "The best *** for someone just getting started but wanting to be serious". Or is content in a small, specific site that's competing against some big dogs with some minimal information just something that cannot win?

 

[dreed9]

May be, you can have a great video, and then do some great video seo to it, and then build KWs, buyers KWs, around the video. That would be much simpler than ranking just 1 long keyword/key-phrase.

HTH

That's fair. My kw is only 3 words long, "Best **** *****" with **** being the specific type of *****. Is that considered pretty long?

Also, I'd like to point out that I really appreciate your advice, even if I just have to go find another keyword, it's much easier to understand some things after they've been explained in conversation.

 

[srb888]

Best way to find out is to type "the best <whatever product>", "the best cheapest <productname>" in Google and see what comes up. Then study those pages and also the sites (esp those that look weakest and easier sites). That would give you an idea of whether you can beat at least those smaller|weaker sites. But still, your article needs to be a real seller quality! You've plenty of SEO techniques you can use to rank. I emphasize on the article's selling quality part, and also the quality of the readers|traffic being targeted by the keyword.

 

[ZennoBlaster]

Ok. First off, is your kw commercial or generic? Anything to do with commercial, i.e. stuff you buy, is usually difficult (but not impossible). You're up against well established monoliths who have major trust with Mr G.

 

[srb888]

That's fair. My kw is only 3 words long, "Best **** *****" with **** being the specific type of *****. Is that considered pretty long?

Also, I'd like to point out that I really appreciate your advice, even if I just have to go find another keyword, it's much easier to understand some things after they've been explained in conversation.

Nothing's considered pretty long! If I want to buy the best coffee machine or the best icecream machine in Jackson Heights, Queens, New York... I will include all the terms in my search and get a very quick and suitable result, which will enable me to just walk down the street and buy the item just before the shop closes. There are no SEO rules for a potential customer to follow!

 

[dreed9]

I'll try to be as specific but as short as possible because I think I may have miss-communicated.

My kw is, "best [type of] [general item]". E.g., "Best soup spoon(s)". This specific type of item is made by many different brands, with many of the brands having different models. Some of it is expensive, some inexpensive. The price does reflect quality, but the average Joe could get by on the less expensive ones, and not everyone owns one because not everyone needs one. I guess this would make it commercial, though I'm not sure of the meaning of generic in this sense.

Most sites that I've seen related to my type of item, including the results for my exact keyword, usually just consider it a small thing in an arsenal, so they only have like one small article about buying one, or there are forum posts asking about buying one, and there are a few websites selling the item, but not a ton, even on the first page.

Also, if you are looking to buy the best coffee machine in Jackson Heights, lemme make a website real fast before you search for it. If I understand correctly though, I could honestly have a website all about water dishes used in a reptile habitats, and as long as the website actually got traffic that would convert, it wouldn't matter that it would be a small and ridiculous but specific website?