lorax - 1:26 pm on May 21, 2003 (gmt 0)

Being extremely challenging the Path of Research is not that good. All I managed to find out were a few keywords they would supposedly use to find my site. Unfortunately those suggestions had nothing to do with the expected volume of searches/visits.

Understood. This is where knowing your audience is all important. Hard research data would be nice though it may be hard to come by for your market segment. There are things you can do to gain that knowledge. On-line surveys, newsletter surveys, cold-calls, sifting through your log files. It's very specific information so your best bet is to develop the analysis tools and compile the data yourself.

What good will it do if a Bobbie tells he’d use a certain keyword to find you? What we need to know is the approximate number of other Bobbies searching for this term daily/weekly.

Agreed. This is where WordTracker et al are supposed to play an important role. The reality is that you need to blend the information provided here with the other information you have at hand (or acquire) into a formula that works for your market. This is one of the most important obstacles that will make or break your online business. In order to succeed you sometimes have to break trail where none have tread before.