Selecting keywords in Wordtracker

Keyword popularity versus KEI

[biggles]

Maybe this is a dumb question, but what is better? Picking a high count keyword phrase that has a low KEI or a low count keyword phrase with a high KEI? In other words, a popular search phrase with a lot of competing pages or a phrase that is searched on by few people and for which there are few competing pages?

Wordtracker says to target high KEI keywords and ranks its competion results based on KEI. The theory being the higher the KEI the more popular keywords are and the less competition they have, enhancing the chances of getting to the top of the search engine being targeted.

Whilst I understand the niche approach Wordtracker advocates, many high KEI keyword phrases have minimal popularity. Targeting a high KEI keyword phrase few, if anyone, searches on is pointless. Achieving a top position won’t bring any additional traffic.

Given this, isn't it more appropriate to select keywords with the highest count (i.e. most popular) and just use KEI as a tie breaker when tossing up between equally popular keywords?

On a related note, I'd be interested to know what count figure people consider to be a worthwhile minimum.

[gmoney]

I look at “count” and “competing” and come up with my own method of finding the best combination of the two. I give a lot of attention to the “competing” data.

The formula KEI=(count^2/competing) is a simplified approach to finding the best combination of “count” and “competing”. I don’t think there is a general way to find the “best combination” of these two variables as it depends a lot on your pagerank, how much time you want to spend targeting the keywords, and the SEO skills of you and your competitors.

For what it is worth, I have my own preferences. Below I list some (count,competing) pairs in the order that I like them – even though they all have the same KEI of around 5.

(count,competing) – listed in the order of my preference
(18,64)
(9,16)
(100,2000)
(6,7)
(200,8000)
(300,18000)

I could write some relevant content about the top one and feel pretty good about being ranked high on the first page of the SERPs. On the other hand, I could focus my whole site around the bottom one and maybe just maybe get somewhere in the first few SERPs. If I had some more pagerank then my philosophy would certainly change. As it stands now, I have been known to scrap around the bottom of the barrel for some count=3 keywords.

[gmoney]

Here is an example why I wouldn’t rely too heavily on KEI and total searches alone

The keyword “games” has a very good KEI of 116 and it has a massive “count” of 77,000. However, with 50,000,000 competing web pages I would be buried on the SERPs and wouldn’t expect to see a drop of traffic.

[fom2001uk]

I think the question here is what kind of number of "competing pages" can you realistically go up against.

Personally, I won't go near anything over 100.

Of course this varies between search engine as well. And that's another point, which search engines do you sample from in WordTracker ? Do you look at them all ?

I always go for Google and MSN first. I only look at others to support
my decisions based on the first two.

[thejenn]

A lot will depend on the phrases you choose, how experienced you are in SEO and a variety of other factors.

I tend to put a lot of effort into those little gems that no one else has figured out yet. I almost always find at least one per site that is getting several dozen searches a day with virtually no competition. Often times, I end up working with my client to develop new content for their site that fits around such phrases. Sometimes the reason no one else is optimizing for those phrases is because the business folks just don't realize that there is a void in the market place. SEO research is a GREAT way to find those voids...

Thus...I, like others here, tend to pay more attention to the number of hits and number of competition than to the KEI. Sure, it's a guide point...but you have to use common sense combined with an idea of how good you are at what you do.

If you're just starting out, then sure, make good use of KEI to optimize for the easier phrases. It's a great way to "practice" and really improve your skills, while still delivering some strong traffic for your customers. Overtime, start adding a few more "competitive" phrases to each site and see how you do. You just might suprise yourself. :)

[Dino_M]

"I think the question here is what kind of number of "competing pages" can you realistically go up against.
Personally, I won't go near anything over 100. "

I have a several PR7 and PR8 to link to a new site and i have the domain www."keyword".com but lack SEO skills any one think it's worth going up against 50000 + site

or should i get a less popular keyword and change my URL to that as well?

[Marcia]

For the benefit of those not familiar with it, does someone want to explain what KEI is?

[DaveN]

KEI ( KEYWORD EFFECTIVENESS INDEX )

[wordtracker.com...]

DaveN

I think you can get to the url with out a subscription

[JayC]

The formula KEI=(count^2/competing) is a simplified approach to finding the best combination of “count” and “competing”.

In fact, we've experimented with it and have changed that formula slightly to bring about a different KEI that we find more useful.

But even at that, the number is just one tool. You have to consider both the "competing" and "count" on their own, and you have to use a little instinct and a little of your own experience. Like anything else, there's a balance to be achieved between looking at the hard numbers and relying on the "seat of the pants."