Affiliate Marketing Guide – How to Choose the Right Keywords in Your Niche

Keyword is a very important term in affiliate marketing. If you’ve been in affiliate marketing for some time now, you must have stumble across the term keyword research and how important it is. Keyword research is the foundation of any good website.

In case you don’t know what keywords are all about, here is a short explanation. Keywords are not different from words and phrases. They’re those words that people type into search engines when searching for information.

Over the years, billions of people search for information using Google. And without knowing it, a lot of people search for information using the same or similar keywords.

For example a person that wants to learn how to make money online may be searching for terms like “how to make money online”, “free affiliate marketing guide”, or “make money online fast”. A lot of other people elsewhere can still be using the same keywords as they search the internet.

One tool that can help you to find those words people use when searching for information online is the Google keyword tool. This tool enables you to see the number of monthly searches keywords in your niche are getting. While hunting for keywords in your niche, make sure you choose keywords that have high number of monthly search volume of about 500 and above (special cases exist, e.g. you can target keywords that contain product or author name even if the search volume is low). Another important thing is to choose keywords that have commercial intention.

These types of keywords are called “buyers’ keywords” because they will bring buyers to your site and not just information seekers. Now let’s look at 6 ways of choosing the right keywords for any niche:

1. Choose Keywords that Contain Product Name: Find and choose keywords that contain the name of the product you intend promoting. This is because if somebody is searching for a product name, it means that s/he is already on the verge of buying the product. They just need a little more push before they finalize their decision.

2. Choose words that Contain Author Name: This is another good means of finding the keywords buyers are using. Just search for the author name in Google keyword tool and the tool will show you the keywords people use in conjunction with the author name.

3. Use Crisis Keywords: People that use crisis keywords are in urgent need to solve a problem or get rid of a problem. Such people are on the verge of buying and they’re usually ready to buy on impulse. This kind of keywords contains words like “get rid of”, “eliminate”, “fast” etc. Specific examples include “get rid of acne now” or “how to lose weight fast” or “eliminate dandruff in one week”.

While choosing crisis keywords, make sure that the keyword is related to the product your site is selling. Avoid using words that have more than one meaning. For example, a person searching for “get rid of skin problems” may be implying dry skin, dandruff, rosacea, or a dozen other problems that are not related to the theme of your website. So it is important to ensure that the keywords you target solve the problem and cannot mean something else.

To apply this tip, just go to the Google keyword tool and search for: CRISIS KEYWORD + YOUR NICHE KEYWORD. For example, if your niche is health related, do a search for “eliminate dandruff” and leave the rest for Google keyword tool.

4. Use Buying Keyphrases: Keywords that contains product names and author names are examples of buying keywords. Other examples include keywords that contain words like “buy”, “order”, “purchase”, “for sale”, “refurbished”, “used laptops” etc. People using these keywords are already on the verge of buying.

5. Choose Long Tail Keyphrases: Long tail keywords are phrases that contain more than two words. They usually have lower search volume and are easier to rank for in search engines. You should go for this kind of keywords because they give better result in terms of sales than more generic head keywords.

6. Browse Forums for Keyword Ideas: The Google keyword tool is good for generating keyword ideas, but another good places to look for keyword ideas are forums. If you want to know keywords that are associated with a particular niche, forums are the best places to look at. Browse through forums in your niche and jot down all the keywords you come across. Then go to Google keyword tool and search for each of those keywords. From the result generated by the tool, you’ll be able to select keywords with high search volume.

Also, through forums you’ll also get to know problems people have and the kind of possible products to sell to them.
By using the suggestions above, you’ll be able to target a lot of keywords buyers are using. This way you’ll be attracting buyers to your website and not mere free information seekers.