Keyword research high or low competition?

[Jim Coe]

Since you're not using PPC, high competition keywords might be best, but let me explain.

You are concerned about your position in the SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages). But you should instead be concerned with sales and ROI (Return On Investment). You easily could be #1 ion the first page of Google search results and still make no sales.

Consider this: What does it mean when there are a lot of competitors for a search term? Maybe the term is too broad and so is not very relevant to your offer. Or maybe it means there is a lot of money to be made in the niche served by the keyword, since many marketers are working there. Likewise, a keyword with very low competition might well mean there is little money in that niche.

So you need to do niche market research to decide if your offer may compete well - by researching your competition in that busy niche. If you really understand your UVP (Unique Value Proposition) you will be able to tell how likely you are to succeed against competition.

Other keyword ideas:
1. Look for keywords that indicate "buyer intent", to get more likely buyers and fewer people just looking for free info and such.
2. Add a word to very competitive keywords to make them longer ("long tail keys"), more relevant to buyers and with fewer competitors.

Hope this helps....
_jim coe