We all know that keyword research is vital to a marketing campaign. One thing I have learned is that the first step is not to go compile a list of as many keywords as possible, target the ones with the highest search volume, and create articles, ads and content based on the results.

Yes, it’s important to do those things.

Here’s where you could run into problems. If you’re looking at markets you can enter, the usual way to do it is to go to a keyword research tool and start typing in words and phrases that you “think” are being used to search in your market.

It doesn’t really matter what you or I think that the market is searching for. What matters is what keywords searchers are actually using. And this is where I was missing the point.

The first step before doing keyword research is doing market research. In other words, finding out where your potential customers are hanging out. Finding out what forums they visit, the blogs they comment on, the products they are already buying.

Paying attention to what your market is buying, what questions they are asking, and what solutions they are after is key. From this information, you will have a list of seed keywords that you can plug into a search engine. Look at several of the web sites listed, and see what they’re selling, and subscribe to their newsletters.

I’ll use an example. Let’s say I want to target the bee keeper market. So I think for a few minutes and come up with a few keywords. The problem is that I don’t know anything about bee keeping, so I don’t have any real idea of what search terms my market is using.

If all I do is rely on my limited knowledge of the market and my guess about which keywords to target, I could be missing out on a lot of potential. If I do market research instead, I’ll find out what products are out there, and I’ll get an idea of what the market is looking for by going to a few forums.

Keyword research is important, but it’s frustrating when you sit at your computer and can’t come up with a list of keywords, when you don’t have many ideas of what terms to use to get started. That’s why a little quick exercise in market research can be a real asset. And market research doesn’t have to be boring, long, or tedious.

Go to Amazon.com and take a look at the best selling books and most popular magazines in your market. Do a search for forums by using your keyword followed by forum – bee keeper forum – for example. Pick a few keywords, plug them into a search engine, look at a few of the top sites.

Then you’ll have a list of keywords that your market is using. You’ll be doing keyword research on words and phrases that the market uses, and your results will be more targeted.