Keyword Questions!

1. 72

   lorlie6posted 13 years ago

   I've been terribly frustrated trying to come up with keywords!  I know this is nothing new, but do bear with me.
   In this Hub, http://hubpages.com/hub/Followers-and-C … -HubPages, when looking at the stats, it says 'no search terms found.'
   I'm assuming that search terms are keywords.
   
   Where am I going wrong??
   
   Thanks for the help!

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   1. 88

      WryLiltposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      You seem to have two issues here Lorlie, so I'll address them separately.
      
      FIRST - Finding keywords that seem to work according to the statistics is hard - I've almost given up.
      
      I've found that if I just write on something that interests me but isn't COMPLETELY obvious then you can rank well.
      
      Hubpages is good enough that even if you choose a subject at random, as long as it's not completely unsearched, you can get hits for it.
      
      My latest ways to find topics to write on:- Looking through catalogues, looking at hubpages and if there's no hub on the subject, writing about it, using the keyword research tool backwards (yep, I write on the keywords that get less than ten hits a month - and I get way more than ten hits a month on them. Long tail keywords for the win!)
      
      So yes, keywords can be good. But remember that hubpages is a great writing base and no matter what you write you get a head start on rankings here. So try ignoring keyword tools for awhile and just write what you want - you may be surprised!
      
      SECOND - Have you had search engine views on that hub? The data is pulled based on what search terms bought people to your hub. So if you've had six views from google you can expect to see either one keyword with the number 6 beside it (if everyone came through that keyword) or several keywords. However if you've got no search engine love there'll be no keywords.

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2. 68

   lrohnerposted 13 years ago

   I couldn't get to that hub from the URL, so I haven't seen it. But from the partial name on the URL, I assume it's HubPages specific? If that is the case, the majority of the traffic to the hub is coming from within HP and not via search engines. "Search terms" are keywords that people type into search engines to find you. I could be wrong, but I don't believe HP uses keywords people plug into the HP search box.
   
   Bottom line, get more external traffic and you should start to see "search terms" populated.

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   1. 72

      lorlie6posted 13 years agoin reply to this

      That's weird, Irohner.  My page does exist! Oh well.  Anyhow, I am going to check out my external traffic.  Thanks for trying!
      WryLilt-I have very little search engine love, that's for sure.  But I think I'll take your advice and just keep writing what I want.  You say to 'write on something that interests me but isn't COMPLETELY obvious...'  What do you mean, exactly?
      Can you give me an example?
      Thanks.

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      1. 88

         WryLiltposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         Well for instance if you write on something that has high competition you don't stand much chance of ranking.
         
         However if you dig a bit deeper you can often come up with something a bit more specific.
         
         -Instead of morning sickness cures, write about why dry toast and dry crackers help relieve nausea.
         -Instead of writing about dolls for girls, try and write about patterns you can buy to knit clothes for dolls OR Asian and Hispanic dolls OR dolls that drink and wet their nappy.
         -Instead of writing about avocado you can write about unique ways to use or serve avocado - such as with honey, or baked.
         
         Basically getting a bit more specific can cut down the competition. However too specific and you'll cut down on the traffic. So aim for something people are still searching but that isn't quite as generalised.

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         1. 72

            lorlie6posted 13 years agoin reply to this

            I see what you mean, beautiful explanation!
            Thanks so much.

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