The Secret of Tracking Keywords

Sep 5, 2009

Have you ever been in a situation when you’re writing a blog post, but have no idea how many of your keywords have been used? Well, if you’re like me, you’ll find a very handy FireFox add-on extremely helpful.

It goes by the name of Wordtracker SEO Blogger—and it deserves this title. Once installed you simply type in your desired keyword in the search box. For example, when I wrote my article How to Design a Mockup Pallet Racking, I typed the word foamex. Now, this word appeared at the top of the list with 83 searches. To use this word I simply chose “add” and it was entered into the “chosen keywords” list (shown in the image below).

This is the amazing part: every time you use a keyword, the Wordtracker SEO Blogger Addon adds it in a column so you always know how many times it has been used. As can be seen, I have used the word foamex 25 times, which seems quite a lot. However, the article in question was nearly 2500 words long, so simple maths places the use of that keyword to roughly 1%—perfect.

wordtracker-seo-blogger

As can also be seen, I have used words such as pallet racking, correx and industrial velcro in various amounts (based on the importance of the keyword).

Does it work? Well, it certainly does help, although for the article in question, the keyword foamex is a very niche word. The search results shown below, display the top 2 listings in Google for the keywords Foamex Designer. Both the links are for both my articles on Foamex designs (How to Design a Mockup Pallet Racking and Large-Format Foamex Design for Next Distribution).

foamex-correx-designer

It just goes to show how there is very effective way of tracking keywords and it’s no secret—like many would want it to be (so a competitive edge may be sought).

I’m no expert on using keywords, but I hope this article can help you out. If you’re a Firefox user I recommend this great addon—and I believe it will do your site or blog real justice.

Have you been using this addon? What do you think of it? Has it helped your listings within search results?

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13 Thoughtful Comments, Comment or Ping

David Airey

Hi Andrew,

I used to pay more attention to the number of keywords used in a post. Actually, not so much the number, but more that I used them. For a while I toyed with making the keywords bold, too.

What I found was that the more I tried to switch my posts so the keywords were both used and highlighted, the less I came across like I was being myself.

Nowadays, the use of keywords does play a part, but if I think about the last few posts I published, I know I focused more upon editing so there’s no fluff. Short and concise, so as not to bore. (Maybe I still bore, but at least it’s not for as long as it once was;)
David Airey´s last blog ..Design agencies and studios on Twitter

Sep 6th, 2009
Andrew Kelsall

@David → Yeah, I can see your point there. I’ve only paid attention to posts with a more “dual purpose” approach of promotion/article, rather than a standard article (like this one).

Until recently, I wrote posts not thinking too much about keywords in the majority of circumstances due to time constraints. However, this addon is truly a time-saver—and I think I’ll be making use of it more and more.

Thanks for your comment as always.

PS, If you don’t want to bore, why not write about how you use your “fiancee’s nail files” to sort out the rounded corners on your cards

Sep 7th, 2009
David Airey

Great suggestion, Andrew. Nail files are a vital tool in the design arsenal.
David Airey´s last blog ..Design agencies and studios on Twitter

Sep 7th, 2009
Andrew Kelsall

@David → I used to have a straightened paper-clip to eject discs from my oldskool Mac G4…now that was vital, lol.

Sep 7th, 2009
David Airey

We should start a meme.
David Airey´s last blog ..Design agencies and studios on Twitter

Sep 7th, 2009
Andrew Kelsall

@David → I don’t want to appear stupid, but I had no idea what a Meme was until I just looked it up on Wikipedia, D’oh! Now “Tweetmeme” makes sense…

Sep 8th, 2009
Andrew keir

*snicker* check this guy out, he doesn’t even know what a meme is…

Sep 8th, 2009
Andrew Kelsall

@Andrew → Seriously, never heard of the concept. It’s all very strange, although I DO have a habbit of not spotting the obvious. Back in the day when I used a G4, for 3 years I thought the eject key was broken on the keyboard. Turns out you had to hold it down for 2 seconds to eject, D-oh!

CLIENT NOTICE: Hire me, I know it all

Sep 9th, 2009
Andrew Keir

good old macs, so simple they’re complicated hey? he he.

Sep 11th, 2009
Gareth Coxon

Thanks for sharing this Andrew (many wouldn’t) I think it will be very useful.

I have been terrible keeping up blog up, many due to time constraits and I have never really given much thought to the keywords I have used, when I probably should at least be thinking about them!

Very interesting, I think as time goes on the ‘SEO’ world is definately being de-mystified!
Gareth Coxon´s last blog ..Top 10 Applications and services for a graphic designer

Jan 24th, 2010
Andrew Kelsall

@Gareth → Yeah, I think it only takes minimal time + effort to achieve big results. The keywords that you think people search for often turn out to be the worst ones, so it’s good to delve into the process as time permits

Jan 24th, 2010
Duane Kinsey

I think it is important not to get too caught up in thinking about keywords while actually writing a post. What I find that works best to review the post only after it has been written to see how it can be keyword optimized.
For me at least, trying to write for keywords usually makes the post come across a bit natural.
Really useful add-on – something I am going to have a play around with.
Thanks Andrew.
Duane Kinsey´s last blog ..Beyond the Brief – Undertanding a Logo Design Client

Mar 23rd, 2010