Finalizing the Prioritization Scheme for Keyword Generation
April 20, 2011
The prioritization scheme can be the most contentious step in the process, as it has far-reaching consequences for keyword output and adoption. As the project sponsor and ultimately the person in charge of the output, you should actively seek out feedback from stakeholders, in particular team members who will be using the keywords.
Fortunately, prioritization schemes are not a completely unknown area; there are many well known, well tested prioritization criterion sets that have been created and refined over time by keyword research experts. Use these as a starting point while developing your own prioritization criteria.
Any prioritization process will require that large amounts of data be collected and analyzed, and the prioritization scheme will directly determine the scope and depth of this research. If time and resources are limited, you may want to choose a less rigorous, less data-driven approach to prioritization.
Furthermore, you can also structure your prioritization process so that there are rounds of short-listing, each one more focused than the previous, with each round requiring more data points on a smaller set of keywords than the previous. This approach enables you to optimize your data collection process, as the keyword researcher only has to collect the full set of data points for the most important keywords instead of doing it for every single keyword found.
Resources for finalizing a prioritization scheme for keyword generation
- Keyword effectiveness index
- Additional-prioritization variables to consider
- http://www.astraconsultants.com/keyword-selection.htm
- http://www.clicktrue.biz/blog/search-engine-marketing/how-do-i-prioritise-keywords-for-my-search-campaign/
- http://www.seomoz.org/ugc/determining-keyword-value-a-recipe-for-prioritizing-page-optimizations
- http://lyrishq.lyris.com/index.php/SEO/SEM/Generating-Keywords-from-the-Inside-Out.html
- http://www.seositecheckup.com/articles/66
Stay tuned for more information on finding the best keywords for your target audience. Next week I will provide tips for finalizing the adoption plan of action in a keyword generation project.