The odds are pretty good that you don’t need us to tell you the real value of keyword research in SEO, and that without a top-tier keyword research tool to handle the heavy lifting of this process you’re really shortchanging your shot at success.

Most smart, strategic, and savvy entrepreneurs and online marketing companies today recognize the value of keyword research and long-tail keywords. At the same time, though, with so many different options out there to pick and choose from finding the right one can feel like a bit of an uphill battle.

That’s why we’ve put together this quick guide.

When building your website SEO, you may be tempted to use the first, high-volume keyword you stumble upon during your keyword research. After all, the more popular keyword will surely bring in traffic, right?

Wrong. The popular keywords will bring traffic – to the higher ranking websites. If your website is new, it can take months or longer for it to gain traction in the search engine results.

It may seem counterintuitive, but you’re looking for a less popular keyword that you can finesse to your advantage using long-tail keywords.

Regardless of the specifics of any company, they are likely taking SEO seriously. Also known as Search Engine Optimization, this concept has become a cornerstone of internet marketing. While the basic definition tells us that indeed, a business wants to optimize their position on search engines, there is so much more to this subject that must be kept in mind. This is certainly something businesses strive to understand. SEO is straightforward, but it can also get complex, the further into the subject you dive.

All of this must be understood by freelancers in this day and age. If you are still struggling to understand SEO, there are a few things to consider to get you in the right direction.

When it comes to SEO, one of the most important but overlooked, aspects of keyword research is the search volume, especially in relation to search competition.

Entire businesses can be created based on the popularity of specific search terms. So, what is search volume and how can it be used to boost traffic to your website?

The link between SEO and social media isn’t understood to the fullest yet. However, there are easy, quick ways you can raise your search rankings and site traffic using social media.

Social media is about connecting with others and sharing things you find witty or intriguing. Sharing links to articles is one of the most common activities on social media. You often read about a news story going “viral.” Sharing on social media is how things go viral.

Becoming “internet famous” isn’t the point of using social media to boost your SEO, however, because internet fame lasts less than fifteen minutes. The purpose is to use social media to drive traffic to your website by having a high ranking in search engines.