There are a few tools that every affiliate marketer (who wants to be successful) must have in his or her toolbox. You definitely need some ad creation and distribution software, article distribution software and a keyword tool. I will cover each tool in turn, beginning today with keywords.
It should be no mystery to you that Google and other search engines capture sites to their index and return results based on keyword searches. Getting into Google is a topic for another time (and a complex one), but choosing the right keywords can mean the difference between being in the top 10 or bottom 10. ONLY top 10 results will ever get natural search traffic to your site or blog.
There are a few tools available for keyword searches (Wordtracker and Keyword Elite are historically the top 2). Personally I use Wordtracker for one simple reason - portability. Wordtracker is web based, so I can use it anywhere I am when I get inspired to write a blog post.
In short, a keyword tool works like this - you type in the general keyword (ex. blogging) and the tool returns the top 100 or so related search terms and the number of times that term has been searched in the last month. Generally I prefer to be a big fish in a small pond, so I choose the terms in positions 3 to 8 and try to work them naturally into the text of every article or post I make on that topic. That part can be done using the free Wordtracker tool.
What you can't do with the free tools is keyword research. With the full tools, you can research online markets, find niche opportunities and exploit them before your competitors. And really, that is how you make money. Keep an eye on the search trends in your niche market. Terms have a natural ebb and flow that can be influenced by time of year, news stories and other events (ex. "online shopping" has a natural peak in late November for Christmas related keywords and late January for Valentines day related keywords, but is relatively dry the rest of the year). Making sure to use those keywords just before the peaks will ensure you get lots of traffic (being proactive) before your competitors only using the free tools (which are reactionary). With Wordtracker full version you can look at these historic trends and act accordingly (free trial here).
By now, you should have a blog topic, an outline of your first 30-50 blog posts, and done your keyword research to maximize search engine relevance for each post. So get your posts up on the web! Next time I will discuss leveraging social networks to generate hits while you wait for Google to index your site or blog.
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