Keywords are the core of every search marketing campaign, paid and natural. Knowing which word combinations to focus on is like getting the perfect site for a new store, it’s all about the location. There are some locations that you need to be in and others that you need to stay far away from. Positive and negative keywords act as your locators and you want them to be as precise as possible. They are the key to the best performing online campaigns.
Positive Keywords
The first step in identifying the best positive keywords is keyword research using the tool of your choice. I personally like the free Google Keyword Tool, but some people swear by other tools. Use the terms are found on your site (Google has an option to just enter a URL and it returns related keywords) and terms you (or your client) use internally. This is the best place to START, but by far not the only thing you should do. If you have access to your clients, ask a few of them. Sometimes what is used in-house is not what real people use to search. Keep an open mind.