Keyword Research

Finding just the right keyword that has all of the qualities you need can be a bit tricky and confusing at first. First, what are the criteria for a good usable keyword?

Monthly Searches (Try for at least 250)
Competition (400 or less is recommended)
Usability (Make sure you use Keywords that read naturally)

A keyword for an article needs to have at least 250 monthly searches. If you get in one of the top three spots for a keyword, you can count on between 10% and 20% of the people who search that keyword to view your site. So, 250 searches per month will be around 25-50 visitors per month.

You want to try and stay below 400 competition for most keywords unless it gets a lot of traffic. If a keyword gets over 1000 monthly searches, I will be willing to fight for that keyword more. I might go up to 1000 competition if I feel the keyword is worth it, but expect it to take longer to get ranked.

Usability is another key factor, just because it meets the first two criteria does not necessarily make it usable. It needs to sound and look good as the heading of your article.

The one thing you always have to keep in mind is the reader. Write for the reader first and the search engine second.