Search engines use keywords to identify which sites match a particular search phrase.  SEOs need to identify which keywords are searched for so that they can use those keywords and get found by the search engines and eventually by their target audience. 

For example, if you want to optimize a website about “computer tips” you should see how many searches for the keyword are being submitted to Google monthly so you can have an idea if readers are looking for you or not. You can do that by going to external Google Keyword Tool:

Enter the keyword or phrase that you want to analyze then click Get keyword ideas:

You will see a tabular report of all related terms along with the search volume generated for the previous month and the average search volume.

In this report you will see if you are using the right keywords based on the Google search database. If you think you should target “computer tip” instead of “computer tips” then think again because the difference on the performance of each phrase is about ten times for “computer tips” (22,200 VS 2,400).

Also take note of the advertiser competition information, the longer the bar the more fierce the competition:

If you are a starting up a new web site and the competition is strong, it is a good idea to start with keywords with less competition then work on those higher volume keywords later.

Another cool feature of this tool is that it can show you the average cost each time a user clicks your ad on the associated keyword.  To add the estimate cost per click (CPC) column on the report, go to the dropdown selection labeled “Choose columns to display” then click “Show estimated Avg. CPC”.

You should see the CPC column on the report:

Isn’t it a very convenient way to analyze your web site’s earning potential?  This way you can earn more money by targeting keywords with higher CPC.  Well, that is of course if you can make them come to your website.  We will show you how to do just that in the future articles as we go into more in-depth SEO tips.