Keyword research – find out, what your customers are really looking for

In order to be able to target your customers through the Internet, you need to know, which keywords they use to look for certain information.
When people want to buy something, they often look online first. Especially buyers of computers and consumer electronics rather rely on search engine results before buying, than on social media. This is shown in a stuy by comScore ('The Value of Retail Search and Position') that asked more than 1000 buyers. 30 percent of people asked in the study said, they would use search engines as a first or second step when looking for information.

In order to find out, which keywords are used by your potential clients, use the following tools online:

• Google AdWords Keyword Tool
  Enter a search term here and the tool will give you other search terms related to it. You can also see the popularity of keywords over time here.
• Google Trends
  Here you can see trends of keywords you entered.
• adCenter Labs Keyword Forecast
  Shows the popularity of keywords entered.

Use your newly acquired knowledge and revise your website so that you will be found in search engines with your chosen keywords.

Research yourself on the Internet

Often it is helpful to know where and how you stand on the Internet, that means what data can be found about you on the world wide web. Good websites that you can use to check your status are the following: www.google.de, www.yasni.de, www.stalkerati.de, www.spock.com, www.wink.com. Of course, you can also do research on other people.

Never put information of yourself online, that you would not give out to someone you do not know very well. Everything you put on the Internet can be found by anyone. The more you disclose about yourself, the more transparent you become.
Also, remember that the Internet does not forget anything. Even if you believe you deleted something, the data is further stored on a server somewhere in this world and people will continue to have access to this data.

Your digital image plays a large role on the Internet, as well as on the outside. For example, if you apply for a job, then you can be sure that the company you applied to did some research on you on the Internet. If something negative is among the information, this could mean that your application will not be pursued.

Of course you can also control what is available on the Internet about you. You can provide nspecific information about yourself online. If you are expert in a particular subject area, you can post in relevant forums on this topic or comment on the contributions of other users.