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Should I outsource keyword research or can I do it myself?

The answer to this central question depends upon a number of related variables. Here are some of the most significant of those related variables:

1. The depth of your knowledge concerning directly and tangently related keywords

2. The various software tools that are available to your company

3. Your skills at using the software

4. Your interpretive abilities when it comes to the surprisingly complex task of keyword analysis

5. The overall amount of money that you have available for business development

If we look at those five variables they ultimately come down to how much you know and how your budget is allocated. I’ll go into each of those a little more deeply

What You Need to Understand

Identifying relevant keywords and phrases is as important as any other part of your new business. In fact, it is more important than most of your planning. The lengthy list that you generate is central to all of your marketing efforts in the short and long term. The tactics impacted include your article marketing, your search engine optimization, your paid advertising and your copywriting. In other words, without a good foundation of keyword research, all other aspects of your marketing will suffer.

Some available tools are free to use, such as Google’s keyword research tool. Others can be purchased as desktop software or as online membership applications. It is important to use multiple tools for your research, because results will different based upon the databases that the tools consult and the formulas with which they conduct their searches. You should gather information comparing keyword research software options.

Most of the tools are relatively easy to use, but the interpretation of your results can be difficult unless you have experience in doing so. Not all of the keywords that are uncovered are of equal value to a business, and the number of searches for any given keyword does not automatically make that keyword of greater importance to you particular business than another keyword that draws much less traffic.

Money

If the amount in your budget for early business development endeavors, this area merits the allocation of its share of those funds. The expense of outsourcing keyword research is rather modest when you consider the potential return on that investment. It is especially useful if the professionals that you hire also provide a competition analysis and include advice regarding how to compete with the established businesses in your market.

Sometimes, although not always, researching keywords is part of an overall search engine optimization (SEO) package. These contracts are considerably more expensive. If you choose to go this route (contracting for an SEO package), make sure you understand exactly how thorough your SEO company will be.

Bottom line: You can do this task yourself if you already know a great deal about the process (or are willing to take the time to learn what you need to) and if you have the critical tools.