It can be highly tempting to rely SOLELY on keyword research tools. Both to indicate what keywords your target market is using to find your kinds of products and services, and what keywords to target for search engine optimization.

After all, the good tools reflect what people are actually searching on… not anyone’s opinion or theory of what they’re searching on.

But are they the be-all and end-all?

Then answer is NO.

There are two main problems with the data generated by even the best keyword tools:

1. It’s retrospective - it tells us what people have searched on in the past, not necessarily what they will search on in the future. Now, depending on your market, people may not use significantly different keywords going forward. On the other hand, you could miss out on huge opportunities to capitalize on the most topical issues and developments by focusing entirely on past search queries. For example, it took one announcement for searches on words related to Governor Sarah Palin to skyrocket in the search engines.
2. A lot of your competitors are not only looking at the same data but may also be typing in those keywords, thereby distorting how often your target market really is using various search phrases. Again, this may not be significant… but if you’re in a hyper-competitive market it may be significant enough for you to make erroneous decisions about which keywords to target.

By all means use a quality keyword research tool (some good ones are listed below). But I also recommend keeping abreast of what’s happening in your industry and the media for news that may impact on what people search on… and what keywords YOU target for search engine marketing purposes.

Tools I like:

• Wordtracker: http://www.wordtracker.com
• Keyword Discovery: http://www.keyworddiscovery.com
• Google AdWords Keyword Tool: https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal