Where Do Keyword Ideas Come From?

Where do you think the best ideas for keywords come from?

• Your imagination?
• Friends and family?
• Etsy stats?
• eRank tools?

Each has strengths.
Each has limitations.

Let's compare them.

The best keyword research combines all four.

Start by collecting ideas. Then use keyword research to decide which ones show the most promise.

Remember, to get started, you don’t need the perfect keyword. The first step is finding some good prospects to test.

A listing can't gather data for you until it exists.

Let’s imagine you want to sell a Morse code necklace. Ask yourself:

What is it?

• a necklace
• a silver necklace
• a Morse code necklace

What’s special about it?

• it is sterling silver
• it has Morse code that conveys a hidden message
• the message or phrase can be personalized

In just a minute, you've already generated several keyword ideas: silver necklace, morse code necklace, sterling silver jewelry, hidden message necklace, secret message jewelry, personalized morse code jewelry.

Remember, you are not looking for the perfect keyword yet. For now, you are simply building a list of prospective keywords.

ACTION STEP

Choose one of your products that isn’t selling well.

Ask yourself:

What is it? What is special about it?

Don't worry about choosing the best keywords yet.

Just build a list of all the keywords that come to mind.

You've just completed the first step of keyword research: Identify.

Next, we'll validate those keyword ideas using real shopper data.