Keyword Research: The Art of Finding Truth in Life

Keyword research is a practice used by search engine optimization professionals to find and research actual search terms people enter into the search engines when conducting a search.  This helps to identify and target popular and most relevant buzz-words to work into your page to help with your search rankings.


This is also a crucial first step for developing any digital media, but is often times done as an afterthought once the page is already complete.  It's a tedious task that can take a lot of time, some people get lost in the details, don't know when to stop and fail to see the forest for the trees. Keyword research is really all about the distillation process, editing, focusing, getting to the core of the apple, being centered.  When you discover 5-10 of the most meaningful words that describe what your page is all about, then you're golden.


But with so much information out there, how do you know the right words to use?  What words will be most relevant to your users?  How do you know where to start?  How do you know when to stop?  What do I even begin to type into the Google Adwords Keyword Tool to find popular keywords?  What is the true meaning of my page? Researching can become overwhelming for some people, yet others fine it easy to quickly hone in on strategic keywords.  For a full intro and great list of resources, check out Viperchill's site for the Ultimate Guide to Keyword Research.


This research process is a lot like my life when I stop to think about it...so many options, so much to choose from, how do you know what's really meaningful in my life?  Who am I?  What defines me? How do I know when I've found my truth?


I had this problem in college when trying to find a major.  I had too many interests and changed my major 6 times in 3 years, it was hard for me to focus on one subject.  I found one major could tie all my interests together, English Literature! I could read books about anything and everything, from psychology to physics. This was a process of editing and finding the common denominator.  Editing is as much an art as it is a science.


I continue to find myself asking the same question throughout my life, "What is my truth?"

Recently, I participated in a fragrance party where the host took out a polished wooden box full of small bottles of liquid containing the essence of a fragrance.    We were asked to smell each one and try to identify the subject.  I found it fascinating that you can distill the essence of, say, linen into a liquid, or smell the essence of a peonies, or pine, or popcorn.  Getting to the essence of a thing is much like finding the strategic keywords for a digital project and also much like finding relevance in my life.


Etymology has long been an trivial interest of mine.  Studying how language has evolved is another practice in learning the true origin of how we communicate and why we use the words we do to convey our truths.

So, what keywords best describe me?  It's easy to put titles next to my name like Daughter, Sister, Friend, Manager, Digital Optimizer.  But those are generic keywords that don't get to the essence of ME.  Just like doing keyword research, I need to find what are the most relevant topics that truly convey my life's meaning.  Oprah and Eckhart Tolle talked about getting past your generic titles in the A New Earth: Are You Ready to be Awakened classes.


By using the SEO keyword rule of thumb and narrowing down the 5-10 keywords that best describe me, I can start to plan how to find my truth.


I drill down a little further, much like finding the least common denominator in a mathematical equation, and investigate my true interests.  What are some more specific words to describe what I'm all about?  Artistic, rational, social, communicative, soulful, empathetic, inquisitive, adventurous.  These words better define my true nature.  


I peel the onion further and ask, "What do I enjoy doing?".  I am defined by my actions more than by my titles and I find great lessons in stopping to analyze what specifically I'm doing and why I'm doing it.  Traveling, cooking, reading, painting, spending time with friends, volunteering, teaching, wine tasting, finding order in chaos.  These words give meaning and action to my natural instincts. Note: there are some good reasons for tracking long-tail keywords in this list (a grouping of 2-4 words to convey one idea).  Some topics just cannot be narrowed down to only one word and tracking word groupings can give a better quality outcome. 


I mentioned in the intro that some companies use keyword research as an after thought, only implementing SEO after they have already developed a page.  As in life, if you don't know what your purpose is, then life may seem meaningless and some get lost in the daily shuffle.  In business this can result in an unfocused digital site that is meaningless to your users and irrelevant to search engines.  In life, stopping to research your basic instincts and finding your truth is the first step to finding real happiness and success; it gives your life focus.


In short, optimizing my life begins with an in-depth study of what makes me tick.  Using the tools I use in online marketing to identify strategic keywords can actually help me find my personal truth that will hopefully lead me to finding my true passion and optimize my experiences in life.  It's a thoughtful process of analyzing what I spend my time doing and satisfies me.  


Stay tuned for more SEO strategies that I'll use to explore ways to help optimize my life.