The Thirty Day Challenge (Part 2)

Posted on August 9, 2007
Filed Under Internet, Make Money, Marketing |

I am still a little behind with the 30DC, but I should be up to date by the end of tonight. I have already learned a hell of a lot and had some staid habits rejuvenated. It is amazing how I have become complacent about some of the tools I use in my day job on a daily basis, such as the keyword research tool, Wordtracker. I had lost faith in this program, but the 30DC has reminded me how I should be using it! Keyword research tools are invaluable when looking for niche markets on the internet - the main problem is there are very few around and the accuracy of them is always questionable. However, my faith is now restored and I will be using Wordtracker as my main keyword research tool in the future.

Another free online tool that has been mentioned is Google Trends. I had heard of Google Trends and had a little play with in the past, but it is not a tool I use very often. This is probably because I never felt the need to watch trends as my online life was different to its current state. Now, my (commercial) future looks like it is going to be online more and more so I will have to take it much more seriously.

The information available at Google Trends is truly amazing, you can see how a particular phrase has been searched for over the past few years or drill down to specific time periods. You can also search multiple phrases (separated by commas) so you can compare one with another. Try searching for “YouTube” first of all, you will see a flat line when the site didn’t exist but this is soon followed by a massive peak. There are also various letters along the line that relate to news articles at the time, these news articles can explain further peaks. Now try this search - “YouTube, MySpace, Google” and you can see how they compare with each other. You can also spot seasonal trends - try searching for “easter egg” to see exactly what I mean! Anyone looking to make money online should be using this tool! If I learn nothing else during the 30DC (which I doubt) I will have benefited by learning about Google Trends.

It is not too late to join The Thirty Day Challenge!

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