A powerful business article guest post written by The Internet Marketing Tips Report.

Keyword research is probably the most difficult step involved in building and growing a business on the Internet.

… BUT: it’s also the most important.

Your keywords are vital to the success of your online business. They show you what people are searching for on the Internet so you can make sure your website gives them exactly what they want.

But when you’re staring at a list of several hundred keywords, it can be difficult to decipher their meaning. So what if a bunch of people are performing searches on those keywords? What does that mean? And how can you tell which, if any, of those keywords will actually lead to a profitable business idea?

Today we’re going to show you how to decipher the hidden message of your keywords by “clustering” them according to intention.

Think of Your Keywords as Jellybeans — Now Organize Them According to Flavor

Let’s say you’re looking at a long list of keywords.

Each one represents a different intention on the part of the searcher.

For example, here are three keywords that have clearly different intentions, even though they’re related to the same general topic:

* How to grow organic vegetables
* Where to buy organic vegetables
* Where to buy organic vegetable seeds

… And here are three keywords that share the same intention:

* How to build a birdcage
* Bird cage building tips
* How do I make a cage for my bird?

When you take a long list of keywords and organize them according to intention, you can quickly figure out how many people are searching for what kind of information online, so you can answer two extremely important questions:

1. What specific problems are people trying to solve?
2. How great is the demand for solutions to these problems?

Answer these questions and you will have all the information you need to identify profitable business opportunities.

Here are the four simple steps you need to take in order to arrive at these answers…

Step 1: Find Problem Statements

Start by going to the Google AdWords Keyword Tool and entering one or two words that describe one of your main interests along with the word “how.”

For example, if you’re interested in cars, type in “how car.” This will generate a list of actual Google searches that have asked how to do something related to cars.

You’ll get a huge list, including:

* how does a hybrid car work
* how do I sell my car
* how do I paint my car
* how do I become a used car dealer
* how do I buy a car

… The variations are nearly endless.

Step 2: Focus on a Specific Problem Area

Now let’s narrow our search down to a specific area that appeals to our interests and skills.

For example, let’s choose “how buy car.” Is that a viable niche? No way.

First of all, there’s way too much competition. In fact, Google shows 166,000,000 results for that keyword. Good luck getting a top ranking with that many sites to compete against.

The second problem with “how buy car” is that it’s far too general and unfocused. It doesn’t tell us anything about the type of car people want to buy, or how much they’re willing to spend, or where they’re thinking about buying a car.

Let’s take a closer look within the general area of “buying a car” to see if we can find anything more specific…

Step 3: Dig Deeper

You’ve identified an area of interest (car) and an action (buying). Now, in order to discover what keyword possibilities exist, you have to dig deeper by exploring all the different ways people search for information related to these ideas.

Use a thesaurus or your keyword research tool (BeBiz, Keyword Discovery, and the free Google AdWords Keyword Tool are the ones we recommend) to find synonyms or alternative spellings for your interest word and your action word. For example…

* Car: cars, vehicle, vehicles, automobile, automobiles, auto, autos
* Buy: purchase, get, acquire, obtain

When you plug those variations into your keyword tool, you’ll get an enormous list of searches that have been done in the search engines using these keyword combos.

… NOW you’re ready to cluster.

Step 4: Cluster to Find a Niche Market

Once you have your list of car-buying keywords, you need to treat them just like those jellybeans. Assign each keyword a different intention and then organize them according to intentions, like so:

Here are three of the clusters we found in the category, “buy car.” And which category is getting the most searches? “Buy car at an auction” by a long shot!! AND this problem has a lot of searches using different words — the other important signal that this “cluster” has potential.

So of all the clusters identified, that’s the one we recommend exploring further by checking out the competition.

Already have a business? This process is just as important for you! By clustering your keywords you can:

* figure out how to organize them better on your website
* identify new products to offer to your audience
* find new sales angles by identifying specific problems your product/service can solve

“Simple” Doesn’t Always Mean “Easy”
The process of clustering your keywords according to intention is simple… but we’re the first to admit it isn’t always easy to translate those clusters into a successful business. Some people are fortunate to discover a profitable niche within days. For others, it can take months of intensive round-the-clock research.

But out of all the steps involved in building your business, this is the one you can’t afford to rush. You absolutely must confirm that your keywords represent a strong business opportunity before you rush into anything else. Otherwise, you may find yourself investing a whole lot of time and money into an opportunity that just doesn’t pan out.

Share Your Keyword Woes
How are YOUR keyword research efforts going? Have you done the necessary keyword research to confirm the validity of your business idea? Have you ever experienced any challenges growing and analyzing your keyword list?

~ Courtesy of The Internet Marketing Tips Report
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