How to Build a Website that Works!

How To Build a Website That:
Draws Traffic, Converts Visitors Into Buyers and Generates Ongoing Income

Part 3 - Market Research and Site Concept

So far we've looked at finding site concepts that you would enjoy working on in an area where you have interest and knowledge. We've also discussed the main process that you will use to develop your site:

Today we will look at the best way to narrow down your site concepts and deciding on the best one for you with the best possibility for success.

As with any business, online or offline, you need to do market research to find out what the real potential is instead of just going with your first choice and finding out later that it just isn't viable. With an online business that means finding out how much demand there is in the prospective niches you've chosen and how much competition there is.

Learn to Love Keyword Research

Whenever someone enters words to search for into Google these search terms are called "keywords". In your "keyword" research you will want to identify the exact words or phrases that your visitors are using to find information related to your website's theme.

You will also need to consider how broad or narrow you should go in selecting a niche. For example if you wanted to make your site about something so broad as "food" you would have a very difficult time getting your site to rank highly in the search engines. The competition for such a broad keyword is just too fierce with many large and established players in the field.

You may even find that narrowing the niche down to "Italian food" could still be an uphill battle. In the end, after doing keyword research you may find that a website dedicated to "pasta" is broad enough to generate the kind of traffic you need while being narrow enough to win out over the competition at the search engines.

So, if you've decided on three potential niches you will have to evaluate them based on this kind of information or you will be setting yourself up for disappointment.

Essential Keyword Research Tools

There is software available to help you with this kind of research and it is vital to your success. You will need it not only to determine the best niche at the start but you will also need it to determine the best keyword or keyword phrases to focus your pages on.

One of the best sources of keyword data is Wordtracker. Wordtracker provides you with information about what people are really searching for on the web and exactly which keywords they are using. They also tell you how much competition there is from other websites for those keywords.

This is valuable information and while Wordtracker does provide a free trial you would have to pay an annual or monthly fee to get access to their database. Last time I checked it was $59 USD per month or $329 USD per year. If you are just getting started with developing websites that is pretty expensive. Fortunately, there is an excellent alternative.

The company SiteSell offers an all-in-one website researching, building, hosting and marketing program called Site Build It! (SBI!) that includes everything most people will ever need for their website. It's an amazing product, but it also includes a module called Brainstorm It! that allows you to do in-depth supply and demand keyword research. But here's the best part, Brainstorm It! includes access to the Wordtracker data and gives you enough Wordtracker searches for most people to plan their entire site.

It includes a certain number of Wordtracker searches but if you run out you can just buy more right from SiteSell (at a very reasonable price compared to the direct Wordtracker subscription). You don't have to jump around to different sites collecting data either. It is all handled inside the SBI! system. The Wordtracker data is combined with SiteSell's own data to provide you with the information you need to choose your best niche concept and to optimize all your website's pages around the best keywords.

All the Tools In One Place

But it gets even better. The access to the Wordtracker database is only a tiny part of all of the integrated tools that come with SBI! and SBI! (believe it or not) is less than the cost of Wordtracker alone! SBI! represents one of the most incredible values on the web. You can find more information about the all-in-one suite of tools included in SBI! here.

Trying to develop a successful website without keyword data is like groping around in the dark. SBI! provides Supply (how many people are searching for a given keyword/phrase each month), Demand (how many websites you are competing with on those keywords) and Profitability (a ratio determined by Supply/Demand data).

This data is vital to your success. It can be quite revealing. For example, even subtle differences in the keywords you decide to build your site and pages around can have drastically different Supply and Demand values. In some cases the differences between the singular and plural versions of a keyword can be dramatic.

Without this information you would miss the potential to rank well for high traffic keywords that have low competition. This data can also save you a lot of time and hassle by letting you know which keywords aren't worth optimizing for as they either have too little traffic or too much competition. The Brainstorm It! tool in SBI! is something you don't want to be without. I cannot stress the importance of keyword analysis enough.

What's Next?

Next time we'll be taking a look at monetization options. Along with your keyword analysis to determine the viability of your website theme you will need to make sure there is enough potential to generate revenue from your site before you begin building it.

If you haven't already, make sure to subscribe to the SBI-Classroom Bulletin. There is no charge right now to join. Just enter your email address and first name in the subscription form at the top right side of any page. Note: I do not give out your email address to anyone!

Until next time...

Your SBI! Instructor

PS. - The course being taught in universities and colleges around the world called "How to Build a Successful Businss Using the Internet" is now available in a convenient eLearning format with qualified instructors that teach you online.

This is more than just a course on online marketing. You will complete this course with a foundation in internet marketing principles and a fully operational online business that you can nurture and grow.

Click the link below to learn more...

Learn How to Build a Website That Works From a Qualified Instructor Online Success Simplified!