Using analytic software to capitilize on longtail and microniche keyword phrases

I spent a couple hours working with a client recently to explore his company’s website and its current performance. As we swapped instant messages back and forth on what he would like to achieve over the next three months, I was amazed that he had no clue how his website was currently doing, what levels of traffic he was currently receiving and how visitors were finding him. He was simply interested in getting first page placement on his wishlist of keyword phrases.

While we discussed some strategies and eventually picked a list of keywords we were going to target, I also introduced him to the analytic software that was already installed on his hosting account and tracking all of his visitors. AWStats is a fairly standard package and provides a wealth of knowledge including the number of unique visitors, page views, most visited spots on your website and the search engine keyword phrases people are using to find your company’s website.

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We reviewed the results from the previous three months together and quickly discovered that his website was getting less traffic then he thought. While this had him disappointed, we did find something very useful as his website had a list of unintentional keyword phrases where he had excellent search engine placement with Google, Yahoo and Bing. These phrases were not on the original wishlist we discussed but were extremely relevant to his business.

My client is not alone in his limited knowledge of his website’s performance and its placement on search engines. Most people don’t spend the time to track down each longtail or microniche keyword phrase that are relevant to their company’s offerings or spend a few hours a week scouring search reports. But they should. Spending even a few hours a week using free products such as AWStats can provide you a wealth of knowledge and allow you to target portions of your website to improve sales.

Let’s take my client for example. As a financial planner for over 15 years, he has developed a number of eBooks on investing and investment strategies that he markets through his sites, various blogs and article marketing. All of the books are geared as general knowledge tool, aimed at pretty much every demographic and age group. As we reviewed his search word queries in AWStats, we discovered that over the last three months approximately 40% of the keyword phrases that he was receiving traffic from related to baby boomers and seniors. We spent some time discussing this and he is currently in the midst of writing an 80-page guide with strategies he has recommended to his older clients over the years. We’re confident that once the book is completed and a proper sales page is added to his website, he can capitalize on this unintentional search engine traffic.

By reviewing your stats on a daily basis, not only will you find gems such as my client did but you will also be able to gauge how your current efforts are going. I’ve seen many people throw good money after bad trying to get traction on highly competitive keyword phrases rather then going after niche traffic related to their products or services. Review your logs to determine if your SEO budget is providing you with the results you’re after. If not, perhaps it’s time to make changes to your search engine marketing efforts.

Do you have an experience where you’ve capitalized on unintentional longtail or microniche keyword phrases? If so, leave a comment down below. I’ll share some of these at a later date.