Step Four-2: Find Google Local Search Keywords

Searching for keywords helps you scout the market

In Step four, I explained how the Google Keyword Tool works and how it can help you find jobs and careers. In this post, I’m going to give you specific information how to identify market demand for your preferred skills and knowledge keywords you wrote in step three through Google local search.

If you’ve downloaded either the free or professional versions of Traffic Travis, a powerful tool that will help you identify “long-tail” words (ex. “train sales managers”), I’ll explain how to use Traffic Travis in the next post.

Meanwhile, before moving ahead with the Google Keyword Tool or Traffic Travis, please make sure you’ve written down at least 10-20 words or keyword phrases (ex. train, manage, project management, etc.) reflecting the skills and knowledge you want to use in your next job or career.

Please follow these steps:

1. Organize your words and phrases into three related groups. For example, if you wrote “train,” “supervise” or “manage,” put these three keywords in a separate group because they’re related. Or if you wrote “computer,” “software” and “netbook,” separate these into its own group. Do the same with keyword phrases (ex. “train dogs,” “animal shelter” and “breed horses”). You should have at least three or four groups of related words.
2. Go to the Google Keyword Tool online and enter your first group of words in the box under “Find Keywords.” Enter each keyword or keyword phrase on one line.
3. Click the “Search” button to begin. In a few seconds, you’ll see a list of related words and phrases. Click the “Local Monthly Searches” tab at the top of the search results window. This sorts from high-to-low the number of monthly local searches for each keyword or keyword phrase.
4. Scan down the list to find relevant words you want to add to your list. Skip those, such as “toy trains” that are irrelevant to your search. Enter the new words or phrases plus the number of local searches into the favorite skill/knowledge list you already created. (A spreadsheet is handy here if you are familiar with spreadsheets.) Here are a few of my results using the same words shown above (only choose keywords with at least 1,500 searches per month):
   1. managing – 1.2M
   2. employee management – 62K
   3. supervising – 33K
   4. new manager training – 4K
   5. working with difficult people – 2K
5. Repeat the same process for each group of keywords. If you want to find more keywords related to those that interest you–say, “working with difficult people”–then run another Google search, using the tool.

In the next post, I’ll explain how to find more long tailed keywords using Traffic Travis. Then we’ll use the new keywords you found to search Google for career and job information.