When I first downloaded the free version of Market Samurai, I was skeptical. I’ve seen keyword tools before, and they end up sitting on my computer, forgotten, until I run across them again say, “Hey, what about that SEO tool?” And then I start it up and remember why it was so forgettable.

But searching for keywords without special tools is long and tedious. Get a list of keywords, check them against the Google search results, check the Microsoft’s Detection of Online Commercial Intention, get some more keywords. Do it all over again. It can take hours for a simple article or blog post.

So I took a chance on Market Samurai and was surprised at how easy, complete, and thorough it it. On the first screen, you pick out some keywords, let Google pick out some more for you. You go through the list and cull out the ones that don’t apply and click “Analyze keywords.” Five minutes, and I’m really slow.

That takes you to another screen where you can actually track the information about your keywords. It includes a complete set of data, very customizable in the presentation, and popup labels identify all of them (explaining a number of things I couldn’t figure out in Google Keywords Tool). I was surprised and pleased to find the Online Commercial Intent among the data.

It takes less than a minute to analyze the data, but you might expect to spend 10 minutes or so looking at it, thinking about what keywords are best for the project at hand. You can always go back to the prior screen and throw some more into the mix, but you’re still talking about another minute to get back to full data.

The free version doesn’t offer all the modules available in the paid version, but the keyword tool itself is dynamite. You can open and save various projects, and keep your data from one session to the next. Having just the keyword tool has escalated my writing production — blog posts, articles, domain searches. If I know what I want to write, the keywords help me find the right terms to use. If I’m not sure, they keywords serve as writing prompts.

You can save them under projects, so that if you operate in different niches, you can keep your keywords in their different categories.

In fact, even though I waited past the window to upgrade at a special bargain, I upgraded anyway and haven’t been sorry for a minute. Whether you do niche marketing, article marketing, pay per click, domain flipping, or any other online activity that depends on your knowledge of what people are asking Google, you will save valuable time in research that could be going into production.

What’s more, if you’re new to search engine optimization and keyword research, there are good tutorial videos that will teach you what you need to get up to speed in no time.

Don’t miss out on this great opportunity. The keyword tool is totally free. And the rest of it, if you decide to go for it, is a great bargain.

This entry was posted on July 12, 2010 at 11:40 pm. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Posted in SEO by Jan Bear 4 Comments