To me, there are two possible explanations why Google did this. First, webmasters to STOP worrying about keywords and start working on their content's quality. Second, because Google wants to. Perhaps they want us to purchase a product of theirs.
Whatever Google's reason is, this move has left many of us groping in the dark. If you don't know which keyword is "working" and "not working," you'll have difficulty optimizing your pages. But the good news is, all hope isn't lost -- at least not yet.
Have you looked at your Analytics's SEO section lately? Particularly, at the Queries section? If so, then you've already found a gem, which is something that you can use to create more posts for your site, or see how your site performs given certain keywords.
If you haven't yet, then have a look. You'll be greeted by a pool of keywords which your site has a placement or ranking for. With this alone, you can have an idea of which search terms perform well or underperform.
Aside from that, you can also use these keywords to find topics that you haven't written about yet. Trust me, you'll be surprised.
How to Do Longtail Keyword Baiting with Google Analytics
Step 1. Create a post that is related to a keyword I'd like to bait.
For instance, in one of my review sites, I want to see keywords which have the "A vs B" pattern. This is something I can't usually find using free keyword tools.
So I create a post with the topic, "Mongol vs Faber Castel: Which is Better?"
Step 2. I publish the post and get it indexed right away using Webmaster's fetch function.
Step 3. I wait for at least two weeks.
Step 4. I check out SEO >> Queries section and see the keywords that have "A vs B" pattern. If there's anything interesting or profitable, I write about it right away.
TIP: Enable your "Related Posts" widget in your site for more keywords baited.
Examples of profitable keywords you can bait include:
- Best X 2014
- A vs B
- X Comparison
