By finding and using keywords that consumers or potential customers are actively entering into the search engines, you will be able to help your websites and landing pages rank higher, generating a nonstop flood of organic, targeted traffic.

Keyword research doesn’t have to be a difficult task, however. Start with the free Google Keyword Tool, which can be found by searching for “Google keyword tool external,” and enter in a keyword or phrase that identifies the product or niche that you are interested in promoting as an affiliate.

There are numerous free keyword tools to use for your research, but you may save a lot of time and energy by acquiring a paid tool like MicroNicheFinder that can identify all the profitable niches and keywords in minutes. However, the free Google Keyword Tool, is more than sufficient if you are on a tight or low cost budget to start your affiliate marketing.

Click on “get keyword ideas” to generate a list of keywords and gauge the competitiveness of the the market by taking a look at the number of times people are searching for your main keywords per month. You may need to dig a bit deeper to find the most lucrative keywords.

Try to think outside the box to reach your potential customers. For example, if you consider the competitive dating niche, then going for the nerd market may have more potential, then the super bodies. The nerds will definately more on the lookout for a date than the beautiful bodies.

What you want to do is find a market or niche with existing high demand that also has existing competition and products readily available, but not so competitive that ranking highly is next to impossible.

What’s important here is that you remember there must be an audience or potential buyers for whatever you choose to market. Since you are an affiliate, your costs for entering a market are not very high, but it’s still a good idea to take the time to do niche research in order to avoid wasting your time and the money you could have made if your research was done correctly.

After you choose your niche market the next step is to find out if there is a big enough demand for your product.  Keyword research can be a long tedious process, and there is tons of information on the subject.  For those of us who do not have the patience to go through the painstaking process associated with keyword research, I put together this list of 5 quick, easy, free keyword research methods.Since the majority people who search for stuff online use Google you will find that most of the tools that I recommend for keyword research are owned by Google.5 Quick, Easy, and Free Keyword Research Methods1. Google Adwords Keyword Tool- This is my favorite keyword research tool and also a favorite tool of a lot of marketers.  It is a simple and effective keyword research tool.All you need to do is enter your primary keyword and this tool will generate a list of related keywords and it also lets you know the amount of montly searches for each of those keywords.This is valuable information when you are trying to find out the demand for a particular product or niche.2. Microsoft OCI- This is a keyword research tool created by Microsoft that measures the buying intent of a customer.  The way this keyword research tool works is that when you enter a keyword it will give you a rating from 0.00 to 0.99.If the commercial intent is high that means that when a person uses that particular keyword to search for something online that there is a high possibility that they are a buyer.Inversely, If the commercial intent is low, it means that if a person is using that particular keyword to search for something, the chances  that they are looking to buy something are low.3.Amazon- Most people use Amazon to buy books and other products, but it can also be used as a keyword reaserch tool.You can search for items on Amazon by looking through the different categories.  Find a category related to your niche and check both the “Best Sellers” list and the “Movers and Shakers” list.These lists will show you the best selling and hottest items on Amazon.  If people are buying these items on Amazon that is a good sign that you have located a viable niche.4. Google Insights- This tool allows you to compare the search volume patterns across specific regions, categories, and time zones.After you realize that there is a good amount of demand for a specific keyword, this keyword research tool will let you do more in depth reasearch by letting you see even more statistics on your keywords.5.Google Trends- This is a handy keyword research tool that will let you know during what season or time of year a keyword is most popular.These are just a few of the many keyword research tools out there. I like them because not only are they free, but they give you enough information about your target market so that you will not go into business blindly.Much Success,

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