• SEO Book, Wednesday, September 24, 2008 2 PM

You can use AdWords to run quick and dirty market research for a new business idea, or even a brand that's set to revamp, and Aaron Wall tells you how. First, do some keyword research with one of the (many) free tools out there. "Include every keyword term in your Adwords campaign that you expect to rank for in your organic campaign," he says. Then, build a small site made up of landing pages for the ads. "What you want to know are three key pieces of information: actual search volume, response to offer, and competition levels," Wall says.

Examining search volume is key, as you'll be able to tell relatively quickly if your business idea is on the right track. "If not, you might [want] to rework your idea, but at least you haven't undertaken a time consuming SEO campaign only to find this out there is no real traffic," he says.

If there's enough traffic, then move on to the final next step, which is evaluating the competition according to bid prices. "Obviously, the higher the bid prices, the higher the level of competition. If you're failing to get on the front page with reasonable relevancy and bids, you're in a fairly competitive area, and the SERPs will be likewise," Wall says.

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