The path to your website or products is never a straight shot.  Most users are just riding the proverbial wave that a search string of keywords leads them on (there’s a reason why they call it “surfing the web”).  So how do you anticipate the non-linear thinking of your customers and translate it into a useful SEO strategy?

Simple, just Concentrate.

Concentrate is a search analytics tool and welcome supplement to your Google Analytics and paid search campaign.  It analyzes your existing data (you can connect directly to Google Analytics or upload files from any other major analytics software), looks for keyword patterns, then identifies the specific search structure and queries that lead to the most traffic. Ergo,  opening up new search opportunities.

Patterns are the key with this service.  A pattern is merely the structure built around a particular keyword, like “web design [X]“, with [X] representing a group of similar query terms, such as location or web-design software.  Sounds like Algebra class – I know.  Bare with me.  Concentrate identifies these patterns, then lets you drill down and see the specific query terms that fit this pattern.  In this example, it could be “web design [Atlanta]” or “web design [Virginia Highlands]“.  As the system learns, i.e. analyzes your raw data over time, the [X]’s will eventually be replaced.  But for now, looking at the individual queries within a pattern is pretty useful.   Our business may be Atlanta-based, but a large chunk of my web traffic is coming from people searching for “web design [Tennessee]“  – a market I may or may not have considered when designing my Adwords campaign.

So, what is the [X] amount for such a service?  Concentration has 4 different packages to choose from with queries up to the hundred thousands.   They also offer a free package suited for blogs and small sites that will analyze a month of search history.  All you need is a Google Analytics account (required for this service), and you are good to go.