Fri, 15 Feb 2008 15:12:47 by Matt Hopkins
If you show a simple image to a group of people and ask them to write down what keywords they would use in a search engine like Google to find the object, you'd be amazed at how varied the responses will be.
We typically use this technique to help people understand that not everyone thinks like they do. I know - it shocks me too sometimes.
Take the following image:

This has been shown to dozens of people today and here's the verdict (from our "straw poll"):
| perfume (33.33%) |
| chanel perfume (18.52%) |
| chanel (14.81%) |
| chanel eau de parfum (3.70%) |
| 150ml channel no 19 (3.70%) |
| bottle of perfume (3.70%) |
| chanel number 19 perfume (3.70%) |
| chanel no 19 (3.70%) |
| chanel number 19 (3.70%) |
| number 19 channel (3.70%) |
| no 19 chanel (3.70%) |
| number 19 chanel (3.70%) |
So - the obvious choice of perfume hits #1, but you start to see the "long tail" emerge when you run experiments like this. And you certainly get people to realise that there is no one clear key term.
We've decided to make this easier and have now launched a new "SEO Keyword Game" as part of our SEO Tools section on our website.
You will be presented with an image of a simple object and asked to enter the search terms that you would use to locate this item if you were using a search engine. We'll then show you the results.
We think its a lot of fun and hope you will too.
Matt Hopkins Managing Director |