by Chris Farrell

Here's a question I get asked often (at least 3 or 4 times a week):

'Why should I use quotation marks ("") when conducting keyword research - because nobody uses quotation marks when searching online.'

Great question!

Keyword research and quotation marks are two related subjects that confuse many online (including myself when I began).

Are you ready for the answer!

The quotation marks are really only there for YOU - to help with your research. That is the ONLY reason!

Please allow me to me explain:

The quotes allow you to ascertain your competition.

This is the SECRET that no one explains!

When you conduct a search at Google WITHOUT the quotes - you get results that contain your keywords IN ANY COMBINATION.

But... when you conduct a search at Google WITH the quotes - you get results that only include pages that contain your EXACT keyword phrase.

Do you see the difference? A lot of people don't at first.

Let me give you an example: Say you looked at the keyword "lose weight for summer holiday".

Lets imagine the results are 767,000 searches without quotes - and 1,000 with quotes. You may want to consider using this as a key phrase because using the exact term you are only competing with 1,000 pages - not 767,000.

Does that makes sense?

I know at first it takes a few moments to see the difference - it took me months!

When people type in a search in Google WITHOUT quotes, they will get ANY site that uses that keyword in their articles, webpage etc. Plus, without quotes the keyword won't necessarily be the 'exact' keyword. It could be broken up.

An example of this is - if your keyword is "fastest way to build credit." Google will pick up sites that might include "fastest" and "build credit", but not necessarily in that order (or even grouped together).

But using the quotation marks for your keyword research - you will bring up sites/articles who are specifically optimizing for the keywords you are targeting.

Do you see?

Keyword Research in Quotation Marks gives you an idea of the TRUE competition you are up against.

When you use quotes, it brings up your most prominent competition.

In other words, people who know a bit about what they are doing to rank for those keywords.

Using keywords in quotation marks just tells you more precisely who you are competing against.

It's true most people never use quotes when they are doing a search for something - but if you do - this will give you an idea how many pages you are competing with for your keywords.

Using "" is just a tool to give you an edge on your competition.

Understanding Keyword Research and Quotation Marks is a powerful technique to to beat your competitors - and to get to the top of the Search Engines.