Keywords are one of the most important things to get right when you are marketing online, and in this post I’ll be sharing a free and very simple to implement technique for finding good keywords.
At the moment I’m planning a new affiliate marketing site and I decided to do something different when I was trying to find related keywords to the main keywords I was targeting.
What I did was use an online thesuarus to find lateral keywords. For example when I was looking at some buyer keywords in this niche, I came across the word “purchase” when I typed “buy” into the thesuarus tool.
Now I know that is not exactly ground breaking stuff there, but the fact is that I wasn’t thinking about the word “purchase” and when I checked the search volume for “purchase XZY”, XZY being the product name, I was pleasantly surprized to see a decent search volume and virtually no SEO competition at all.
That’s when I realized how cool this free thesuarus tool can be, because it can help you find related keywords to you main keywords that you might not have ever thought about or that they Google keyword tool didn’t provide.
The advantage of finding these lateral keywords, is that often less people have considered them and you can find little openings with less competition, which we all know is a good thing.
Any market where the keywords can be interchanged with other lateral keywords, which are essentially other keywords that mean the same thing, are good ones.
When I see a market that has a large variety in the keywords I love it, because there are so many combinations when it comes to the keywords, and often this can also mean that you can find keywords phrases that have less SEO competition.
Another example of interesting keyword phrases that I discovered with help from the thesaurus tool, which again I wouldn’t have thought about that are in the laptop market, 
were:
Highest Rated Laptops = 480 exact match searches and easy SEO competition
The thesaurus also provides antonyms, and I saw “worst” when I was looking for the word “best” and then I looked for “worst laptops” and it had some, not much, search volume and again easy SEO.
That’s it for this quick updates folks, until next time, bye for now!
Matt
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The thesaurus is a great idea. I never thought about this. Thanks.
Matt it certainly does help to think outside the box doesn’t it.
I never thought about using the Thesaurus before for keyword research. Thanks for the great suggestion!
Jayne
Thanks, Matt. Good tip for me as I have not given an online thesaurus a thought before to help me find some of those hidden gems to use for keywords with acceptable search volume and low SEO competition.
Thank you again for more good stuff!
Christine
Hi Matt,
Thanks for the post….What a great idea of using an online Thesaurus to find more keywords. Thanks for sharing
Michael
Matt,
As always your posts always seem to come at the right time to get me back on track. I cant wait to try your idea on a few of those competitive keywords that stumped me previously.
Yeah that’s very unique as they say sometimes the simple things in life are the best. It seems that many of us make things so complicated, when in reality, complicated things can be simplified and made easier with a little bit of thinking outside the box, and daring yourself to try something different.
Great post I enjoyed it keep the value coming Matt!
Hmmm, I use a thesaurus all the time, but I never gave it a thought with regard to keyword research. Thanks for another great nugget of inspiration, Matt.
Wayne
Wow Matt, that’s a great idea with so many words having the same meaning one could catch keywords from different angles. By moving around words we could find search keywords that are use less however have the same meaning that produce major results. Thank you so much for this tip…
Wow! Good stuff Matt. I’ve never heard this kind of tips online. You’re surely always provide value to your subscribers.
As you said, this is not ground breaking stuff, but I don’t think so, this is great tips actually. We just need to keep finding out low competition keyword like this until we found the good one and maybe we don’t even need to build any backlink to it and who knows the search volume might be high.
I’ll apply this soon and keep adding my amazon affiliate site and make more money until I hit 5 figure per month like you Matt =)
Thanks again and keep provide more strategy and tips like this.
You can also use the tilde on Google.. for instance.. if you want to find other words to use.. search for ~buy.
Good tip Matt. Even for smaller SEO markets and niches, as you said, “small steams create a big river…”
Hey Matt, sure appreciate the awesome new tip. Can’t wait to try this one out. Thanks for sharing great information with us that you learn. It’s a breath of fresh air from buying a course and the next day the same people are sending you offers to an affiliate program to make money. Wasn’t theirs good enough.
You don’t do that. You offer so much free information that actually helps others and share your new strategies. All we can say is you ROCK bro!
Best regards and hope all is good over there.
Jim
Hello Matt,
I have been using the exact same website you have suggested for some time myself, as I am setting up Affiliate Sites.
I have one suggestion, it is a bit off topic and will cost you money, but not a great deal.
I use a desk top PC myself, and invested in another monitor, connected it to the computer, so the two monitors are side by side on the desk.
I have found that by having this extra screen, it makes your work so much easier and faster when working on your sites.
You can have your WordPress going on your Primary screen, and say the Thesaurus or maybe Google Keyword Tool on the Secondary, so much easier than flicking between screens and forgetting what you just read.
By having a shortcut icon to the sites on your secondary screen, everything just flows so smoothly.
I know this is nothing big deal, but just what we did to cut our work down by more than 75% time wise.
Keep up the good work Matt,
Ken Wilson
Nice one Matt, another good keyword research idea. Thanks
Matt that is why I stay on your list and keep coming back to read your blog. You always have tips that no one else has. Can’t wait for the next one.
I often use the thesaurus when I re write an article for my e-cigarette site. Never used it for KW research thou. This could be really handy when you run into problems finding a good keyword. Thanks for the tip! the VaporDiva.
Hey Matt.
I’ve used a lateral keyword tool before to find additional keywords and it can be a very cumbersome task to dig out the nuggets.
So using this Thesaurus method may actually cut down on the crap and dig out some gems for you.
Always good to hear your ideas.
Hi Matt, thank you for great tip as usual. I’ve also been using thesaurus the other day for spinning an article for my new website in rapid rewriter. I couldn’t believe how easy to do that. I’ve been able to find so many anonyms and put them in favourites folder. Good job Matt.
Looking forward to more tips.
Another Great article Matt, keyword research idea. Really Helpful. Thanks
Matt:
Another great idea from the master- I am always impressed with your willingness to share great information with the group. I will continue to follow your blog and utilize the information you provide. Keep up the great work!
DenverMortgage
True…not groundbreaking stuff here, however, most marketers out there forget to think a little bit more outside the box. I’ll be honest…I didn’t think of using a thesaurus for researching keywords. I have used it many times to write my content, but not keywords.
Thanks for the great suggestion Matt, I’ll definitely be implementing this simple strategy right away.
I’ve used a thesaurus for synonyms before, but didn’t even think to look for antonyms. Good one…Thanks Matt!
I’m time after time surprised that so many and easy tools just laying around very very close to you. You just have to see them.
Thank you Matt for showing how easy it is, as long as you “just” look outside the box you are inside.
/Stefan
Thanks Matt.
I will definitely give this a try. I need a new approach!
This is another great information from Matt. He never runs out of good ideas to share with us.
Cheers, Ed
An enlightening post as usual. Am putting this idea to work right away!
Thanks Matt!
Hi Matt,
Thanks for the tip, I’m certainly going to try this in future!
Thanks Matt for pointing us to this site – have used it before but realise now that it actually features related searches on the sidebar – and more than Google does when I checked.
My favourite related keyword tool ever was kwbrowse.com/kwmap.com which were free but went offline a while ago, which was a real shame as I haven’t been able to find anything quite as good (and free). If anyone knows of a similar site please let us know!
Hi Matt
Thanks for the tip What ever you say I do and it all works great.
Hey Matt,
thank you for another great tip. Will try that out.
Best,
Tim Pond
Thanks for the awesome tip. This is especially important now since the Farmer update from google blew up many of the keywords I had been using, and this will give me many more options.
Hi Matt, Another great tip thank you, and keep them coming.
Good stuff Matt. I also pull out the thesaurus frequently when writing articles, but never thought about using it for like this.
Matt. Good job. Another quick tip – I have used the word spinning tool that you supplied with The Rapid Profit Formula. It works very well at giving alternative yet effective keywords also. Just thought I would let you and your customers know. My website is still at the top of google.
Once again thanks for the all the Help !!
Regards David
Hi Matt;
Good tip as always, look forward to receiving your E-mails with the next good idea we don’t always think of.
Thanks again!
Hey Matt, thanks again for a great post. Like everyone else has said, I hadn’t really considered using a Thesaurus for finding keywords, even though I do use it to help me spin articles. Thank you so much for always being eager to share your “new” discoveries, ideas, and support to encourage your subscribers and fellow internet marketers! I never thought I would say this, but I am actually always excited when I see an email from you because I know it will have useful and important content!
Hey Matt,
That is weird, I was looking for a great domain name and I was actually using an online thesuarus and using the same technique, and this was literally just before I read your post.
This is something I haven’t done before, and as you say this is a great technique for finding keywords as well.
Roger
That’s refreshing news. Using alternative words in dictionary might even open up huge market potential for us. Sometimes due to cultural distance people use alternative words more often than the usually used words. So this technique might help a lot in the long run and help us succeed in any market.
Always good stuff, thanks again man!
I have just about given up trying to find keywords to satisfy strict criteria of searches vs competition but I am certainly going to give this idea a good run.
Many thanks
Russ
Hi Matt
Another little gem!
Bet we are all thinking “Why didn’t I think of that”?
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Hi Matt,
That’s a great insight into how you do some of your keyword research. I’ve used an online dictionary before, but must admit I hadn’t considered using a thesaurus to help with Latent Semantic Keywords. So, thank you for promoting this tip to the wider public.
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What can I say? You are the Master Matt. Two thumbs up!
Cool,
Perhaps someone could use this knowledge to come up with a better keyword tool.
Here is a tip for you, type your physical product brand name and keyword + “vs”. People search “brand A vs Brand B” more than you think.
another great tips. you are genius
Hello Matt,
that is great post.Another thing I meant to tell you last time is what great people you have on this list. Just reading their ideas and tips, just great.You are building a very good friendly community.
Pleasure to be part of this outfit.
Thanks.
Matt,
A great tip, and the links to the resources needed! Are you starting up an “authority” site for IM?
(Note: you have a typo in “thesaurus” in the link in your post. 🙂 )
Cheers!
Matt,
This is a big idea I´ve never thought about.
Thanks.
Another great idea. I never have thought about lateral key words. Thanks for the information.
Thanks for this! I learned so much about keyword research from you. Thanks for quality content.
Great stuff love it all your stuff is top notch look forward to following you in future and all your wonderful hard work that your trying to make easy for us on all levels.
Excellent bit of information you have just shared my friend. Thanks a lot. Keep up the good work.
Great tip. Great blog. Enjoy reading your articles. Thanks
Hi Matt,
This is a great info. You desire for helping people is even greater. God bless you. I thank you too.
Matt,
Great post and this is something that I have never thought of doing. As you said, it may not be groundbreaking stuff, but sometimes the simplest things to do are the things we’re not doing.
Thanks again!
Thanks, Matt. I’m finding it hard to find great niches that meet the keyword criteria in the Rapid Profit Formula for searches, competing pages, inanchor:, etc, but lateral keywords are helping fill the traffic shortfall. Always look forward to your posts!
Mike
What value phrase “worst laptops” can possibly have? People that are searching for this are obviously interested to know of worst laptops in order to avoid buying bad one and are information seekers. However if they reach page with worst laptops which will also promote great laptops, then things can change in your favor…
great post Mat just to add what poeple are saying your number 1 on my email list when it comes to good solid seo knowledge your my inspiration and i can’t wait for stuff to help me succeed.cheers
Cheers matt when you coming to London You got a place to stay;)
nice information I love finding gems and ive already put this in practice, yes may take abit of time but if you search you will find. ,cheers
I often use a thesaurus when I’m trying to come up with new keywords and article ideas. It’s a GREAT technique to find words that people may be searching for but other marketers aren’t targeting as heavily.
Thanks for the tip Matt and providing another free tool to help us maximize our marketing business! I’m grateful that you don’t just mention a resource you have discovered but you give examples on possible uses. You are the guru of sharing and caring. Thanks
Derek
Hi matt,
It amazes me how something, or some great idea like this one can remain hidden for so long. never thought about this. now that i am also planning o my affiliate site, i think this technique will help me a great deal.
thanks.
Hey Matt,
I’ve just recently started using lateral keywords doing my keyword research and incorporating them into my SEO tactics. This really is genious and I think it’s fun too. It’s like finding buried treasure. Thanks for the tip!
As always, your info is helpful and useful!!
Matt,
That is a cool concept and so very practical. I have a new site and will try this out for some keywords with less competition.
Thanks!
Hmm, I’ve been here for long and yet I never heard of Thesaurus unless the dictionary one. I’ve been using SEO toll and I can find less competition but less visit also. It’s a bit off.
Great insight into this line of thinking and will certainly try it. Thanks Matt
Hi Matt,
Thank you for giving so much usefull information for free. I am a begginer in affiliate marketing,and first tried to learn from a wrong teachers or so called Gurus, they only interested in trying to flog you push button software which is never works, but by following your blog and video course I have started to enjoy it. This is my hobby now.
I haven’t make my first pound yet, but got a fresh ideas and that what is driving me forward and forward, so may be one day I will be like you.
Best regards,
Sergiy.
Matt, another great tip from you. Thanks!
Another tip I recently read about finding keywords was using the tilde command (~) when using the Google search window. For example, I went to Google search and entered ~buy…Google returned it’s search and words that Google considers closely related are in bold letters. Now, one of these that Google found related was “shop”. So, next I entered ~buy -shop into Google’s search window and it returned to me some more words that were related such as “get”. Lastly, I entered ~buy -shop -get and now Google returned to me “purchase”.
You can keep doing this and sometimes enter up to 12-13 words into Google’s search window before you will run out of words that Google considers related.
Matt, the thesaurus idea was great.
I used it on two niches for kw research, found some suggestions
and was able to compete in three areas. Waiting to see what happens.
Thanks Matt. Will use this next time and see.
I appreciate your tips.
Hi Matt
What a great idea and very simple.
Thanks
Neil
Thanks! I never thought of using Thesaurus. Will definitely try to use it.
Hey Matt,
This is awesome! I also never thought of using a thesaurus. This is a nice and a very unique strategy. Thanks for the tip. =)
Nikko
Hi Matt I got your sequence of emails and I am tryign to design a site about fish oil. I love the idea about lateral keywords i nver though about it. Can you tell me what theme or template you are using for this blog?
Hi matt, i am a very pro-active follower and a subscriber to your services, the things you have taught me are just amazing, one question though, do you think that it would be a wise move to use a program called senuke, im asking because alot of the things you teach –from the video i watched on a website i see that this program can do most of the backlinking automatically, i just dont want to throw my money away on something thats not really going to help my sites, many thanks maxine from wales.
Hi Matt,
As always you are point. Thanks for the tip. I will add this to our arsenal of tips and tricks.
All the best to you.
Pnina
Hey Matt,
Great tips as always. Finding related/lateral keywords is a big part of the puzzle.
In addition to what you suggest, I also make use of the Google Wonder Wheel and Google Related Searches. Those tools in conjunction with a good old Thesaurus can find you some really nice profitable keywords you might not have thought of before.
This is a surprise to me because all this for my whole keyword risert just rely on Google Keyword Tool. Thanks Matt, I will try for my new web