Google's Adwords blog has an intriguing post today about improvements in its keyword selection tool that helps marketers pick the right words for the keywords they wish to purchase. Google's tool, presumably, goes one step further in helping clients put dollars behind the right keywords.

I find that this is an all important step before beginning a serious SEO or PPC effort. Building Web traffic depends on (a) having a high relevance rank to the keywords you select and (b) picking keywords that actually receive a consistent volume of searches. A is often understood but B is often overlooked.

A personal injury law firm in Boise, ID might covet a high ranking for the term 'personal injury law firm in Boise' or 'personal injury attorney in Boise.' In actuality, though, the keywords that are receiving heavy volume are often less obvious. Terms like 'Boise auto accident attorney' or 'Boise car accident law' are the types of words that may actually be receiving searches. The only way to discover what terms are relevant is through the use of research software like Google's.