This is a clever tool I use to research the competitive value of a keyword. Quick instructions are...
1) Go to NicheWatch.com
2) Enter your keyword and click "check competition"
3) Your results will come up.
Don't pay attention to anything but the columns of "anchor" and "title." Those two figures will give you an idea of how well that keyword is optimized for by other seo's.
What you need to be looking for is a lot of "-" dashes in those columns. If you see low numbers and not dashes, note that it is going to be a tough place to squeak in. But if you see those "-" dashes, then you can be certain there is room for you to rank easily there!
If keywords are all full of low numbers and no dashes in those columns, go back and reconsider your keyword terms. And, only do this for mid range keywords as long tail keywords should be FULL of dashes!
You will also want to start paying attention to the size of the sites in that market. Not that it is a huge indicator and certainly doesn't stop you from going into that market when you see only beefy sites. Its always a good idea to see the size of sites that are ranking. Bets are, if you are in a competitive market, the sites are going to be at least a hundred or two pages and oftentimes into the thousands.
It has been long thought that Google likes big sites and I have no evidence to report on the contrary. On every money site I put up, I make sure there are articles being published in the back ground to bulk up my site.
One more thing about NicheWatch.com; they have columns for Page Rank but I have YET to see any results appear there. That column usually says NA or just has a dash. I would think they would have a professional version, (that I would happily pay for) to get those results, but I have never found a way to sign up for it if one does exist.
I do know from first hand with my tools however, how hard it is to return Page Rank results without getting the IP of my 100s of proxies banned. =:0.
Use this tool often, make it a part of your arsenal.
Stay Tuned Up,
Dale
