Q and A: Is there a direct relationship between keyword conversions and KEI?

Dear Kalena...

Regarding the KEI (in Word Tracker): Is there a proven direct relationship between conversions and the KEI? It seems like it would be most effective to take the time up front to find words with a high KEI rating instead of using words from Google soley based on whether the competition bar was smaller than the average usage bar (thats how I decide which words make the cut). Have you found that to be the case?

Thanks,
Bill

Kalena's Answer:

Hi Bill

KEI was developed several years ago by Sumantra Roy of 1st Search Ranking, to provide a rational basis for keyword selection. Wordtracker provides a detailed explanation of the KEI formula on their site.

KEI is certainly a helpful indicator of the type of competition you face from other sites when targeting the same keywords. But many industry experts believe that KEI has outlived its usefulness and that it no longer provides accurate guidance on keyword selection. This is because KEI only looks at the title tags of competing sites and doesn't consider the content of the META tags or the anchor text of competing sites.

One way to help narrow down your keyword selections is to look at the top 20 SERPs for the keywords you are considering and see how well those sites are optimized to determine if you could outrank them if you targeted the same keyword/phrase.

Just like anything else in SEO, you should consider KEI as part of your keyword selection process, but don't rely on it as your sole indicator of good keyword choices.

Hope this helps!

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