There’s a big advantage to being in the first spot in the search engines for your keywords. People start clicking at the top, and if they are dissatisfied with the first entry, they work their way down.

Being number 1 gives you a major advantage. You will get more clicks than anybody else. That’s as true with paid listings as with organic ones.

If you satisfy those who click, you will do well and your competitors will be left far behind.

Brian Howard has developed a system that he says solves the problem of getting to the top of search results. The Proving Ground explores his claim in this review.

Howard’s system is called Ultimate Keyword Conversions.

. It is training designed to be useful for beginners who are just starting their online business and for anyone who hasn’t spent much time with keyword research.

He calls it a “system”. He doesn’t mean it’s a piece of software or hardware. He is referring to his systematic approach to finding useful keywords and then ranking for them. This new product is training in how to follow his process for your own keyword research.

The product consists of videos, a printable user’s guide and a small (tiny, actually) mindmap.

We started our review with the videos. Howard is the narrator. He speaks slowly(he’s from Texas and this is his normal laid-back way of speaking, it seems) so you won’t have trouble following him. At times, you might wish he spoke a little faster.

There are, by my count, 22 videos, each 4-5 minutes long, each tackling one step of the process he uses.

His goal is to find keywords that other marketers aren’t targeting and that have reasonable search activity. As he observes, it’s a lot easier to rise to the top of the rankings if you don’t have much competition.

At first, this might seem like wasted effort. Don’t you want to rank for top keywords, rather than for “also rans”? He points out that a niche is usually a bigger subject than we realize. There are many keywords people search for related to your niche. Ranking for several middle-of-the-group keywords is a lot easier than ranking for the most searched keyword, and can be just as profitable.

His style is to take an example, show you how to use his methods with that example from start to finish. He starts with finding suitable keywords, eliminating those with too little search volume or too much competition, and focusing on that that are left. He covers the tools he finds helpful for brainstorming keywords and the for narrowing the list.

Once you find those golden few, what do you do with them? You can use them in your webpages for improved SEO, but he also recommends doing Pay per Click Ads. Showing up at the top of AdWords helps your business, too, just like showing up at the top of organic results.

Since he wants this to be useful to beginners, he takes you through signing up for Google PPC (i.e., AdWords) from beginning to end. Then he shows you how to maximize your return from your ads, by:
• Carefully aligning your ad with particulate keywords
• Starting small and watch your results
• Adjusting the amount you bid for each keyword to pay just enough to get the clicks you want
• Tracking the results for your ads long enough to see rends you can accommodate.

The exploration of AdWords techniques is over half the course. He goes into as much detail as you could ask for.

The User’s Guide is an alternative method of absorbing this training. It covers the same material and if you prefer reading, you will find the whole process here.

Many teachers tell you they are sharing “secrets”. Howard doesn’t claim what he shows is a secret. He only claims it is effective. No doubt there are other keyword research teachers who share similar information, but Howard lays it out in step-by-step videos and print so you can easily follow his example.

Follow his process, he says, and you can have similar results. His claims are modest, and believable. He delivers what he offers.

If you are an old hand at marketing, keyword research and PPC, you probably won’t learn anything in Ultimate Keyword Conversions to make it worth your investment. But if you are new to any of these subjects, you will find this a good starting point.

Proving Ground Verdict: Approved

Please Note: This is intended to be an unbiased review. Nevertheless, IM NewsWatch may receive a commission if you buy using the link in this article.

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