My company sells timesheet software. If I want to figure out which keywords I should be working my SEO magic on, one of the first questions is "How often do people use that search term?"

Google Trends offers an answer. Here is a graph of the keywords for "time tracking" vs. "timesheet" vs. "time sheet".

You can also figure out which of several companies are more often searched for, say Nike vs. Reebok vs. Converse (for shoes). If a company has more people searching for it, then it probably has more customers. Alexa is another great tool that act like AC Nielsen, except for websites instead of TV shows. All else being equal, more traffic to a company's site probably means more customers. This may influence your purchasing decisions.

Another tool I like alot is provided free by Yahoo. It provides related keyword suggestions. It's a bit slow usually, so be patient.

These tools can help you know where to aim your SEO efforts. Some SEO consultants will quickly make you strong on irrelevant keywords and claim victory.

For example, although we're very successful with architectural firms, I wouldn't want to spend alot of effort to do well on the term "architect timesheet" because nobody ever thinks to search for that term.

Have fun out there...

Curt runs a timesheet software company and has a new book out.