This is a work in progress and your feedback will help me make it better. Comments on areas that need clarification will be appreciated.

Although I won't be able to answer every question directly, I will at least be able to recommend a forum where you can ask your question and get answers.

Search terms are the words and phrases that people type into the search forms of search engines. Keywords and keyphrases are the words on your site that match these search terms.

Before you do any type of search engine marketing, you have to understand your target audience and know the search terms they are using. Once you know the search terms being used, these can be included in the content of your Web site as keywords and keyphrases.

Your keywords and keyphrases will also be used if you plan to promote your site with pay per click or keyword based pay per impression advertising.

To learn more about Keywords and Search Terms:

Recommended Articles:

• Search Engine Optimization Basics Part 1 - Keywords - In the same way traditional advertising agencies survey their demographic audience, search engine marketers must ensure that their SEO campaign targets the correct keywords or search phrases.

• Selecting and Evaluating Keyphrases for Search Engine Marketing - Keyphrases (those phrases that potential customers are using to find products or services on search engines) are the building block of any search engine marketing strategy. It is essential that they are chosen carefully, or else the remainder of the campaign, no matter how effective the implementation, will likely be in vain.

Check the Article Archives:

• More Articles About Keywords and Search Terms - Check the Search Engine News Archives for articles about Keywords and Search Terms. The articles are arranged by date with the newest articles first. This will allow you to get the most up to date information and then do further research on older articles.

Recommended Books & Reports:

• The Nitty-gritty of Writing for the Search Engines - To successfully rank highly in the search engines, the words on your Web pages should never be an afterthought but a major investment in your search engine optimization campaign. Learn how to write for the search engines and your users with Jill Whalen's special report -- The Nitty-gritty of Writing for the Search Engines.

The following tools and services will help you discover what search terms are being used on the search engines. The information provided can help you choose the best keywords and keyphrases for your Web site.

• Word Tracker
  Wordtracker helps you choose the right Internet marketing keywords that will help your search engine placement and ranking. Use Wordtracker for keyword research to learn what keywords and keyphrases your customers are using to find the products or services you offer. Provides basic access for free and a much more robust paid version.

• Keyword Discovery
  Discover the right keywords to target on your website and PPC campaigns. Identify common keyword misspellings, seasonal trends, related and industry terms. Run keyword permutations and even translate your keywords to and from various languages. KeywordDiscovery has the largest keyword database of around 30 billion searches compiled from close to 200 different search engines. Offers basic access for free and a much more robust paid version.

• Overture Search Terms
  Enter a term to find how many searches were performed using it the previous month on Overture. Free to use.

• SEO Research Labs
  SEO Research Labs provides a very handy service that will identify the best keywords and search terms for your site. Their service is recommended for anyone that would rather have someone else handle the time intensive research work for them.

To learn more about Tools That Will Help You Find Your Best Keywords:

Recommended Articles:

• An Ingenious Way to Use Wordtracker - Besides using Wordtracker to find keywords, John Alexander actually uses the service to target an audience s surfing behavior. Once he determines the surfing behavior, he can use that knowledge to target those who are most likely to purchase his clients products or services.

These sites provide lists of the top search terms used on the search engines. These are not intended to help you find keywords and keyphrases specifically for your site. These lists are useful for looking for general trends.

• Top 500 Keywords Of The Week
  This week's list of the top 500 most frequently searched keywords used on search engines.

• Lycos 50
  Lists the 50 most popular user searches for the week.

• Livesuche
  Shows the search terms people are using on the German search engine Fireball.

• Ask Jeeves Peek Through the Keyhole
  Shows the questions that people are asking at Ask Jeeves.

• Kanoodle.com - Search Spy
  Shows what other people are searching for on Kanoodle.com.

• Metaspy
  Provides real-time display of searches being performed on MetaCrawler. Provides both filtered and unfiltered versions.

• Yahoo! Buzz Index
  Find out what people are searching for at Yahoo! Subjects are ranked according to a buzz score which is based on the percentage of users searching for that subject on a given day.