There are just a few guidelines to follow. They are very basic and probably what most marketers would consider conservative. As you become familiar with your niche, you may very well want to make your own personal adjustments.

You will be the one that has to set your guidelines for determining if your keyword is indeed a valid possibility. But remember, you are a beginner. You only want to "scratch the surface" right now and get some general guidelines as you search for niche with prospects.

What To Look For in Number of Searches -- You are looking to establish a minimum numbr of searches that would qualify the term for your list. For you as a beginner this number would probably hoover around 100 searches per month. Since the results are listed in daily searches, this would require no less than 4 searches.

But what about the maximum? You can be fairly sure that if the search results are over 100 per day, the competition is fairly stiff. If you really like the keyword, go ahead and put it on your list.

What To Look For In Competing Sites -- Unlike the number of searches, this number is the maximum number of competitors present that would indicate that you might have a chance to move your ranking up toward the top.

It is important to look at your phrase in speech marks (quotation marks -- "  "). These tell the search engine to match the phrase exactly. Without these the search engine will look at individual phrases within the phrase. This very likely would undoubtedly change the entire results. It would reflect data that is not relevant to your topic.

Talk to one marketer and their number might be 20,000 to 40,000. Still other marketers use a 100,000 figure. That figure is fairly high for the beginner. However, remember, the final determination is made with the combined results -- searches in relationship to competition.

What To Look For In Quality of Site -- The last but not the least consideration is the quality of the sites running in the top 10. If this item does not reflect the use of fundamental principles of SEO, you should find it easier to compete and might be able to squeeze a little bit under and over the guidelines.

As a beginner, I only recommend you spend some time in this area if it is a phrase that you really like.

An Efficient Method of Compiling The Results -- You may very well develop your own method and, of course, this is fine. But take a look at the plan that follows to see what you think.

Use a spreadsheet (Excel or OpenOffice Calc). Head columns with these titles:  Phrase, Searches, Competition, Additional Info. Keep it open in another window while you begin the search.

When you follow the instructions previously provided, you will be looking at a list of long tail keywords (3 or more words). Adjust both windows (spreadsheet and seobook) so that you can see both. Type your first 5 to 10 keywords and the total Daily searches.

Then go back up to the Google column and search the competition. When you hit the number beside the keyword, it will NOT have the speech marks. Click at the end of the phrase and type ".  Hit HOME and type ". Hit SEARCH. You should then write that number in the competition column.

This will save you a lot of time between switching back and forth every time and after all time is money. If you are lucky enough to have a partner with another computer, have them type in the spreadsheet as you search and call out the information.

This is a step to learning what I call "Work Smart, Not Hard". Then when you do both, work smart and hard, you are doubling your achievement.