Will You Search or Research?

1. research

Critical and exhaustive investigation or experimentation, having for its aim the discovery of new facts and their correct interpretation, the revision of accepted conclusions, theories, or laws in the light of newly discovered facts, or the practical application of such new or revised conclusions, theories, or laws.

When faced with a decision, will you search or research? To distinguish the two, searching for a subject is more surface and topical. Researching a subject is more the action and work of drilling down into the substance and fabric of the issue.

Before the Internet, this brand of work was manual, paper intensive and library bound to be thorough with the task.

Now, most anyone can place a word or subject in a given search engine to find millions of results. The real effort comes when you settle down to a single object to “data mine.” Here's where there needs to be a decision as to the volume of time and length/depth of coverage you will expend and develop. The real work.

What's the point?

As we apply the MODEL (“for intelligent decision making”) to the above, the first step is discovery which is really two fold...search and research. And that's the point, you need to execute both of them. Many decisions are doomed from the start because this step is shorted and often avoided.

The obvious best action...You must identify the target, and point the gun before you pull the trigger. That is the reason (as the MODEL illustrates) that the largest time commitment is at this initial and defining step.

Then there is this:

Now apply the new search/data mining apps as a product of next generation developments. In other words, searching within searches.

“Keyword research is one of the most important, valuable, and high return activities in the search marketing field. Through the detective work of puzzling out your market's keyword demand, you not only learn which terms and phrases to target with SEO, but also learn more about your customers as a whole. The usefulness of this intelligence cannot be overstated - with keyword research you can predict shifts in demand, respond to changing market conditions, and produce the products, services, and content that web searchers are already actively seeking. In the history of marketing, there has never been such a low barrier to entry in understanding the motivations of consumers in virtually every niche - not taking advantage is practically criminal.”

For the full article and credits:

http://www.seomoz.org/beginners-guide-to-seo/keyword-research

In all, the apps available in the initial step (search and research) of decisioning are growing at a compounding pace. Fortunately, we have the portable and 24/7 hardware to make this task more convenient.

The key question:

When faced with the next significant decision, will we recognize the opportunity and responsibility, and using all the new tools, will we convert it to our advantage?

As always...you decide.