The Master Keyword List ("MKL") presents your list of brainstormed keywords. It is where you can search, manipulate, analyze and delete the keywords generated and researched by "the creative half" of Brainstorm It!, Brainstormer.

The MKL always provides a message such as...

124 words of 350 total (1000 max)

This means that this particular list is showing 124 words out of a total of 350 in the entire MKL, and that the maximum allowed is 1000.

Let's review the essentials of the MKL...

Master Keyword List Quick Tour

This section tours you quickly through the heading of each column of the Master Keyword List module. Use various tools to...

• search (in the boxes above each heading)
  
  
• sort (click on the heading links)
  
  
• delete (check boxes and click delete link), and
  
  
• export your list of keywords (bottom right corner of the MKL).

For example, click on the Keyword heading link to sort your MKL alphabetically. Click on any other heading link to sort the list according to the numbers in that column. And speaking of headings...

Keyword    This column contains all your keywords generated by Brainstormer. Click here for info on how to add keywords one-at-a-time.

Value Demand    "Value Demand" reflects both search demand and the monetizability (commercial potential) of each keyword. Higher values are good -- those keywords are more in-demand.
More info here (opens new window)

Real Supply    Real Supply shows you how much competition there is for each keyword. It gives you a rough idea of how difficult it will be to rank in the Top 10 at the Search Engines. The higher the number in the Supply column, the more competition there is for that keyword.
More info here (opens new window)

Profitability    Profitability is, quite simply, Value Demand divided by Real Supply ("value/winnability"), multiplied by 1000. It is a rough indication of the profit potential of a keyword.

A keyword with high Value Demand and Real Supply will have the same Profitability number as a keyword with proportionately lower Demand and Supply. But understand the different nature of this. It will be harder to rank in the Top 10, but if you do manage it, the rewards are far greater. With a "lower Demand-Supply" word, you are more likely to be able to make less money.

A good site has a wide range of topics and does not chase only the highest Demand keywords. Be patient. You will gain traffic first for the easier (low Supply) words.

Be careful. Do not be too "literal" when interpreting Profitability numbers. Be especially careful if the Profitability is high because the Supply is low...

Human judgment must always rule -- do not become number-bound.

There is a lot of wrong information on the Web, including a formula called "KEI." Run away from that -- it overemphasizes trying to SEO your way to victory for the most competitive, high-demand words. That approach is faulty. The correct approach is to start your traffic by ranking for easy words. That early traffic, plus some inbound links, will start the momentum-snowball rolling for you. This is important. Read "The Tao of SBI!" if you are at all confused by this. You can download by clicking to visit this forum thread.

Notepads    These are very useful places to store your ideas.

Enter all of your great ideas for Content or Monetization for each Specific Keyword into its corresponding Notepad, as shown at left. You will get ideas for Notepads...

   • from reviewing and thinking about your MKL or...

   • by visiting sites in the course of your research or...

   • during the normal day-to-day process of building your site and thinking about your business.

How do you enter notes? Simple... Just click on the small Notepad button to pop open a Web page with a form to enter your notes for that keyword. Enter notes into the text entry box. When you've finished, click on the "Save Ideas" button on that popup window. The Notepad page will close.

After you save an entry into a Notepad, the Notepad icon changes from white-blank to "yellow-written" the next time you refresh the MKL. That's how you tell where your notes are! Sort these columns by clicking on the Content or Monetize heading link. What sorts to the top? Keywords that have notes in the Notepad. This pulls together all of the keywords for which you have entered ideas, plans, and so forth! A great "to do" list! What about Site Info? Yes, that one sorts the same way. But this Notepad is rather special and we'll cover it separately, very soon.

The next time you load your MKL, this Notepad icon will be yellow-with-writing. Click on it. Your Notepad pop ups and shows all your notes/ideas for that keyword...

• Add/modify/delete notes as desired for your Content Notepad when you get ideas for "Content" (ex., new material to create about recent events, how to spin a topic, which keywords will be TIER 3s for this TIER 2, etc.).
  
  
• You can also add/delete monetization ideas into your Monetize Notepad for any particular topical keyword (ex., potential affiliate partners, Google AdSense, local referrers, products, services, etc.).
  
  
• And as we'll see in a moment, you'll add notes about Competitors or Merchants in your Site Info Notepad. This one, though, does something special when you first click on it. Speaking of which...

Site Info Notepads is the column of Notepads under "Site Info." Each provides data on 10 top sites for each keyword, including some additional data for up to 10 more sites related to each of the top 10!

Site Info yields a complete competitive profile for each of the Top 10 sites... Title, Description, URL, Alexa Rank, Inbound Links (from Google, Yahoo! Search, Windows Live), Contact Info, and Top Google PR sites that link to it!

The report even includes (up to) 10 "Related Sites" for each Top 10 site. These are sites that tend to be visited if/when the respective Top 10 site is visited. The Related Sites come with considerable info, too, including their URLs, Alexa rankings, Inbound Links and Contact Info!

Here's how to get all Site Info data for any keyword with just one click...

Each little Notepad icon in the "Site Info" column of MKL either has writing on it (contains data), or does not (same as shown in the screenshot above). To get Supply Site Info, click on the "Empty Notepad" icon for a Specific Keyword.

This opens a new Notepad page. Brainstorm It! then goes to work, informing you of the status of this massive research...

... returning with all the data mentioned above.

What do you do with this Site Info? Follow the links, investigating the sites, inbound links, Google PRs, etc. Make notes in this Notepad's text entry box (the Supply Site Info Notes text box is at the bottom of each Site Info page, below all the data). Click on "Save Notes" when you're done.

Site Info Notepads are fantastically inspirational! You will get ideas while reviewing the amazing amount of data that each Site Info process brings back.

Study the Site Info that your Notepad delivers for each keyword. You will notice two very different types of sites...

• Content sites are competitors. They are in the same business as you (i.e., providing content), so they have already tread paths that now provide good Content and Monetization ideas for you (ex., found a great affiliate program!).
  
  
• Merchant sites get your brain churning with new monetization ideas! Each of these could be some kind of monetization opportunity for you.

See DAY 4 of the Action Guide for details on how to get the most out of Site Info, one of the most powerful features of Brainstorm It.

Site Info... Use it! You'll love it!

Your Notepads are the infinitely useful e-stickies, neatly tucked away for when you need them. It takes a bit of discipline to use them but it pays dividends in spades! Or in dollars, your choice.

The Search It! Columns    On the far right of the Master Keyword List, you will see a column of document icons, a column of camera icons, and my favorite... ... icons.

Click on the to go directly to Search It!'s (SI!) "Reference Library for Content" for the keyword in each row. Wikipedia is pre-selected for you, with your keyword already inserted. Either click on the Search It! button or switch to any other library resource. These are all excellent resources for researching Content related to that keyword!

Click on the to go directly to SI!'s "Images-Video-Sounds" for the keyword in each row. Flickr is pre-selected for you, with your keyword already inserted. Either click on the Search It! button or switch resources. Also, note istockphoto.com in Search It!, the best way to legally get super-cheap, high-quality stock photos.

Click on the to go directly to SI!'s "Monetization category" for the keyword in each row. "Keywords Worth? (Google Traffic Estimator)" is pre-selected for you, with your keyword already inserted. Click on the Search It! button to get a quick fix on what each keyword is worth (Cost Per Click). This Google tool is covered in more detail in DAY 4 of the Action Guide. (Note: You will have to copy-and-paste that keyword into the Google tool since Search It! cannot directly do that. Sorry.)

If you are not familiar with Search It! yet, it may be best to first go to http://searchit.sitesell.com/ and use the "public version." The tutorials are worthwhile. Switch to the "private version" of Search It! (via Site Central) once you know them. And remember, before you click on the Search It! button, do check the mini-online-help link after Step 2 for each search resource. It looks like this...

Getting the Most Out of Your MKL

The big picture of using the Master Keyword List is well covered in DAYs 2-4 of the Action Guide. Here are a few practical pointers...

1) MKL Is The "Destination" Of Brainstormer

After you perform a Brainstormer query, you end up at the Master Keyword List. When the MKL is presented right after a Brainstormer query, the newly generated keywords are displayed in blue, like this...

The MKL shows the entire list of keywords. The newly brainstormed keywords (blue) are mixed in with all the keywords previously brainstormed (black). If you have more than one Seed Word, focus on it by selecting it from the Brainstorm Seed Word Menu (see next section).

When you have not been actively brainstorming, your MKL turns "all black"...

TIP: Manage your MKL immediately after each brainstorm query. Delete useless words (through one-by-one review, or through searching, sorting, etc., as explained below). If your set of keywords is kept "neat," working with your MKL is so much easier, and much more fruitful.

2) Brainstorm Seed Word Menu

Each Brainstorm Seed Word in the Seed Word drop-down menu (below) is a Seed that you have entered into Brainstormer when performing a Vertical Brainstorm or a Lateral Brainstorm, at some time in the past.

This drop-down menu is very useful. Choose All to see the entire set of keywords in your MKL. Or choose a particular Brainstorm Seed Word to see the group of keywords generated by brainstorming for that Seed Word.

3) Search Functions

When you do a "Search," the MKL displays all keywords that match the criteria of your search. Here's how to get the most out of MKL searching...

First, decide upon your Seed Word. Choose All in the "Choose Brainstorm Seed Word" drop-down to search within all keywords from all your Seeds. If you want to search within a particular group of keywords generated by a single Brainstorm Seed Word, choose the Seed Word to display that group. Then...

• Text Search    Enter a word or two (or more) into any of the TEXT search boxes (the entry boxes above the "Keyword" and Notepad headings). Click on the Search button. For example...
  
  This search finds all keywords that contain the word "hotels" (for whatever Seed Word was chosen).
  

  "The Excluder Search" (For Keywords Only) Want to find all keywords in your list that exclude (i.e., do not contain) a certain word? Easy, type an exclamation point ("!") before the word. For example.. Anguilla-beaches.com chooses the Seed Word, "anguilla." Then she wants to search for all the keywords that do not contain Anguilla. So she enters "!anguilla" into the search box for Keywords... This finds all words that were generated by lateralized searches for the seed, "Anguilla," since it delivers words that do not contain "Anguilla" in it. She then scans this list, deleting words that don't fit her future plans.

  
  
• Number Search    Enter a number preceded by either < (less than) or > (greater than) into any of the NUMERICAL search boxes (the entry boxes above the "Value Demand" and "Real Supply" and "Profitability"). Click on the Search button. For example...
  
  This search finds all keywords with a Value Demand greater than 1,000 (for whatever Seed Word was chosen).

Bringing It All Back    Want to bring all your keywords back after you have finished analyzing search results? Easy! Clear all the search boxes that have data in them and choose All from the Seed Word drop-down. Or, to stay within a Seed Word, merely clear all Search boxes and click the Search button.

Power Search Tip #1   Multiple Search    Enter text and/or numeric Search requests in more than one search box. Click Search. MKL finds those keywords that match all your entries. This allows you to tailor very precise searches.

Develop this skill. Specifying search criteria that must be met in two or more search boxes at the same time yields highly targeted, well thought-out keywords.

Example of a Multiple Search Let's say that you want to find all keywords that have... the word "hotels" in them, for All your Seed Words, and that have solid Demand, and you do not want General Keywords, so you want those with lower Supply. Great idea, and best of all, it's no problem! Here's what to do... Choose "All" in the Seed Word Menu (as shown in the screenshot above). Enter "hotels" in the data entry box above Keyword. Enter ">1000" in the data entry box above Value Demand. Enter "<5000" in the data entry box above Real Supply. Then click on the Search button. MKL shows you all words containing "hotels" and that have good Demand, and with General Keywords eliminated... If you want to find more of these, widen your search a bit by decreasing the number in the Value Demand search box (ex., "> 500") and/or increasing the number you entered in the Real Supply search box (ex., "< 10000"). Experiment until you like the quality and quantity of keywords that are found. All finished? To clear your Multiple Search and return to all your keywords in your MKL... 1) Clear the search terms out of all the Search boxes. And then... 2) Either select All or a Seed Word from the Seed Word Menu and/or click on Search, depending no what set of keywords you want to return.

Some people find Multiple Search a bit tricky. The key point is to understand and talk your way through what each search yields.

Power Search Tip #2    Search-and-Sort    Enter text and/or numeric Search request(s). Click on a column heading link instead of on the Search button, to search as usual and immediately sort by the column ("most favorable" goes to top).

This finds your pages, as usual, and sorts according to the column heading that you clicked. By doing this, you save a step and it helps you crystallize your thinking.

4) Sort Functions

Sort keywords according to the following...

• alphabetically (click on Keyword text link)
  
  
• Value Demand (click on Value Demand text link)
  
  
• Real Supply (click on Real Supply text link
  
  
• Profitability (click on Profitability text link, as shown here...

"Sorting the numbers" always first orders the words in the "best way." High Demand or low Supply or high Profitability sorts to the top. If you sort the same heading a second time, it sorts in reverse-order.

You'll find it especially useful to sort by Profitability and by Demand. Sorting by supply can also be very interesting. You may find a real under-served topic!

5) MKL And Seed-Search-Sort

Any time you go to the MKL, you'll notice a red message about "Seed-Search-And-Sort" above the MKL...

What is "Seed-Search-And-Sort"? It's the "state" of your MKL. It tells you...

• the current search, within
• whatever Brainstorm Seed Word you have selected, as well as
• however you have sorted your MKL.

The "Seed-Search-And-Sort" message tracks it all for you. It's useful to remember what you last did...

... especially as you get older!

6) Search Web

The purpose for doing so? There are several...

• Competition -- See who ranks in the Top 10. Don't be intimidated by a few big names. The key question is, "Is this a site that humans will value highly?" If you see tons of great content sites being found for all of your most important planned keywords, think twice about choosing this theme.
  
  
• Monetization -- Take a quick peek to see how many advertisers there are at each major SE, who they are, and how targeted they are. Many targeted advertisers is a great sign. Most companies aren't able to do what you'll be doing (building your own traffic). They're delighted to pay you for ads!
  
  
• PPC-Buying -- If you're planning to buy PPC advertising (not something most SBIers need to do!), look for a lack of competition instead of a lot of it!

To explore any frame in more detail, right-click on it (control-click in Mac) and choose to view that frame in a new browser window. If you don't have this option in your browser, you may be able to enlarge the whole window by clicking Ctrl+N.

7) Pagination and Navigation

Set pagination by indicating how many keywords you want the MKL to display per page. Choose 50, 100 or 250 keywords to display per page. If you have high-speed access, choose the higher range. Dialup access should choose the lower range.

Even if you choose 50 words per page display, when you sort, you'll sort the entire MKL in a flash, and you'll be able to jump from page to page super-quick. Speaking of navigation...

Navigating your Master Keyword List is simple...

You can advance to the Next page or skip to the Last. Go back to Previous or all the way to the First page.

Or you can enter any page number and skip straight to it by clicking the Go button.

8) Checking and Deleting

Nonsense keyword? Check and delete. Bye-bye!

The checkbox beside each keyword is useful for deleting (also exporting, which we'll cover below). Here's how to use "checking" to delete keywords...

i) Search for the group of keywords you want to work with. This may be "All" words or a certain Seed from your Brainstorm Seed Word Menu, or it may involve doing a Search for a certain set of keywords.

ii) Next....

• If a quick scan reveals that you'll be deleting most words, "Check All" and then uncheck the words you want to keep. It's faster this way.

  -OR-

• If it looks like you'll be keeping most of the keywords, check the words you want to delete.

OK, now that you know how to check and delete keywords, let's review the rest of the Delete function. It is extremely useful...

Don't keep deadwood. It just slows you down. You can check-and-delete in 3 ways...

• One-By-One Manual Review of Each Word    Check the checkbox in the left column for each keyword as you review them.
  
  
• By Seed Word    Choose a Seed Word from the Brainstorm Seed Word drop-down menu. The MKL shows you all keywords generated by brainstorm session(s) using that seed. If all or most of those keywords are of no value, click on the Check All text link. Uncheck the few that are good, if any. Then click on the Delete Checked link.

  NOTE: Deleting all keywords generated by a Seed deletes the Seed from the Brainstorm Seed Word Menu.

• Searches    Do a search for a group of keywords that contain a certain word. Delete some or all keywords that contain that word (assuming that those keywords are of no value to your niche). You can also decide to eliminate searches that have a low Profitability, a too-low Demand or a too-high Supply, or according to any other criterion or combination of criteria (see the help above regarding Search). Searching for "bad keywords" is a useful way to prune.

9) Adding Individual Keywords

You can add keywords, one by one, to the MKL. Suppose your Site Concept is "Anguilla" and you want to add "Anguillita Island" (a nearby island).

How do you add it?

Just above the Keyword search box, you'll see a text box that says "Enter New Keyword." Click in that box and type in "Anguillita Island" (without quotes). Then click on the Add Keyword button.

Brainstorm It! will then add the keyword to the Seed Word you selected in the Brainstorm Seed Word Menu. If you do not select a Seed Word (i.e., if the menu says "All"), the keyword will be added to "Added Words List."

Tips: If you add the keyword to a Seed Word, and you have your keywords sorted alphabetically, this new keyword will also appear alphabetically. If you add the keyword to the wrong Seed Word list, delete it from that list, select the Seed Word you want, and add the keyword again.

Brainstorm It! also delivers the keyword's Value Demand and Real Supply, and delivers the resulting Profitability (and does not cost you a credit from your WTB).

10) Exporting Your MKL

You can export your keywords.

No, not to Chile. Instead export them to a special kind of text file called a CSV file. You can open that with any text editor and print it. Or, if you are a touch on the, AHEM, geeky side...

You can import that file into any spreadsheet or database software. The CSV file contains the keywords and all related data, ready for you to manipulate and analyze with the "weapon of your choice."

How do you do it? Click on one of the 3 text links at the bottom right of the MKL...

The three export links ("Export All," "Export Current," and "Export Checked") each exports a set of keywords, along with Value Demand, Real Supply, and Profitability, as a CSV file to your desktop (i.e., it has the .csv extension).

If you check the "Export Keywords Only" checkbox, only the keywords are exported. No numbers are included.

Uncheck that box to export a complete set of all MKL raw data (Demand, Supply, etc.) for study in a spreadsheet. Do this only if you're a spreadsheet or database wizard and like playing with data.

When you export, a CSV file is saved to your desktop. After you click on one of the Export links, a dialog box asks if you want to open or save the file...

• Windows Internet Explorer users -- choose to save the file, explore to the desktop, and then click "Save."
  
  
• Windows Firefox users -- Choose "Save to Disk." This saves your CSV file onto your desktop.
  
  
• Mac users -- it may save directly to your hard disk without asking you where you want to save it.

If you do not see the file on your desktop, it may have been saved to a default folder instead. Do a search on your hard disk for the file name (see below).

A CSV file can be opened from within any text editor. For example, open Notepad and select File > Open. Then print it out.

Why CSV? Beyond working with it in text, CSV is specially formatted to allow you to import all your MKL data for your keywords into any spreadsheet or database program. And from there, you can manipulate, research and otherwise work with your data as much as you like.

The three Export links are...

i) Export All -- this exports all of your MKL keywords, whether you're currently showing one or all of them. The file name for this export is all_keywords.csv.

ii) Export Current -- this exports the current set of keywords that are being shown by MKL. For example, if you did a search for "anguilla" after choosing "caribbean" as the Seed Word, those are the keywords (along with all their data) that will be exported. The file name for this export is current_keywords.csv.

iii) Export Checked -- this exports a custom set of keywords. Set pagination to show 250 keywords at a time to work most quickly. Check all the keywords that you want (see above for tips on checking keywords). This export delivers all the keywords that you checked. The file name is checked_keywords.csv.

Checking words also comes in handy for deleting keywords. More on that above.