5 Tips For Using Market Samurai’s Generate Keywords Screen
You’ll have noticed lots of very useful features in Market Samurai, and sometimes trying to get to grips with them can seem overwhelming. It’s easy to get sided into just using the features that you know best, but you really want to learn to use this software to your best advantage.
I’ve been using Market Samurai since last August, and have found a fair number of ways to speed up and improve my use of it. I wanted to share them with you, so here’s my first of a series of tips about using Market Samurai.
This post is about using the first screen that you see after you’ve clicked on the words “Keyword Research”.
1. Using the “Add Permutations” Button
If you’re going to generate keywords, then you want to use the Add Permutations button after you’ve generated the keywords, not before.
The “permutations” of a keyword phrase are all the possible orders of the words in the keyword phrase.
For example, there are six permutations of “bluebell scented soap”. They are:
bluebell scented soap, bluebell soap scented, scented bluebell soap, scented soap bluebell, soap bluebell scented, soap scented bluebell.
A 2-word phrase has 1×2 = 2 permutations,
a 3-word phrase has 1x2x3 = 6 permutations,
a 4-word phrase has 1x2x3x4 = 24 permutations, and so on.
The “Add Permutations” button will add the permutations of the main keyword of your current tab, and the permutations will appear at the bottom of your keyword list:
So if your tab’s main keyword is bluebell scented soap, then clicking on the button will add all the permutations of bluebell scented soap to the bottom of your keyword list.
It won’t add permutations of the other keywords in your list. For example, it won’t add permutations of “scented essential oils”. So if you want to analyze the various word orders of “scented essential oils”, you open a new tab for it. Just click on the key symbol to the left of the phrase “scented essential oils”, and that will open the new tab for you:
Remember, if you’re going to generate keywords in your current tab, then you want to use the button after you have generated the keywords, and not before. Otherwise, the newly generated keywords will over-write the permutations.
2. Using the “Add Keywords” Box and Button and the “Import” Keywords Button under the main Keyword list
If you’re going to generate keywords, then only use the Add Keywords button after you’ve generated the keywords, not before. The same applies to the Import button under the Keyword list window: use it after generating keywords, not before. They work in a similar way to the Add Permutations button above.
You can paste or type additional keywords into the Add Keywords box beforehand, but if you click on the Add Keywords button before you generate keywords, the generated keywords will over-write the ones you just added.
Suppose you have a list of words in a .txt file that you want to analyze: then you can either copy and paste them into the Add Keywords box above, or you can click on the Import button circled in yellow above and navigate to your .txt file.
If you’re going to use both buttons, then the order in which you use them doesn’t matter. But if you’re going to generate keywords, remember to do the generating first.
3. Using the Positive and Negative Keyword Boxes and their Update Buttons
Only click the Positive Keywords Update button if you want every keyword in your keyword list to contain a word from the Positive Keywords box. Only click the Negative Keywords Update button if you want none of the keywords in your keyword list to contain any of the words from the Negative Keywords box.
When you type or paste words into the Positive Keywords box and click Update, Market Samurai removes every keyword from your Keyword list that doesn’t contain any of those words. For example, if you just put the word “soap” into the Positive Keywords box and click Update, then Market Samurai will remove all keywords from the list on the right that don’t contain the word “soap”:
Another way to remove all keywords that don’t contain the word “soap” is to click the word “soap” anywhere in your keyword list and then click the check (tick) mark to the right of it:
When you type or paste words into the Negative Keywords box and click Update, Market Samurai removes every keyword from your Keyword list that contains any of those words. So if you want to remove from the list any keywords that contain, say, “olive” or “soy” or “goat”, then you can either type those three words into the Negative Keywords box, or you can click each of those words anywhere in the keyword list and then click the cross to the right of them. If you do it this second way then you only need to click each of the words once.
4. Using the “Export” and “Clear” Buttons
When in doubt, export. And especially: export before you click on Clear. Which brings me to this mantra: when in doubt, steer clear of the Clear button.
The Export buttons create .txt files of the list of words above the buttons, which you save onto your computer. By exporting the words, you avoid the frustrations of having to recreate a list.
The Clear button under the main keyword list does exactly what it says: it clears everything out of the keyword list box.
The Clear button under the Negative Keywords box clears everything from the box and puts all your negative keywords back into your main keyword list.
The Clear button under the Positive keywords box puts everything back into the main keyword box.
These are all great reasons to export.
5. Before Deleting Individual Generated Keywords
Instead of spending time going though the generated keywords to delete them, click on the Analyze Keywords button and first get search or traffic numbers using the minimum searches filter.
This way, you get rid of a lot of unwanted keywords immediately. Then get the SEO Comp (SEOC) with a maximum filter. Then if you want you can start deleting some keywords. You’ll see that in the example above that won’t be necessary – we can go straight on to check all the other boxes that we’re interested in.
This can save you a lot of time. Market Samurai is a lot faster now than it ever was, so let the software do the sifting for you.
6. Using the “min” and “max” Phrase Length Features
If you change your minimum and maximum phrase length, there’s no need to regenerate your keywords – your keyword list will automatically change:
A little bit of Market Samurai magic…
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Great article.
I’ll be sure to link people here if they need clarification!
Arlen
Thanks for taking the time to add this, it was helpful to me. I love this application, and only need to use it now and then. So this is a great refresher also.
Always enjoying the updates from the team, too !!!
Thanks
Great post. Thank you.
I would love for you to re-consider me for your affiliate program. There are a lot of people here in Hawaii that could really take advantage of this great tool.
Aloha, Bob Sommers
Hi Bob – thank you for your compliment! Re your affiliate request: you’ll need to send it to the Market Samurai team (Noble Samurai). You could send them a support ticket – http://www.noblesamurai.com/support/helpdesk/index.php?_m=tickets&_a=submit I’m not part of the team – I started this blog to supply resources & reviews for Market Samurai because I love the product and I’ve become a Market Samurai geek.
I knew this was already the best investment that I have ever made in my business, and yet they only keep making it better!
Thank you for clarifying how to use this feature! I love Market Samurai but I still have much to learn in order to fully benefit from all that it can do.
I’d like clarification on #5. It was my understanding that we shouldn’t analyze more than 180 keywords (or is it 150?) at a time, therefore we need to pare things down to that level or less before paring down with Total Searches + SEOC. So is the paring down to 180 or less only necessary when we’re analyzing the words with more than Total Searches + SEOC? Hope someone can answer this – I have spent a lot of time paring down my keywords manually before clicking on any kind of analysis and it can be time consuming.
~ Lillea
Hi Lillea – just getting search numbers on its own (with a maximum filter) and then SEOC (with filter) I think will be fine these days. The Noble Samurai team have added a proxies setting to Market Samuarai: click on the File pull-down menu (top left of your Market Samurai), choose Settings, then Proxies, and you’ll see that there’s now an option to “Use built-in proxy servers”. If you make sure that box is checked (ticked) then I think you’ll be ok. Let me know if you do ever get temporarily banned by Google using tip #5, and if so I’ll adjust the tip.
thanks for the useful advice and once again its was very affective
Thank you. I am guilty of not using the add permutations key and looking at your article, I may overlooking some great keywords. I love this program and the more I can learn about it the better. I love all the new features and the speed!!! What a world of difference. It’s great to be reminded of the basic ways in which to use Market Samurai. Again, thank you for the article.
Lillea: I just did an experiment with 1174 keywords. There seems to be a wee bug in the current version, as a minimum Search filter didn’t filter out any of the words (you probably know that Market Samurai is still in Beta). So I ran a SEOC request with a maximum filter of 50,000 on all 1174 of those keywords. It took a few minutes, but I got a good result – no Google ban or time-out. So you can now go ahead & save a lot of that time you’ve been spending paring down your keywords manually. (Do get back to me tho if you get a problem using that tip).
I have been a MS user since the beginning. Great program and a nice presentation on how to use this section of the program. Thanks!!
Thank you Joseph, Arlen, Kit, Bob, Wayne, Lillea, Toby, and Garden Decorative Items.
Great stuff guys! I can only imagine what the yet to be released ADWORDS tab will do. I can’t wait!
Ben
Hi Ben – thanks! I’m currently a 1-person team. I need to write an “About us” type post (and “page”) to clarify that I’m not one of the Noble Samurai team (the great team behind Market Samurai). Their site is http://www.noblesamurai.com/
Awesome!
Thanks for sharing this. Like you stated the software does so much that its hard to sometimes tell where to start. I appreciate this type of post on Market Samurai and would love to see more.
Also I really learned alot from Michelle MacPhearson’s videos too.
Charlie
Thank you Charlie. Michelle MacPhearson’s videos rock – she’s brilliant.
Thank you so much for taking the time to do these updates. They are extremely helpful.
I keep meaning to get back to the main site but never seem to find the time. These updates are just the right size and both refresh and teach new things. Just what I need!
Regards..PhillySteve
Thanks for taking the time to get this post written.
Hope to get more tips from ye!
Thanks guys. This is good reinforcement of the basics that are so easily forgotten in the hurry to get to the next stage.
Super pointers! You’re so right that in an effort to do things quickly, we often forget to check some very appropriate boxes, such as the permutations button. That one is an absolute must.
I’ve been a Market Samurai user since Aug. 2008, and I can’t imagine not having this fantastic tool in my arsenal.
I look forward to more of the Market Samurai tips!
Thanx
Thank you for this very informative article. I too, will link to you on one of my upcoming blogs. This certainly gives very clear instructions and it always helps when someone does the groundwork.
I love Market Samurai and the new content feature is very helpful too. I look forward to their new additions and agree with you its one of the best SEO tools on the market.
Millionairemumma
Hi Millionairemumma – thank you for your to-be link.
Great, great tips and reminders. MS is so powerful that I get too caught up and unfocused. I make it too complicated. Keep it simple…I remind myself.
Thanks again.
Thanks Steve, Yuma, Elizabeth, Chicken House Plans and Rowan.
The permutations button was worth the read. I didn’t realize the power there. Thanks for the heads up about clicking it AFTER the searches. It saved me a lot of trial by error.
Well, there are always those seemingly obvious things that just skip one’s mind when at work.
I always forget to analyze before starting to delete random keywords. Yes – this serves as a good reminder of what a time waster that is
Thanks for the helpful post
These tips rock! =)
Great information. Thanks so much – this will really be helpful.
Thanks again for the great advice. Market Samurai is such fun to use that the temptation is to delve right in and put off learning all of its nuances.
You’ve definitely got my attention for any and all advice in the future!
Frank
Thanks so much for this informative guide!!!! Kudos!
Thanks do much for this info. I love market samurai, the time it saves me is amazing. This article taught me 2 new tricks.
Thanks,
Kitt
Thanks for the clarity in using this tool for some one that only uses it at random it kinda pays to watch or read the tutorials to save time.Alan
[...] I’ve made some additions to the post 5 Tips For Using Market Samurai’s Generate Keywords Screen [...]
great stuff!
now I feel stoopid – I never realised what the positive keyword box was for until now
Lol Mike, if I wasn’t such a nerd I wouldn’t either. Thanks Mike, Stainless Steel Cooking, Susan, Art, Sharon, Frank, John, Kitt and Alan.
Thank you Isha,
What a really informative article.
)
Ade
I also believe this was the best money I have spent on any product since I began my journey into the online marketing world.
The additional training material that they deliver coupled with the continuous development kicks royal hiney.
The Noble Samarai folks are awesome.
I already submitted a ticket to be an affiliate. Can’t wait.
Thanks for your explanation, it helps. Market Samurai is a great program and I appreciate the very useful tips!
Sorry I didn’t see your comment earlier Yaron to approve it, because of health issues. Thank you for the comment – and I like your site.
Thank you for the tips, I have just started using Samurai as a part of the thirty day challenge and can’t believe how powerful it is. Thanks to the other commenter as well as they offered some good advise as well.
Hi Make Money Online, if you’re thinking of buying Market Samurai then you want to buy before midnight on Thursday 10th September (Pacific time) to get it at the thirty day challenge rate of $87 (after midnight on Thursday it will go back to $149). You need to visit this link: http://marketsamurai.com/c/30dcthankyou and put in this discount code: THANKYOU30DC and then click “Proceed to Payment”. That link isn’t my affiliate link, it’s the Thirty Day Challenge link, & I recommend that you buy it quick as it is not only the best thing since sliced bread for any internet marketer, it also *
sets the bar
* for all sliced bread for ever. I’ll email you too just to be sure you get the message.
God I love Market Samurai!
It just keeps getting better and better!
Sean
[...] You can read my tips on using the Generate Keywords screen here: 5 Tips For Using Market Samurai’s Generate Keywords Screen”. [...]
I am BRAND new to this tool … and I was hoping to get a very very basic question answered ad can not find it anywhere. Perhaps you can help.
The first term I put in, I do not see where to get back to the Generate page. Its on the next page where you analyze. I have no keywords generated yet however, thus, my question. How do I get back to the Generate page?
PS
Thanks for the tips on this post, sounds like good basic info to know. Appreciated.
Hi Julie. Let’s see if I understand this correctly: You have a brand new keyword tab, titled let’s say: your keyword phrase. And for some reason you’ve been taken straight to the Analyze page instead of the Generate page?
Can you see a button at the bottom of your screen that says “Modify Keywords” like the one in this shot here?:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/29745871@N03/5001548041/
If so, you click on that and it should take you straight to your Generate page.
If not, then I think you should probably put a support ticket to Noble Samurai, to helpdesk@noblesamurai.com
I hope this helps.
Isha
[...] 5 Tips For Using Market Samurai's Generate Keywords Screen …Market Samurai tips on using the first screen you see after you've clicked on the words “Keyword Research”. The first of a series of tips … [...]
Nice article. I’ve noticed that when I add in a positive keyword, it KEEPS all keywords that have that word. Then when I put in a second positive keyword it ADDS all keywords that have the second positive keyword, even if the first positive keyword ISN’T in the keyword.
So it is an OR thing : keyword(s) included = positive keyword #1 OR positive keyword #2
But I would like to have : keyword(s) included = pos keyword #1 AND pos keyword #2
Hi Marlan, for that you would enter both keywords onto one line. So in your Positive Keywords box, instead of:
keyword #1
keyword #2
you’d have:
keyword #1 keyword #2
in one line in that box. Let me know if that helps.
Isha
Hey. I am using “Add Keywords” but they are not assigned an SEOV. Only the ones being created by “generate keywords”. Do you know why?
Sounds like a bug Portal. If you still have the problem I’d put in a support ticket about it, to helpdesk@noblesamurai.com
Thank you so much for writing this for those of us who are having a hard time with keyword research, you cleared up alot for me… thank you so much!
you rock!