People who have been adhering to the same old tactics while researching keywords might do well to shake things up a little – or a lot. A search engine marketing expert recently shared her insights and gave some advice on the matter.

Christine Churchill, the President of KeyRelevance, said in an interview at SMX Advanced that she’s seen some “amazing changes” take place in respect to what’s working. “This past year or so, with this economic depression that we’ve had . . . some of the terms that have been very consistent over the years . . . you’ll actually see a very strong downward trend,” stated Churchill.

“Online behavior is changing. People are trying to find ways to stretch their dollars, get more for their money,” she continued by way of explanation.

So one specific tip is to pair core keyword phrases with terms like “discount,” “cheap,” “overstock,” and “inexpensive.” Churchill said, “We’ve found that to be very useful.”

More generally, she likes to just take advantage of what several different keyword tools offer. You can use some for brainstorming, some for gathering trend info, and so on. And it’s best to make sure you’re on the right path by seeing if they offer consistent suggestions.

Two of Churchill’s favorite tools are Google Trends and Google Insights for Search.