Melissa Weirick
Great keyword research can help the right people find your business, and it improves the search engine ranking of your posts and pages. If you know how to do keyword research, you won’t have to spend money on pay-per-click (PPC) ads.
But if you don’t know how to carry out keyword research, your website could get lost in the wasteland of Google.
Keywords and Keyword Research
Keywords are the words and phrases that customers use when looking for your services and products. Keywords show the mindset of customers as they’re looking for your product, and they’re used for general marketing and SEO optimization.
Keyword research is the process of discovering and analyzing words that customers are using to find your services. It shows what words are best to target, and it provides a look into what your target audience is searching for. Using effective keyword research techniques, you can ascertain that there is demand for what you’re selling, which means that your page will most likely rank well in Google, and you’ll enjoy the higher number of visitors that come with that.
Finding Keyword Ideas
Keyword research starts when you stand in your customers’ shoes. If you were them, what words and phrases would you use to solve your problem? If you plug these words into a keyword research tool, you’ll find thousands of relevant ideas related to what you’ve brainstormed.
All you need is a good grasp of your industry and a general understanding of how keyword research tools work.
Understanding Your Customers
In order to find the most useful keywords, you need to understand your customers on an intrinsic level. That means having an idea of what their goals are, and how you can help solve their issue.
This takes time to learn. You’re looking at your business from the “company” side of things, and what you want to rank for and what your customers actually want might be two different things. If you focus on your audience first, instead of your rank, you’ll see much more success – and that success will play into your rank in the long run.
Understanding your customers means knowing their search intent, of which there are four types:
- Informational (the customer wants to learn something)
- Navigational (they’re looking for a specific website or company)
- Transactional (they are comparing products and close to a purchase)
- Commercial (they are prepared to buy right now)
When your content matches a customer’s intent, they stay on your page for a longer amount of time. This helps build customer relationships, and it improves your SEO ranking as well.
Making Your List
After you have a good grasp of your audience, it’s time to create a list of possible keywords. To do this, simply think of all the products and services on your website and come up with a few relevant terms for each, terms you think people might search for.
Try to think of words that target people who are just clicking around, and those who are prepared to make a purchase instantly. Include general and specific terms that highlight what you’re selling. You need both because generic keywords will bring a higher amount of people to your site, but specific keywords will target people looking for exactly what you’re selling.
Check Out the Competition
One of the best ways to come up with keywords is to size up your competition. Check out what keywords similar companies within your niche are using, and how they’re ranking. You can figure this out using tools like Semrush or WordStream.
Gathering Volume Data
After you’ve made your list, it’s time to see if the keywords you’ve thought of are actually being searched for. In the end, it doesn’t matter if you’ve made a list that’s 100 pages long – if no one’s searching for your keywords, then you’re not going to get any traffic.
Using Semrush or WordStream, you can see what words on your list are the strongest. Those are the ones that you should create content for first because they’ll pull the most attention.
Using AutoFill
Next, you’ll want to see what your keyword looks like in a search. Go to Google and start typing in your keyword, then see what Google’s autofill function has to say. This function will show variations of the keyword you’re using, and therefore give ideas on what other phrases and words to highlight.
The articles on the first page of Google are performing the best and receiving the most traction. These articles are your main competition.
Staying Updated
The world of sales and digital marketing is always changing, so it’s important to keep your content fresh and renewed. This means updating your keyword research and adding new words a few times a year in order to stay relevant.
Keyword research is essential to pinpointing the most useful keywords, and keywords can make or break a business. Use these tips to get started on your research today, and you’ll see your traffic grow, your rank improve, and your website succeed.
