Keyword Research Matters
It is essential for business owners to have a strong online presence if they intend to use their website as a growth vector. However, merely having a website is not enough – it’s necessary to make sure that people in search of the goods or services you provide can easily find your website.
This is where keyword research comes into play.
What’s Keyword Research?
The essence of keyword research is to find the language that people use when they are looking for items, services, or knowledge on the web. By investigating and pinpointing these keywords, you can adjust your website content to have a chance a capturing more traffic from the search inquiries of your possible clients.
Why is Keyword Research Important?
Simply put, keyword research is critical for your SEO success. Here are a few reasons why:
- Increased Organic Search Traffic – By optimizing the content of your website for applicable keywords, you can increase the possibility of your website being shown in SERPs. This could result in more organic search traffic to your website.
- Understanding Your Audience and Their Needs – Researching keywords can help you comprehend the terminology and expressions that your potential customers use when searching the internet for products and services you may offer. This data can help you adjust your website content to capture more traffic from search.
- Identifying High-Converting Keywords – Not all keywords are the same. Researching keywords can assist you in identifying the keywords that are more likely to lead to conversions (such as sales or leads) for your company.
- Outranking Competitors in Search Results – Research your keywords can also aid you in finding gaps in the market. This edge will give you chances to target keywords that your competitors may not be leery of.
Keyword Types
The nature of keywords falls into a few different categories. Short-tail, long-tail, branded and non-branded.
Short-Tail Keywords
Phrases that consist of only one or two words are called short-tail keywords. “Shoes” and “travel” are both examples of these. Although you find that have tons of search activity, they’re extremely competitive. Although these type of keywords could bring in lots of website traffic, they’re super competitive and challenging to rank on page 1 in search engines.
Long-Tail Keywords
Long-tail keywords tend to be more descriptive phrases, with three to four words. An illustration of this would be “men’s running shoes” or “top-rated hotels in New York City”.
Generally, long-tail keywords receive fewer searches than short-tails, but they’re less competitive and specific. Effectively targeting long-tail keywords will attract relevant visitors to your website.
Branded Vs. Non-Branded Keywords
Keywords that include a company’s name and other identifying words are known as branded keywords. An example of branded keywords would be “Nike shoes.” Non-branded keywords don’t have the business or brand name included. An example of this would be “running shoes.”
Branded keywords are helpful for drawing in website traffic from people looking for that particular brand, while non-branded keywords can be useful for drawing in a wider range of customers that may not be aware of the brand yet.
Choosing The Best Keywords For Your Website
When selecting the best keywords for your website, consider factors such as the quantity of searches, competition, and relevance to your business.
It’s also important to consider keyword intent. Are your keywords related to people looking for information or hoping to make a purchase?
By having a deep understanding of your target audience and their needs, you’ll choose the best keywords for driving qualified visitors to your website and, in the end, result in sales.
Recommended Keyword Research Tools
When conducting effective keyword research, there are a number of tools out there. Listed below are some of the best tools for conducting keyword research.
Google Keyword Planner
Google Keyword Planner is a free application and a component of Google Ads. By using this tool, it’s possible to search for relevant keywords to your business, and also view information related to their search frequency, competition, and the estimated cost per click for paid promotions.
When utilizing Google Keyword Planner, simply input a keyword or phrase that is associated with your company and the tool will generate a list of related keywords together with their data on search volume and competition.
SE Ranking (Our Favorite)
SE Ranking is an all-in-one SEO tool that offers a keyword research feature. With it, you can look up keywords, get details about search amounts and competitive trends, and inspect the backlink profiles of competitors in your space. This tool is awesome.
SEMrush
In addition to providing keyword research options, SEMrush is a comprehensive SEO tool that also allows for the analysis of competitor information, monitoring of keyword rankings, and other features.
Moz Keyword Explorer
Moz Keyword Explorer is a tool for keyword research that provides information on the search frequency, how difficult it is to rank for the keyword, and the rate of clicks on organic search results. Additionally, Moz offers other SEO functions, such as website crawling and link analysis.
Using Keyword Research Tools Effectively
When harnessing the power of keyword research tools, it is essential to keep in mind that no tool is perfect. The data supplied by keyword research tools should be used as a broad guide rather than an exact science. When deciding on keywords to integrate into your website, other elements such as your intended audience, objectives, and competitors should also be taken into account.
Apart from using keyword search tools, it is also beneficial to consistently evaluate your website analytics to find out which keywords are driving visitors to your website and which keywords are resulting in conversions.
By continuously tracking and adjusting your keyword strategy, you can continue to increase your website’s visibility in search results and bring in more qualified traffic for your website.
The Keyword Research Process
Now that we’ve covered different types of keywords and a few tools to help with keyword research, let’s discuss the keyword research process.
Step 1: Define Your Website’s Purpose and Goals
Prior to starting to investigate for keywords, it is essential to have a thorough comprehension of your website’s goal and objectives.
- What goals do you have for your website?
- Who is the intended audience for your business?
Know these answers can assist you in recognizing the keywords that are most applicable to your business and your target audience.
Step 2: Brainstorm Keyword Ideas
Consider the goods and services you provide, the most relevant topics to your venture, and the terminology and expressions your target demographic may utilize when looking for information associated with your enterprise.
Step 3: Use Keyword Research Tools
Once you have a list of concepts for possible keywords, the following step is to use keyword research tools to uncover additional keywords and get information on the amount of searches and levels of competition.
As stated earlier, there are several tools for doing keyword research, such as Google Keyword Planner, SE Ranking, SEMrush, and Moz Keyword Explorer.
Step 4: Analyze Keyword Competition and Search Volume
After you have created a list of possible keywords, it is important to evaluate the competition and the frequency of search for each keyword.
If you have a new website, you should target keywords that have a sensible volume of searches but are not overly competitive as it will be hard get page 1 rankings for very demanding keywords.
If you have an aged website, it’ll have a better chance of ranking high for short-tail keywords, assuming that it’s properly properly managed and optimized.
Step 5: Prioritize and Select Target Keywords
After collecting all of the necessary data, prioritize and pick out the most relevant target keywords for your business and target demographic.
Make sure there’s reasonable search volume and competition for these words. Additionally, consider the purpose of each keyword.
Are the keywords relevant to people looking for information or hoping to make a purchase?
Step 6: Incorporate Keywords into Your Website Content
After you have your target keywords and keyphrases, incorporate them into the text on your website. This task includes modifying page titles, meta descriptions, headings and the text on the page itself to include the targeted keywords in a smooth and sensible way.
If keyword research & implementation is done right, properly managed and maintained, you can enhance the visibility of your website in search results and draw in more relevant traffic to your website.
Best Practices After Keyword Research
Let’s review a few techniques to help you take full advantage of your keyword research research efforts, which will help with SEO or the search engine visibility of your website.
Avoid Keyword Stuffing
An error that numerous companies make is “keyword stuffing.” Keyword stuffing is the act of utilizing a keyword too many times in an effort to control search engine rankings. Stuffing keywords will make your content seem silly, unreadable, and it’ll hurt your credibility in the eyes of your potential clients and customers.
This strategy will have a disastrous effect on your website’s rankings. Instead, concentrate on subtly including your desired keywords in an appropriate and logical manner. If you’re sharing details about your product or service, you’ll use your keywords naturally anyway.
Optimize for User Intent
When working with your chosen keywords, think about the goal behind each keyword.
Are people searching for info or in-market to purchase something?
By recognizing the intent of each keyword, you can adjust your website content to appeal to your intended demographic.
Incorporate Keywords into Your Website Content
Once you’ve determined which keywords to focus on, update your website. Add your keywords to your page titles, meta descriptions, and the text on the page in an organic and relevant way.
Track and Adjust Your Keyword Strategy
Keyword research and SEO are not one-time activities.
Periodically analyze and modify your keyword strategy to ensure that the best keywords are being targeted and that you’re reaching your intended audience. Utilize web analytics to track which keywords are driving website traffic that results in conversions (leads), and make changes to the strategy as needed.
An effective keyword research strategy is crucial to the success of a SEO campaign.
As long as you’re following best practices for keyword research and SEO, you can have a positive impact on your website’s visibility in the search results which’ll lead to more qualified traffic.
Looking for a SEO Consultant?
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Since 2011, we’ve helped businesses to turn their websites into viable growth vectors by assisting them in realizing the potential of capturing new clients and customers from search. If you’re interested in exploring the potential for your web presence to benefit from the power of these internets, we can help you.
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