Keyword Research for Beginner’s Guide to SEO
Google keeps on updating its algorithm over time. However, the desire for marketers to use keywords to optimize their website does not change. The need for keyword research has not changed. This guide will help you to make sure that you are doing the right thing when searching for keywords.
What is Keyword Research
This process entails people using keywords to research and finds that actual terms that individuals enter in the search engine. Knowing these search terms will help in informing the content strategy or even your overall marketing strategy. In this keyword research guide, we will outline the keyword research process to see how you can narrow down to the terms that you are targeting. You need to establish and execute a strong keyword strategy so as to get the search terms that matter the most to your target audience.
Finding the Right Keywords for Your SEO Strategy
1. List Relevant and Important Topics for Your Business
You should think about the topics you would like to rank from when it comes to generic buckets. You can choose about 5 to 10 topics to help you get specific keywords. It could be some of the topics that you blog about every day. The other option is to get those topics that come up most during your sales conversations. The critical issue is to choose a topic that will attract the target audience. Readers want something that will add value to them.
2. Fill the Topic Buckets with Relevant Keywords
After getting a few topic buckets that you can focus on, you should get some keywords that fall under this category. These phrases should be important in the ranking is the search engine results pages. Most target customers conduct searches on specific terms. Brainstorm over some of the keywords that you think people could be typing when searching for your products and services. You will come up with a long list of possible keywords that you can use.
Remember you will not be coming up with the final list of keywords at this point. You just want an idea of what you think customers could be using to search for your content. You can narrow down your list later as per this keyword research guide so that you will not be having a weird thing.
You could also look at the keywords that your website is already attracting for you. Various website analytics software can help you to achieve this objective. It will help you get the keywords that people are using to get to your website. Repeat this exercise with several topic buckets. You can also ask your customer service employees the questions that customers ask the most to get keyword suggestions.
3. Research Related Search Terms
This is a creative step in this keyword research guide. Google.com can give you keyword suggestions that people could be thinking about in your niche. Type your phrase and then scroll down to the bottom of Google results. The keywords will spark ideas for more phrases that you can use. You will come across several related search terms.
4. Check for a Mix of Long-Tail Keywords and Head Terms in Every Bucket
There is a difference between long-tail keywords and head terms. The term head terms refer to those keyword phrases that are generally more generic and shorter. Their length lies between one to three words depending on the person you are talking to. On the contrary, long-tail keywords are long keyword phrases that have more than three phrases.
You should have a mix of long-tail keywords and head terms as this will give you a balanced keyword strategy. Head terms are researched the most making them harder to rank for and more competitive than long-tail terms. Therefore, long tail keywords are more desirable for the search engine. The reason is that they help those people who are looking for a more specific product or service.
It is hard for users to come across your content if your keywords are too broad. Long-tail keywords will give you quick wins hence rank highly. Avoid the most difficult head terms while balancing these two options.
5. Check How Your Competitors are Ranking These Keywords
The fact that your competitors are doing something does not imply that you copy them. A keyword could be important to your competitors but not you. However, it is crucial to understand the keywords that your competitors are ranking for so as to evaluate your keywords. You can improve the ranking for the keywords that you share with your competitors.
Also, look at some of the keywords that your competitors seem not to care about. It can give you an opportunity to shine in that particular niche. Know the terms that are more difficult and the ones that are more realistic. The aim of this keyword research guide is to help you get phrases that will give you quick wins over the competition. SEO tools can help you to get the keywords that your competitors are already ranking for.
6. Cut Your Keyword List Using Google AdWords Keyword Planner
After getting the right mix, you need to use some more quantitative data to narrow down your list. Several tools can help you to do this but Google AdWords keyword planners seem to be among the best. The tool allows you to get the traffic estimates and search volume for the keywords of your choice.
When Google transitioned from keyword planner from the keyword tool, they stripped off several interesting functionalities. However, it is a great tool to cut your keyword list. It will help you remove any terms that have little search volume on your list. You need to check the trend history and projections of the keyword phrases before deleting them. It will help you to come up with keywords that will give you great wins.
Google will help you to identify the terms that are trending to that you can pay close attention to them. These keywords will help you to choose the right topics for your blogs. You need to choose the right terms to use on every page of your website.
Re-evaluate the keywords that you are using after a few months because the relevance of the keywords changes over time. You don’t want to stick to something that is outdated. This keyword research guide will make sure that you are choosing the right phrases for your SEO.
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