You spent enough time and effort creating your business website and it would be a waste if it’s hard to find online. With proper optimisation for search engines, you can make sure that your site is equipped for the first page of particular Google search results. This process starts with keyword research.
Unless you’re an SEO expert, the idea of performing keyword research may sound more arduous than enjoyable. Though it can be a daunting task for newcomers, keyword research is an important first step in any SEO strategy that shouldn't be overlooked. Once you know how to properly do it, it's actually not so hard, and can even be considered fun.
WHAT IS KEYWORD RESEARCH?
Many may already have a general idea of what keyword research is, but if you don’t, this section is for you. Keyword research is the process of finding the best keywords for your website to try to rank for in particular search engine results pages. This process consists of pooling keywords together, and researching them one-by-one for search volume, user intent, competition, and more.
By analysing keywords and seeing how people actually search for the terms you’re targeting, you’ll be able to optimise your website’s pages with these short phrases you’re trying to rank for.
WHY IS KEYWORD RESEARCH IMPORTANT?
Keyword research is important for many reasons of which can be broken down into both practical and strategic theories.
The more practical reasoning is that proper research can result in finding keywords that will help your website’s pages rank better on search engines, which can lead to increased traffic, more potential customers, and more money for your business.
The other reason is to steer other parts of your SEO plan. The right keywords will affect your overall content strategy, as the terms will help define the content you create around them. Whether it’s blog posts or promotional materials, doing your research will point you in the right direction for your multi-faceted SEO strategy.
MAKE A LIST AND CHECK IT THREE TIMES
The first step should technically be one of the easiest for you, and that is to make a list of potential keywords that are relevant to your business or industry. You’ll want to get a good mix of general and specific terms that people at any point in their search will be looking for. This is relevant in many cases such as whether they’re searching information about your industry in general, comparing competitors, or looking to purchase services. This way, you’ll be able to target them no matter where they are in their journey.
GOOGLE YOUR INDUSTRY FOR KEYWORD IDEAS
After you’ve exhausted your brain for potential terms, let Google serve as an inspiration to make sure you didn’t miss any valuable keywords you could’ve used. In addition to finding terms you may not have thought of or missed, it's also a great opportunity to find out how people are searching for competitors in your industry. While many of us use Google to search for something and click on one of the provided links, there’s more to it when you’re using it for keyword research.
AUTO-COMPLETE SEARCH: When you begin to type into the search box on Google, it will attempt to predict what you’re trying to find with the auto-complete search. To get a sense of how people are searching for topics like yours, it’s a good idea to type in terms related to your industry and see what populates in the results.
PEOPLE ALSO ASK: Google searches can also provide a “People also ask” section that displays questions that people search for that are similar to the original term. This can help get you into the mindset of the people actually looking for your business or industry.
RELATED SEARCHES: Google will also provide a “related searches” section, which will show you exactly that. Take a look at the wording to see if there’s a better way to phrase your term.
In addition to Google, there are other places you can use to find information about your keyword choices. These are great ways to discover how people are phrasing their questions about your industry, which can allow you to adapt your terms to the language that’s most often used, and thereby optimising your keyword choices.
1. SOCIAL NETWORKS
A simple hashtag search on Twitter/Instagram/Facebook may yield some interesting conversations people are having about your industry, further allowing you to sculpt content ideas around your keywords.
2. ‘GO LOCAL’ TO TRIM THE COMPETITION
Adding your location as a part of your keyphrase will cut down your competition significantly.
Since this practice localises keywords for specific locations, it’s less effective for businesses with online-only stores that can’t be physically visited.
3. LOOK AT YOUR KEYWORD RESEARCH TOOL OPTIONS
Before you go out and pay to download a keyword research tool, you should take a look at some of the free options. Many of these tools are easy to use and are for more basic keyword research.
If you’re looking for a good free keyword research tool, take a look at Ubersuggest. If you don’t mind paying money for a great tool, Ahrefs Keyword Explorer is a fantastic option.
4. PUT YOUR KEYWORDS TO USE
Now that you’ve taken the time to see what the best keywords you should try to rank for are, it’s time to put them into practice. How exactly should you do this though? While it may be easy to assume that you should put your keywords on your website as much as you can, that’s a big SEO no-no. Let’s break it down for you:
WHERE TO PLACE KEYWORDS?
CONTENT: One of the easiest and most obvious places to have your keywords is the content on your website. This can be in the paragraph text, your headings, and other relevant text where your keywords would be appropriate. However, it’s important that your content is written and read naturally and that it’s not just added to throw in your keywords for the sake of it.
PAGE TITLES AND DESCRIPTIONS: Each page of your website should have a name and description. Search engines will be looking at them, so this is a great place to add your keywords if they’re relevant to the page you’re talking about. A perfectly crafted SEO title can go a long way.
DOMAIN: A domain is a fantastic opportunity to add one of your main keywords. If you decide to go this route, be sure that the keyword you choose to add to your domain is descriptive of your business. It’s also important to point out that domains aren’t as easy to change as the content on your website, so make sure you’re confident in your choice when opting for this choice.
IMAGE ALT TEXT: Search engines can easily scan the text of a website for relevant keywords, but it’s not as easy to do with images. That’s where alternative text, or Alt Text, comes in. This is text you can add to describe images so they too can rank on search engines, making them a prime space for your keywords when suitable.
Was this information helpful?
Leave us a comment. We love hearing from our readers.
Comments