Google, Panda, Penguin, Hummingbird. All terms that have lit the search engine landscape for some time. After all the discussion about algorithms and content, the number one task for any SEO program is still keyword research. Keywords remain the bread and butter of search engine optimization. Keyword research involves answering the question “What are my customers, prospects, or leads looking for”.
Are you on the first page for the right keywords? If you aren’t appearing at the top of the search results for the right key terms then you won’t receive any targeted traffic from Google or the other search engines. Think about the terms your target audience might enter into Google to find your products/services. You might already rank first for your business name, but those who don’t already know about your business, or who search with other terms won’t find your business.
Choosing the right keywords
Suppose a searcher inputs the keyword “family lawyer” into a Google search. If you were a lawyer, do you think you would rank in the top page? Chances are no, keywords like this are highly competitive. The shorter the keyword or phrase the larger the pool of other competing businesses and the harder it is to reach the top positions. You could be looking at a long, difficult SEO strategy/program that will absorb a lot of time and money, with no guarantee of a positive result.
The solution to highly competition keywords
There are a wide variety of factors that contribute to a websites ranking. Ultimately it comes down to a mix of:
• Who has the most quality backlinks
• Who has the best quality, relevant content
• Who has the most “social proof” and trust for their website
Among many more.
The solution for many is often to use “Long tail keywords”, for example: “The best low-cost family lawyer”. Long tail keywords consist of longer, more specific phrases and usually have much less competition.
Of course the more specific a search phrase, the less traffic will be generated. However, the pool of other businesses vying for that traffic will be fewer, perhaps much fewer. Another valuable property of long tail keywords is that they are usually linked to searchers who know exactly what they want and are closer to making a purchase, as opposed to looking for general information.
For local businesses, geographic targeting is essential. Unless our lawyer is licensed in many states, shooting for the highest rankings nationally doesn’t make sense. An easy long tail keyword for our lawyer may be “Family Lawyer Chicago” or “Family Lawyer Flagler County”. The size of the geographic area targeted depends on the the type of business and the area targeted.
Questions to ask yourself before conducting keyword research
1. Does your website relate closely to the keyword/phrase?
This is crucially important in SEO (search engine optimization). Search engines like Google don’t want to send searchers to pages that they don’t think accurately match what they are looking for.
• Is the keyword mentioned on the page?
• Is the keyword mentioned in the page title & description?
• Is the keyword used consistently, as well as related keywords throughout the page?
There are a lot of factors that impact search engines in determining what pages they consider relevant, but content is right at the top of the list. If your answer is no to these questions, don’t worry. Your website’s SEO issues can be fixed. Very frequently SEO work will involve creating content around the keyword you wish to target, perhaps in a company blog. Don’t have the time to monitor your content regularly? There are plenty of agencies who will manage content creation for you.
2. How valuable is the keyword?
An important thing to consider when performing keyword research is what your SEO goals are. Are you looking for traffic or conversions? A keyword might not generate as much traffic, but it might have a high rate of sale conversions.
A quick and easy way to determine how the value of a keyword is to see whether advertisers are paying for ads when users search it. If you are operating an eCommerce or service based business you will want to optimize your keywords for sales conversion, whereas content publishers whose revenues are directly related to the number of visitors may want to focus on high-volume keywords. Will the keyword actually convert searchers into sales?
If advertisers are paying for ads alongside the keyword you wish to target, then chances are that there is a higher probability of conversion. You can find out the value of keywords at Google’s Keyword Planner. You will need an Adwords account, but they’re easy to set up. Keep in mind, with an Adword campaign the goal is to find inexpensive keywords that will sell your product/service. In our scenario for SEO, cost doesn’t matter. Another way that you can determine whether a keyword or phrase will convert into sales is by understanding the search intent. What’s the intent behind these searches? Is the searcher looking for information, or looking to make a purchase? If they’re looking to make a purchase, are they going to make it now, or later? Asking yourself these questions can help you to better understand how your pages should look and the type of content you should be creating. If you provide a service,”emergency” almost always indicates a motivated buyer.
There are three typical types of search intent on search engines:
A. Transactional searches: “Get insurance quotes”, “buy leather shoes”, “Subscribe to Forbes magazine”
B. Navigational: “Amazon Login”, “Twitter”
C. Informational: “How to make pancakes”, “How should a CV look”. Think about your marketing goals and the types of consumer intent you want to be targeting. Then consider how you can relate this to the right keywords.
4. Are there people searching this keyword?
Most importantly, if the keyword/phrase you want to rank for doesn’t have any traffic then you’re wasting your time. You might think you have a great keyword that relates to your business but you must have some evidence that there are actually people searching it.
If you’d like to discuss your keyword issues with an online marketing agency, Elvin Web Marketing is an online marketing agency offering keyword research & SEO, content creation, blog & article writing, web design & more.