There is no debate regarding how marketing is significant to businesses today. Also, you need to note that businesses are switching from traditional marketing to digital marketing. Digital platforms have become reliable tools for lead generation, boosting sales in ways that traditional marketing has never been able to. This has seen businesses opting for SEO as opposed to using billboards to get the following they need for their business.
You, however, need to note that SEO has a good return on investment only if you are ready to put in hard work. It is not magic, and it is an investment that may not bring in immediate but long term benefits. When you talk of hard work, it entails the various SEO strategies that will make your brand stand out in the crowd. That is the creation of quality content, social media marketing, an SEO analysis and link building to mention a few. There is one SEO strategy that seems to envelop a good share of other strategies: keyword research. Remember that content is king and that being the case, you have to use relevant keywords, images and so on to add quality to it. This is where keyword research comes in.
Keywords play a significant role in directing your audience to your content. And for that to be effective, you need to know which keywords will be more effective. It is for that reason that you need to incorporate the following keyword research strategies to boost your content.
1. Understand your audience
This is an unwritten rule that most webmasters tend to ignore. Before you make any move, you need to understand who you are working for. It is therefore important that you dedicate time to research your audience. This will help you acquire the phrases you need to get to your audience. Understanding your audience narrows down to knowing the kind of keywords that will draw them to your site.
2. Pay attention to long-tail keywords
This does not mean that you should ignore the single-word keywords. They are also important. Emphasis on long-tail keywords has been put because most people tend to ignore them. Long keywords are being used more than the short ones in the search engines. If you are looking to grow the traffic on your website, you need to use these too. More so, long tail keywords have less competition. Therefore, your chances of ranking for them is higher. Note that the significant benefit that comes with long-tail keywords is their specific nature: which is what the audience wants.
3. Use synonyms
This will be especially beneficial with those keywords that most of your competitors are targeting but are still driving significant traffic. To avoid immersing yourself in the competition for particular keywords, you could instead use words that mean the same. Remember that the users may not always phrase the keywords precisely as they are. You will, therefore, be steps ahead of your competition by tapping all the opportunities that come with the idea of that keyword.
4. Lookout for your competition
You cannot afford to ignore what your competitors are doing in regards to keywords. You need to know the keywords they are ranking for, the keywords they are targeting and the keywords that seem to drive traffic to their websites. It does not hurt to borrow a few notes or steal ideas when it comes to keywords. You will be in a better position to create keywords of your own, which you will not be competing for with anyone. More so, you will be able to identify the kind of keywords that you need to avoid.
5. Be keen on customer queries
If you have a presence on social media, the better for you. Remember that this will be the place where you will be engaging your audience. In the comment section, you will come across different questions that concern your products. You can generate a list of the frequently asked questions and use them to come up with keywords. In other words, your keywords should be designed such that they can answer the customer’s questions.
For this one of the tools I like to use is Awnser The Public that will show you the top searched questions, prepositions, and comparisons from different search engines as seen below.
6. Make use of Google suggest
Sometimes you do not even have to sweat to come up with keywords that will draw customers to your site. You could just use the search engine to identify the kind of phrases that the audience usually use in their search queries. Google Suggest is pretty simple to use as all you are required to do, is to type a single phrase, and a list of relevant search terms pops up.
The catch with Google suggest is that it will give you the most popular term on the search engine, which will be useful since it is the same search engine that you will probably be using.
7. Keyword research tools
Do not work alone. Tools like keyword.com will help you improve your keyword game. The tools will help you get a deep insight into the different metrics that surround keywords. That includes page authority that comes with using specific keywords, your keyword ranking and that of the competitors too and also keyword suggestions. It is a one-stop shop for keywords.
8. Be consistent
You need to note that keyword research is not a one-time thing. You need to make it a habit for you to get the most out of it. Remember that the keywords change with time. Some will lose relevance, and if you continue using them, they will not benefit your SEO. It is for this reason that you need to be on the lookout for new keywords. More so, this will also be your chance to stay ahead of the competition. If you come across lucrative keywords, you will get the first user advantage and drive a lot of traffic before your competitors start targeting the same keywords.
Using relevant keywords and content is essential for driving quality traffic. It is therefore essential that you employ the eight keyword research tips to boost your content strategy.