Keyword research is fundamental when implementing a successful SEO campaign. Here we will cover the basics, from what keyword research actually is to how to conduct it expertly within an effective SEO strategy to really get your site ranking well and being found by your audience!
So, we’ll start off at the beginning, “What exactly is keyword research?”
In a nutshell it is exactly what it sounds like, researching the best keywords that are most relevant for your site, then utilising those keywords to show Google what your webpages are actually about so it knows when they should be shown to users. There are a number of ways to start off conducting keyword research, but the best place is usually to start with the headline terms that really describe your business.
The steps at this stage typically, look something like this:
- Headline terms should be no more than 2 or 3 words max! For example, think “Used Books”. It’s these shorter terms that are very broad in a sense that usually you would want to target for the homepage, of course this is very industry dependant.
- Plan out your most important offerings, this will be crucial when deciding which key-phrases you may want to capture
- Plan out how many phrases you’re wanting to target for each category level, it’s suggested no more than 5 to 6 target phrases per category level.
- Become aware of phrases such as ‘Search Volume’, which will go to help you identify how popular a term can be in terms of actual monthly searches.
- Learn the difference between informational queries & intent queries, this is usually down to the length of the actual search term, for example does it include “What is…”.
The above is a very short idea of some of the important things within keyword research, let us delve a bit further into this….
What are your most important offerings?
This is where you, as a business owner, need to know what your most important products or services are on your site. Is it a specific category of clothing, a certain brand, a certain piece of informational content? Using this as a starting point to identify what is most important to you as a business is paramount when beginning your keyword research journey.
What’s the difference between Informational & Transactional keywords?
- Informational content tends to be a lot longer queries, answering questions such as “what is…”, “who is…” etc. Its purpose is to target landing pages which host ever-green content or blog posts that serve as a stand-alone content-led piece.
- Transactional content is exactly what it says on the tin, anything from headline terms such as “Toyota Cars” to “Mens Black Jeans”, right up to longer-tail queries such as “buy X….”. This type of keyword research is perfect for retail websites.
Using this as a starting point to identify what is most important to you as a business is paramount when beginning your SEO journey
Local Keywords….
So, much like transactional keywords, local keyword research should centre around your offering but within a local setting. If you’re a bakery, tattoo shop or local car dealership for example, you will be wanting to look into local keyword research to build out your local presence within Google and the map listings. Think phrases like “Pizza shops near me”, “Car dealerships in X” and so on.
Hopefully this was helpful as a brief introduction to keyword research and why it is so important as part of an effective SEO campaign.
For a consultation on our full SEO retainer or a Keyword Research specific project, get in touch below and we will be happy to talk through your business goals, current pain points and how we can work together to ensure your business and website finds its customers and has the growth it deserves.
