Doing keyword research has been an essential step in every SEO strategy. Among many aspects of Google algorithms that are constantly changing, the importance of keywords hasn’t changed at all. However, the strategies of performing keyword research for SEO are constantly improving, so it is necessary to stay up-to-date and improve your strategy all the time. We prepared a guide on keyword research for SEO and supported it with several key tips on how to use it in the most efficient way. Improve your rankings and know your clients with the proper keyword knowledge. Let’s start!
Why keyword research for SEO should be an essential part of your strategy?
LEt’s start with some basic information about researching keywords and their variations. Performing keyword research means exploring the terms people look up about certain topics or products. Analyzing those phrases can help your SEO strategy in many ways. Some of it include:
- knowing your target audience better and discovering their needs and wishes;
- being able to optimize a page the right way, so it responds to the customers the best way possible, and therefore improve the ranking and increase the traffic;
- discovering what are the current demands and being able to provide the content that meets the audience’s requirements. This can help a lot with marketing as well, since knowing your audience better can help with promoting the services or goods the right way;
- find out the search intent – the reason why a searcher is looking for a phrase can say a lot about their needs and issues.
Understanding the importance of keyword research will help you get the idea of how to use the results of the research properly and sell services or products much faster.
How to do keyword research for SEO?
Now let’s talk about the way you should do the keyword research. Here are some tips on how to be effective and get the necessary results in no time.
Where to save your keywords?
You should be organized when doing the keyword research for SEO. You should keep your findings sorted and organized, so you can see the results easily. One of the ways to do it is via Google Docs, where you can use the document on several devices. Also, you can make the list in Excel, where you can save your work on your local computer.
Make a plan for your research
When exploring keywords, it’s necessary to have some plan. Basically, you should know what’s the focus of the research, and what exactly you expect to find out. Therefore, try to think of the goal you want to achieve and the reasons clients are looking up certain terms related to your business.
Think of the keywords related to the business
List the keywords you can think of that are related to your business, or the needs of your target audience. Brainstorm anything your potential client would look for, including phrases for both their problems and solutions. To broaden your list, google those keywords and see suggested related terms, or use some of the tools to help you out. Both of these methods will give you some new keywords variations you should add to your list. And finally, be sure to include the specific, local variation of these keywords – the long tail. Don’t focus only on head phrases, but dig deeper to find local, specific ones. These will give you more chances to stand out since they don’t include a lot of competition.
Check the competition
Having competition can be beneficial for various reasons. One of them is taking a look at their work and ‘borrowing’ some of the keywords ideas so you can optimize your content the right way. To check what companies are your competition, search the keywords you came up with and analyze the results. You should see some top companies you share the market with. This way, you’ll be able to see the differences and check out the ways you can level-up your business game.
Choose the keywords wisely
After making the list of all the possible keywords, it’s necessary to make the final choice and choose the top options. Depending on the aim of your SEO strategy, you should carefully pick your favorite keywords. Think if you need them for advertising, SEO optimization, etc. and narrow your list to the most suitable options.
How to use your keywords for SEO?
Finally, let’s talk about the places in your content where yous should use the keywords and their variations. Don’t forget to include them in:
- the title and SEO title – this is probably the first thing your potential clients will see, so make sure you include an attractive keyword in it.
- meta description – the text that can help your clickable link look better. That’s why, make sure you include the main keyword in it, and write interesting 160 characters to ‘lure’ people to visit your page.
- headings and subheadings even though you shouldn’t overdo it, adding keywords to headings or subheadings can be very beneficial for content structure and optimization.
- posts on other platforms – sharing your webpage on social media is a great way to attract more readers and clients. Include your keywords in links, captions, or hashtags.
Now you are able to do keyword research for SEO and find the variations that suit your business the best. Take your time to improve your SEO game so you can find your target customers much faster and create content that will positively affect your rankings.