Although internet marketing is changing some things in your marketing strategy remain the same. Even with all of the changes Google is making to its algorithms some aspects of SEO remain the same. Many have predicted that keyword research would lose its importance with algorithm changes. While this was the option in reality keyword tactics have changed while keywords still maintain their importance within the SEO effort and strategy. So understanding them and researching keywords is important as ever. To better understand it and adapt to the ongoing changes you should learn more. To remain at the top of your game you must understand your keyword research checklist. So let’s see what you should know.
Understanding keywords and keyword research
First of all, keywords are at the core of any SEO activity and keyword research. Simply put these are the words that users use when searching for products services or content through a search engine. Knowing these words is important for SEO. Your marketing effort should strive to get your website at the top of search results. However, you should not rank well for any keyword. You should rank for those keywords that your potential clients use when searching. Ranking for the right keywords will increase your traffic and lead to better sales. Overall it will improve your marketing and in turn influence the success of your business. So, keyword research should help you define these keywords that are of value for your business. It will shed light on what your clients are looking for and help you shape your content to accommodate this.
With this in mind keyword research is the process of trying to define the phrases and words that your target audience usually uses for their search inquiries. Knowing these will be beneficial for your ranking as you will be able to focus your SEO effort on those that hold the highest value. In this way, you will know just what your audience needs and show you how to promote yourself in the future. To be able to do this you must do proper research. This means that you should define the questions that the audience is asking, and the frequency, difficulty, and even intent behind the query. So, here are a few things to know.
Keyword research the basics
To properly conduct your research you should have your keyword research checklist ready. This research should start with a template to analyze and rank the keywords through. This template should contain the
- The keyword that is the subject
- The volume of use
- Use by competition
- Keyword difficulty
After you define your template you should start your research. Make sure that throughout the process you go through this simple checklist and use the proper tools like the MOZ tool and SAMrush for this effort.
Define the list of keywords
First of all, you have to fill in the template with keywords to research. This is a brainstorming, creative part of the process when you think of all of the keywords your audience would use. Just imagine what would be the prime words to use in the search bar. You can be very specific but try to expand the list with new words, synonyms and alternatives.
Use tool
Besides this, you can use some of the many tools available to you. Many business owners are not aware of this and miss out on the easy way of defining quality keywords. This ultimately affects their success in managing keywords and ultimately results. It is good to know that there are many tools to use. Even seasoned professionals like Link Department use them frequently. Some of the more useful tools are, SERP, Autocompletes (search engine), Google tools like search console, third party tools (SEMrush, MOZ, Ahrefs), and some new creative tools.
Define and analyze the key elements
As part of any checklist, you should know what to focus on. So make sure you pay attention on
Relevance of these keywords. The fact is that Google will not assign you a high rank for a keyword if it is not relevant to your content. So your content should reflect the intent and meaning behind the keyword that the audience is using. So, make sure to follow Google and follow its ranking logic because the algorithm is always getting better.
The authority that Google uses in the algorithm. Google will not rank you high if your content is duplicated or if you use keyword stuffing and unrelated or backlinks from unworthy or spammy sources. So, try to clean out your website to be useful and authoritative. Use authoritative sources and relevant keywords so google will rank you higher for your potential keywords.
The volume of use for a keyword. If you define a keyword and optimize your content to rank high in SERP you won’t see an increase in results if nobody uses the keyword. So make sure to research the volume in which people use the said keyword. Analyze the monthly search volume for a keyword to see which keywords are popular or how popular your keyword is.
Check on the competition ( use this knowledge)
Knowing what your competition is doing is also important to improve your SERP. You can use SAMrush to research your competitor’s keywords to find what keywords they are ranking high for. You can also research what keywords they are missing and you can use them to your advantage. There are also other tools that you can use to follow and check the results your competitors are getting. Following their performance frequently can provide considerable value for your own keyword research and must be part of your keyword research checklist.
Understand your data
Make sure you have an understanding of the data you get. It should point out just how the visitors come to your website and give you a hint on how to increase the traffic. To understand which keywords are of importance, create your audience personality and adapt your marketing campaigns and content.
Keyword research should be a major part of your SEO effort. It should help you build your content around what your audience is interested in. So, understanding what that is of paramount importance. This means that you should follow your keyword research checklist and follow up on its results.