As we continue our SEO roadmap, keyword research takes center stage. Beyond the initial SEO audit, the next step is understanding the importance of keyword research. You might have a website that ranks high for certain keywords, but if you’re not reaping the desired results and your customers can’t find you for the products or services you’re offering, it’s time to reconsider your keyword strategy.
Chrisa
A keyword search encapsulates the phrases internet users type on Google to find the information they seek. To better explain, if I’m in the market for new sneakers, I might input queries like ‘white trainers for women’ or ‘Nike white trainers for women.’ These phrases are examples of keywords. Keywords can vary in length, ranging from concise to elaborate.
But wait, are there really “good” keywords? The answer is a resounding yes! It makes no sense to dominate search terms that see minimal monthly searches. This is where keyword research comes into play—a fundamental process showing us the keywords you should target.
However, it’s not just users who are engaged in keyword searches. Search engines, including Google, scan the content on your website to identify relevant keywords and subsequently rank your content based on those terms. And this is what affects your rankings, basically your website’s position in Google’s search results. And this is the inception of SEO, better known as Search Engine Optimization.
Understanding your keywords goes beyond mere SEO; it’s about understanding your brand and business essence. What do you offer? What services do you provide? Answering these questions can help you identify your keywords. Additionally, keyword research provides valuable insights such as your keyword rankings, keywords that offer easy ranking opportunities, and keywords your competitors are capitalizing on. It reveals the true intent behind user searches rather than relying on assumptions. It’s all data we can act upon.
When your website is associated with specific keywords on various pages, search engines like Google can optimize their rankings for those keywords. Selecting keywords for blogs and outreach initiatives can substantially drive traffic to your website. Just note that keyword research isn’t a one-time deal—it’s a continuous process. Regularly evaluating your keywords and updating your content against your competitors helps you stay on top of Google’s search results. After all, even as users, we always need fresh and relevant content.
While Google Keyword Planner’s competition metric provides a snapshot of the competitive landscape, our SEO experts are here to comprehensively evaluate the difficulty of ranking for certain keywords. We then group these keywords based on their difficulty ratings. Keywords with ratings of 0-9 are considered relatively easy to target, while those with ratings of 50 or more are classified as challenging. Opting for less competitive keywords, especially when high-authority domains like Wiki or Amazon target the competitive ones, can lead to more effective SEO results. You don’t want to compete with them.
Keywords and content go hand in hand. There’s no content strategy without keywords. And even if there is (or let’s say some marketing agency told you so), chances are that your potential customers won’t find you, as their search queries won’t match your website’s content. In simple words, keyword research is a wellspring of inspiration for content creation. You have to know what your users are searching for and what they expect to read when searching for something specific on Google. If your website has irrelevant information, then yeah, your users will simply bounce. By aligning your content with user search patterns, we enhance engagement and provide real value to your audience.
