Algorithms are always changing, and so is Google. Nothing ever stays the same, and with the internet constantly changing from one day to the next, you need to find new ways to stay relevant as a business owner or someone who owns a website. Although keyword research has stayed the same, how you go about doing the research and finding the keywords hasn’t. Foster SEO (https://fosterseo.ca) has helped us explain the most important things to know about SEO research.
But before you dive in, you first have to know what is keyword research and why it is so important for a company wanting to expand to the digital world.
What Is Keyword Research?
According to Rachel Leist from HubSpot, keyword research is about finding certain words that people enter into search engines. For example, a pet store would want to identify relevant keywords such as “best chew toys to buy”. The research is about finding the content strategy or marketing strategy that would work to draw visitors to their site.
But how do you know which SEO keywords are right for you? You really don’t; a lot of times it comes down to trial and error. See what works, and if it doesn’t then move on to the next. But there are ways to narrow your keywords down to find the best fit for your website. Start by making a list of the topics that are relevant to what you know about your business
Making a list of five generic topics that can help you narrow your SEO keyword search. If you blog, then stick to mostly what you talk about all the time, whether that is dogs, makeup, clothes, etc.
The same goes for a realtor, doctor, or any other profession out there. Figure out what topics you talk about and come up with 5 to 15 generic keywords. Figure out what types of topics help people find you. Your most popular finds are the keywords you’ll be wanting, as you already know they pull in visitors. Deepening the keywords can drive more traffic to your site while bringing you sales or a loyal fanbase.
Using Keyword Research Tools
If you can’t think of 15 generic keywords or want a easier and quicker way, there are tools out there to help you out. According to WordStream, keyword research helps people identify potential keywords and uncommon keywords to help drive traffic and sales. On their site they have a free keyword research tool that may help give you more keywords to use.
Research Local Keywords Before Anything
According to ThriveHive, “In order to rank higher in Google for local searches, you must first figure out what people are searching to find your business in the first place. Once you know what you’re ranking for, you can optimize your website and blog posts to rank for other related searches.”
Find local websites that are ranking in Google searches to know where to target your keywords. If the website is best dog clothes in California and you have something similar to that topic, then use specific keywords to rank as high as your competitor.
Staying Within Your Topic
Always try to stay within your topic. You don’t want to come up with keywords that are about baby clothes if you sell dog clothes. Make sure your keywords are generalized for your website/content. Another great point WordStream had was, “Keywords are only as valuable as they are relevant to you: you don’t have to adopt every suggested term, but you should be aware of them.”
That statement is 100% true because if your website is about selling high-end fashion clothing, then stick to keywords that fall within high-end fashion, like fitted to your body, 100% silk, best fabrics, etc.
Are Your Topics Competitive?
If your topics are competitive and a lot of people are writing similar content, then using the same keywords that have been used over 600,000 times may not be best, because you would be competing with 600,000 people.
If you do, your keywords are not going to help drive you traffic because there are so many people constantly using the same keywords, your content would be listed below everyone else’s. Finding the topics that are less common could be worth it, since no one else would be using the keywords and your company and website could sky rocket.
Remember That Algorithms Are Always Changing
Algorithms are always changing, so your keywords should constantly be changing as well. Being able to keep up with the algorithms could be difficult at first, but knowing when they would change could help you on Google. Google loves algorithms and keywords, so if you don’t do both then your site is not being seen and will being pushed to the bottom of the last page.
