Research is an integral part of any work you do. So, an SEO strategy that is not structured upon thorough research is only going to take your website so far. One of the most important elements to research when building a comprehensive SEO strategy is keyword research. With the availability of varied keyword research tools, some free, others paid, it has indeed become a little easy for search engines optimized to find the right keyword to target.
However, keyword research in SEO is without a doubt one of the most time-consuming and tedious processes. From a couple of words to sometimes an entire sentence, there is no limit to the number of words and phrases your customer base uses in order to find the correct answer on the web. So, you have to go above and beyond to make sure you are using all the necessary targeted keywords on your website, blogs, or any online content. When keywords are so important, why are some major players of the industry saying it’s a “dead end”? Is keyword research really a thing of the past? In a nutshell — NO! In fact, it’s only going to grow stronger. Through this article, let’s look at why you need to have sturdy keyword research in your SEO strategy.
What is Keyword Research?
To learn something in detail, we must first start from the very beginning. If you are new to SEO, knowing what keyword research is the first step you take.
- To understand the importance of keyword research in SEO, you have to comprehend what search terms are. These are words or phrases that customers or online searchers use to find something in the search engine. For example — you need to buy a pair of new shoes for running. So, you would go onto a search engine like Google and type something like — “Best running shoes”, “Nike running shoes”, “Affordable running shoes”, “Black running shoes”. All these search terms depend on your preferences, like color, brand, and more.
- What a Search engine optimizer does is creates a bank of these search terms using SEO keyword research tools. From their perspective, these are keywords.
- Now, using these keywords, the search engine optimizer creates an SEO Strategy and employs these keywords into the strategy in blogs, website content, posts, product descriptions, and more.
- At a basic level, search engines like Google crawl your website content (with the keywords) and store a copy of it on its server. When a searcher types those keywords, your website or blog post pops in on the SERP (search engine results page).
- So, the process of finding out and categorizing those trigger words is called keyword research. Moz has an excellent article that you can refer to to learn more about keyword research in SEO.
Why is Keywords Research so Important for SEO?
Imagine a scenario where you, as an online searcher looking for new shoes for running, type “shoes for running” on Google and find all types of workouts, leather, boots, casual shoes ranking at the top. Wouldn’t that be super annoying?
- The importance of keyword research in SEO is as valuable as anything. To start with, keyword research helps search engine optimizers find the most relevant keywords that they can employ in their content. Google is all about relevancy, and if your content doesn’t match what the searcher is looking for, you are not going to rank. So, keyword research helps in building relevancy.
- Next, you can also rank higher with keyword research. If you run an e-commerce website that sells shoes, you want to rank in your niche rather than any other. So, with keyword research, you can be very specific. From targeting local audiences, for example — the best running shoes in Park street to narrowing in on a demographic — best shoes for children. You can be more specific and targeted with thorough keyword research using the SEO keyword research tool.
- Additionally, with tools like uber suggest and google keyword planner, you can compare keywords and use them mindfully in your content. You can check aspects like search volume and keyword difficulty to establish which keywords are the most relevant and easily rankable and others that might need some extra effort. Without keyword research in SEO, you might just consider a handful of keywords that are very generic and probably very difficult to rank for as everyone is using those and then wonder why your site is not ranking.
- The way you target your audience also changes with keyword research. The journey of attraction, interest to purchase is one that every consumer travels through when choosing and finally buying a product. With keyword research, you can be very specific. For example, someone who is at an interesting stage might use search terms like “running shoes”, “top running shoes”. As opposed to someone at the buying stage who would rather be specific and employ terms like — “affordable running shoes in black” or “Nike running shoes under $300”. Using this data you can create a specific keyword strategy that targets your audience at every stage of the buying cycle.
How to Choose the Right Keywords
There are some easy and quite efficient ways you can use to find the right keyword that matters to your business. Sometimes, even the most effective SEO keyword search tool can be vague when it comes to helping you with an apt list of keywords, so, here is how you go about choosing the right keywords.
- Relevance and context matter the most. You need to think from the perspective of a searcher and categorize your keywords. Your keywords can be brand-based, location-based, and demography based among others. So, when finding the right keywords consider your business, for example — you sell shoes online across Georgia. So, you want to target searchers who are actively looking for shoes in Georgia.
- You must also use a mix of competitive and less competitive keywords. Some short-term keywords (keywords with 3 or fewer words) like shoes or like shoes might have a search volume in the tens of thousands which means more competition and less chance of ranking. That doesn’t mean you cannot use them. It is always better to use a mix of high volume and low volume keywords to make a rankable content piece.
- You should also employ long-tail keywords that are more than 3 words. These are most often used by searchers who are at a certain level of deciding their buying journey. Long-tail keywords are far less difficult to rank for and drive a lot of relevant traffic that is ready to buy.
- Another good keyword tip is to use keyword research tools like Ubersuggest and Google’s own, free Google Keyword planner tool.
Advanced Keyword Research tips
Some very effective SEO keyword research tips that will certainly help you rank better on SERP include —
- Always look at the search volume of any keyword/search term. The greater the number the more searched the term is.
- Check the competition of the keyword. If it’s high, ranking for it might take extra effort.
- Always use a combination of highly competitive and less competitive keywords.
- Focus on long-tail keywords as well.
- Question keywords are also very effective in ranking your content. Use them in FAQs.
Keyword research is not going anywhere, and as a matter of fact, it is going to become more significant as time progresses. Be relevant, use keywords with proper context, and you will see some great results.
