We know the title doesn’t sound very interesting but we promise that you’ll want to read today’s blog. While keyword research may sound boring it will do wonders for your business, and you’ve got us explaining it to you! There’s no one who can add flair to boring topics like we can!
Understand Your Audience:
Before diving into keyword research, it’s crucial to understand your audience. Knowing who they are, what they’re interested in, and how they search online will provide a solid foundation for your keyword strategy. It also never hurts to get to know some new people!
Create Buyer Personas: Develop detailed profiles of your ideal Customers, including demographics, interests, pain points, and online behaviour.
Analyse Competitors: Look at what keywords your competitors are targeting. This can give you insights into what’s working in your industry and identify gaps you can fill.
Brainstorm Seed Keywords
Seed keywords (that’s a phrase that we bet you’ve never heard before) are the starting point for your keyword research, get it, like seeds are the starting point for plants….Â
Anyway, they are basic terms related to your business, products, or services. Despite what you may have been told, basic does not mean bad, here’s how you can find seed keywords for your business.
Think Like a Customer: Put yourself in your Customers’ shoes and think about the terms they would use to find your products or services.
Use Your Expertise: Draw from your industry knowledge and experience to brainstorm relevant keywords.
Leverage Internal Data: Use data from your Website analytics, Customer inquiries, and sales records to identify commonly used terms.
Analyse Keyword Metrics:
You’ve got a list of potential keywords, great! But you’ve got no idea what to do with them. Don’t worry, that’s our next step, analysing their metrics to determine which ones are worth targeting.
Search Volume: Look for keywords with a decent search volume to ensure there’s enough interest in those terms.
Keyword Difficulty: Assess how difficult it will be to rank for a keyword. Focus on low to medium difficulty keywords, especially if your Website is relatively new or has low domain authority.
Relevance: Ensure the keywords are highly relevant to your business and the content you plan to create.
Intent: Consider the search intent behind each keyword. Are users looking for information, trying to make a purchase, or seeking a specific service? Targeting keywords with the right intent can lead to higher conversions.
Analyse Keyword Metrics:
We’ve got another keyword term for you, so take notes (you never know, there might be a test at the end)! Long-tail keywords are longer, more specific phrases that often have lower search volume but higher conversion rates. This is generally because they typically reflect higher intent, meaning that users are closer to making a purchase or taking action, that’s exciting isn’t it!
Another perk of these keywords is that they are often less competitive, making it easier for Small Businesses to rank and not be crushed under the wheel of big business.
Utilise Keyword Clustering:
Much like people, keywords don’t like to be lonely, so make sure you go ahead and give them some friends by implementing keyword clustering. This involves grouping similar keywords together to create a more comprehensive content strategy.
Create Content Hubs: Develop a series of related content pieces that target different but related keywords. This can help improve your Site’s relevance and authority on a specific topic.
Optimise Content: Use clusters to ensure each piece of content is optimised for a set of related keywords, enhancing your chances of ranking for multiple terms.
Utilise Keyword Clustering:
As much as we would love it to be, keyword research is not a one-time task. You can’t do it once and then expect to see results, that doesn’t work with watering plants so why would it work with keywords? With ongoing monitoring and adjustments you will soon see a blossoming garden of keywords!
Track Performance: Use tools like Google Analytics and Search Console to track the performance of your keywords and see which ones are driving traffic and conversions.
Adjust Regularly: Based on performance data, adjust your keyword strategy regularly. Add new keywords, refine your targeting, and optimise existing content as needed.
Stay Updated: Keep up with industry trends and changes in search behaviour to ensure your keyword strategy remains relevant and effective.
Keyword research is an essential part of any Small Business’s Digital Marketing strategy. It’s not the most fun thing in the world but neither is going to the doctor's office. It’s a boring mundane thing that you do everyday but unlike going to the doctor, keyword research leads to something exciting, the growth of your business!