The relationship between a search engine and business is a delicate thing. Search engines, such as Google, want to deliver the most relevant and appropriate results for searchers. Businesses want to be at the top of the list when people search for what they do or what they offer.
To optimize your organic search, keywords are the building blocks for your SEO strategy. That’s why so many businesses use professional SEO services to do keyword research and help them implement local SEO services.
Why Is Keyword Research Important?
Keyword research is not about finding a list of words. It’s about finding the right words that will help enhance your search rankings and guide people to your valuable content. This may not be the most popular or high-volume search terms. The keywords that convert are usually those that naturally fit your brand, products, and services.
It’s important to incorporate keyword research in your SEO strategy to ensure your business is at the top of Google search results to increase exposure and sales.
Step 1: Research Yourself
The first thing to find out is what people are saying about your business online.
- How do people describe your company?
- What makes your business different than your competitor?
- How are people finding your products or services?
- What problems do you, your products, or services solve?
Gain a firm understanding on what people need and how they’re searching for it. Once you figure that out, onsite and off-page SEO efforts will make a significant difference in site exposure. You can market relevant content or update headers on your business website with confidence that your brand will be seen.
Step 2: Seed Keywords
Seed keywords are the primary keywords that are most relevant. They’re usually made up of one or two words, although they can be later combined with modifiers for more targeted searches and long-tail keywords. If your business buys and sells bullion, seed keywords like “gold and silver” and “bullion” would be most relevant. When you’re developing your seed keywords, try to describe the essence of your product you’re going to feature in as few words as possible.
Step 3: Think Customer-First
Once you’ve got your seed keywords, you need to think about how people would use them. Google is trying to meet search intent and will only show relevant pages that match with the search. You’re probably familiar with Google search suggestions when you start to type your query and a list of what other users have searched for appear. That’s search intent. Following the same example for bullion, long-tailed keywords would be “best place to sell bullion” or “bullion stores near me.” You need to think customer-first: how are your customers likely to search for you.
Step 4: Explore Competitor Strategies
Keywords are competitive. In Pay-Per-Click advertising, the most popular keywords are the most expensive. Analyzing your competitors’ high-ranking keywords can help optimize your SEO strategy. There are online keyword search tools to give you a list of competitor keywords to serve as inspiration for yours. You can compete with the same keywords or find out what keywords they’re overlooking and hone in on those. SEO is unpredictable so don’t be discouraged in the first couple months of implementation. Be patient and consistent with your content to keep your business at the top for the long run.
Keyword Research With SEO Experts
It sounds easy but it keyword research is complex when you don’t know where to start. Whether you need small business SEO services or large company professional SEO services, get in touch with the SEO experts at L7 Advertising today.