Keyword research is an essential component of SEO (search Engine Optimization). It is the initial work necessary in any SEO campaign, in order to develop a refined list of words that a site should rank for.
In order to do keyword research, site owners must analyse both search engine and target audience data. By discovering what keywords potential customers will be typing in when looking for your product or service, and applying these to your on-page SEO strategy, you can drastically increase the amount of relevant website traffic you receive over time.
Search Intent in Keyword Research
One of the first things to consider when starting keyword research is to determine the Search Intent of users. Search intent is big today in SEO and helps to accurately determine what the user is looking for when they type a search term.
Search engines will display results based on the search intent they determine for a keyword. This means that if someone is searching for information about your company on a search engine such as Google, they are likely to type your company name, and may will probably get information including your business website, third party review sites and your social media accounts.
Whereas, if the user searches for a service you offer, they may get results including companies that offer the service nearby, informational blog posts about the service, or pricing models for that service.
Therefore, the keywords you choose to target must clearly demonstrate the search intent of your target audience.
Research your Keywords
After you have determined the search volume for your researched words and phrases, you can then look at your business niche or specialisation, ensuring your search isn’t too broad, or matching multiple search intents. Tools including Ahrefs, Semrush, Google Keyword Planner and Google Trends, are great sources for estimating monthly search volumes in your chosen country.
Your ideal niche should fall within the range of people who are likely to purchase your products or services. Very specific niche research can be difficult because it is difficult to tell whether a product or service is actually popular. Smaller search volume terms often have little or no data recorded. For this reason, most successful niche marketers focus on one or two key phrases within their niche and keep their entire site or blog theme centred around these specific key phrases.
The next step in keyword research involves looking at long-tail keywords. These are the lowest performing keywords within your chosen niche for search volume, but also likely to have less competition. These are the keywords to begin with if your website is new and has little authority with search engines.
Ongoing Keyword Research
Once you have optimised your site or blog for your researched and selected keywords, it’s important to regularly review search volumes and effectiveness of your on-page SEO. Search volumes can change dramatically over time, depending on the industry, time of year, and many other factors.
Consider an SEO Agency
One way to make your online SEO efforts more effective is to hire a professional SEO agency to perform your keyword research for you. This is often included within regular monthly SEO Packages and has the advantage of the use of premium SEO Tools and resources.
Conclusion
So, as you can see, keyword research is vital for a successful digital marketing campaign. By targeting specific searches in your industry or niche, you can ensure that you reach your audience with content that they will truly be interested in.
Search intent is being continually developed to enable search engines to serve the most relevant results to their users. Using keyword research correctly to find the right search terms for your users search intent is essential.
