Nigel Wilkinson
Managing Director of Daneswood. Nigel has been in sales and marketing since the 1980's and run digital marketing agencies since 2000.
We all know how important it is to get great rankings on search engines, and the starting point is making sure you get found for the right keywords. What are the words and phrases that your prospective customers or users are “actually” searching for?
The distinction between what people are “actually” searching for and what you “want” to be found for is very important. Most industries have their jargon, which means what you might call your product or service, might be very different to what your customers might call it. A great example is that “rollerblades” gets lots of searches. “Inline Skates” is what they are called in the trade!
So, before spending time optimising your website for the keywords you think you want to be found for, it’s worth doing some research on what people are searching on, and considering if you have a realistic chance of getting on page one, ideally in the top three places, where 61.5% of all organic traffic goes!
Where do you start? First, you need to identify your target audience. Who are they, and what is the problem they are looking to solve? Understand their interests and pain points, and from there, you can work out their search queries.
It’s a good idea to brainstorm potential keywords. Creating a list of potential keywords that relate to your products or services gives you a basis to do more research. You can look at your competitor’s website and identify the keywords they are targeting, but please bear in mind they might have got it wrong. Worse still, they may have copied your keywords, and you are caught in a loop of misconception!
There are some great keyword research tools, like Google Keyword Planner, SEMrush, and Moz Keyword Explorer, to identify relevant keywords and phrases. Some of these are free, and others are premium plans, which is where an agency may be your best option.
Look at long-tail keywords. Rather than optimise for “Hotel”, for example, a very generic term with HUGE competition, you might aim for “romantic hotel for couples on Dartmoor. You won’t get anything like the numbers searching, but you can be a “big fish in a small pond.” And you get customers who are potential buyers, not just tyre-kickers.
Use “keyword modifiers” rather than just the words themselves. Using keyword modifiers like “best,” “top,” “how-to,” or “review” to refine your keyword list. A great place to put these keywords is in your FAQs.
Monitor and refine your list. Continuously analyse and update your keyword list by monitoring your website’s performance and making changes as needed. And it’s not just your website performance that will change, don’t forget to add new products or services to your keyword list.
By following these simple techniques, you can conduct effective keyword research that will help you develop a successful SEO campaign. And, of course, if you need help, please do contact us.