Keywords – Why are they important?
Keywords – Let’s Talk about Why They are So Important in Creating Your Business Website.
First – The Basics – What are keywords?
Keywords are the words your target audience types into their favourite search engine (think Google), to look for more information on topics you can help them with. It’s the cornerstone of any SEO strategy.
Keywords and Key Phrases
I think it is important to note that I’m not talking about single words. Ranking for “butter” as an example, even if you are a dairy farmer and that’s what you know your customers are looking for, will be nearly impossible. Instead, what you want to go after are longer key phrases that give you a good indication of what your people are looking for.
For example, a small dairy farmer who sells fresh milk at the farmers market might hear people say they are interested in learning how to make butter. A key phrase you may want to use for a blog post or informative article could be “how to make butter at home with fresh milk” or a relative phrase.
When I’m blogging about SEO and trying to find people interested in a training program or a short guide to help them find out what their customers and readers are looking for, I may use a phrase like “best way to find targeted keywords” or even “how to discover what people are searching for online.”
Keywords form the core of search engine optimization (SEO) for the content on your website and blog. Researching and using good keywords on your website will boost traffic and gain exposure.
Keywords allow search engine traffic to find your website. People type in the keywords or phrases as they look for the information they need. If they choose a keyword that your site targets, your site is more likely to come up in the search engine results. (“ranking”)
How do you know you’ve got a “Good Keyword”?
The sweet spot that makes it a Good Keyword is that it is high traffic and low competition. In other words, the keyword is being searched for by many internet users yet there aren’t a great number of websites already targeting them. That is where the keyword phrase helps you refine your audience niche.
Next Step – How to Find These Keywords
The next question is where you find these elusive keywords? How can you find out what your target audience is typing into their favorite search engine?
It will start with a guess. You know enough about your topic and niche of choice to come up with a list of several words and phrases that you think your readers may be using. From there you have options.
Keyword Tools
There are several tools to assist in the Keyword search. I will start with those that are free.
Chrome Browser Extensions
SEO Minions and Keywords Everywhere – Keyword Tool
Google.com Search Bar
One of your best and free tools is Google. Start to enter one of your keywords and see what the autofill options are. There will be many. Know that these are what other people have entered before, ranked from the most searched down to the least searched. Try several different terms and start making a list of the results you find. Once you have that list, search each term again and scroll down to the bottom of the first search results page. You will see a list of related searches. Add those terms to your list of keywords and key phrases and choose several that make sense for your audience and the type of content you want to create.
Another option is to use a keyword tool. If you use Google AdWords, or have a Google business account, you can use Google’s free tool which gives you quite a bit of information on search volume and the likes.
Rank Tracker
The advantage of Rank Tracker is it has 23 different keyword research tools inside it. You get suggestions from Google, Bing, Yahoo, and Amazon, as well as Google Ads Keyword Planner and Google Search Console integration. You also have access to a database of all SEO keywords your competitors rank for and a Long-tail keyword and question generator to see what your audience might be searching for. This tool also includes popular misspellings and permutations. Sometimes these will give you insights into the terms you want to use.
This is one of my favorite resources because the data is both visual and csv downloadable. When you do your in-depth keyword research with this app you get instant, raw search insights, direct from the minds of your customers in visual and csv formats. There are 3 billion Google searches every day, and 20% of those have never been seen before. They’re like a direct line to your customers’ thoughts…
Free and Pro versions (paid) – View the Demo here.
The advantage of Google Trends is it helps you identify city/location specific search volume variationfor terms being used in a specific location.(ie attorney vs lawyer)
Paid keyword Tools
A variety of paid tools are also available. and they range dramatically in price. The reason for this is Keyword research and SEO are consistently evolving. SEO is a moving target. Expansive research, fine tuning and testing the research requires a level of depth and expertise beyond what a free app offers. It is an investment worth making when you are serious about the visibility of your business.
Keyword Atlas (They have a 45% off special right now!)
A reasonably priced keyword tool that is a great resource is Keyword Atlas. I recently purchased this app and find it very comprehensive and extremely helpful. They make a broad claim on the website and as I use it, I am not disappointed. I would highly recommend this product for its price. “Keyword Atlas can pump out thousands of top-ranked long-tail keywords from 21 different online sources in just minutes!
The “Suggests Keywords” tool extracts autosuggest keywords from over 20 popular websites to get you the best possible keywords for your marketing projects.
Plus, you can select between Search Engine sources, Ecommerce sources as well as video sources. You can even extract keyword ideas from Google’s play store and Wikipedia!
There is NO other tool on the planet that will give you the full range of possible keyword ideas you need.”
Finally – Best Use of Keywords
Use the keywords and key phrases you arrived at through your search where it makes sense: 1. in the title and 2. In the content – blog posts, articles, video descriptions, and main website content. Don’t force it. By that I mean, always write for your reader first, search engine second. If you can, use it in the title and use it within your content – multiple times or with several variations of your main keyword within the content depending on length. Don’t overdo it, though. Remember you want it to be quality, trustworthy content that reflects your expertise.
Know that Keywords and SEO aren’t everything for the visibility of your business. Website traffic will come from links back to your site from social media, articles, news stories and other sources. You’ll also get web traffic from repeat visitors. Search engine traffic will matter if your website is new and not yet well established. You want that first sweep of a search engine to capture your site right from the beginning.
A Caution – Something to avoid
There is a temptation to obsess over keywords. Don’t do it! You can spend a great deal of time researching to find high-traffic keywords and strategically place them all over the websites. However, this often results in “stuffing” the webpages with many keywords, making it unnatural and hard to read. The search engines will “ding” you for doing it.
The solution is to find a few good keywords and use them wherever natural on your website. Simply use them naturally where appropriate.
Hopefully the information in today’s post will help you establish an SEO strategy to gain visibility for your website and blog content. I have a course in development as I am always learning more ways either to simplify the process or gain confidence in my knowledge that my keyword research is paying off with profits for my business.
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