Keyword Research made simple
Is your head spinning from SEO jargon? Keywords, Search Engine Optimisation, search terms, spiders, trafffic, H1 tags, listings, ranking, indexing, organic…
If you are new to Internet marketing, it can feel like you are in a game where everyone else seems to know the rules, and you’re on the sideline trying to keep up.
SEO or Search Engine Optimisation needn’t be complicated… If you are not sure where to start, the next two blog posts are dedicated to simplifying SEO. You’ll learn how to:
- Crack keyword research
- Construct SEO friendly website copy
Subscribe to ‘Copy Break’ so you don’t miss out on discovering the key to successful website copywriting…
In this first post, you’ll learn how to research your keywords and then analyse them.
Keyword research is all about the words
Search Engine Optimisation is all about increasing your online visibility. The idea is to improve your chances of being found (or ranked) in search engine results. So it makes sense to identify which words you should target.
Successful online communication depends on your word choices. Even though you might be full of good intentions, if your words aren’t clear your message will be lost.
On the Internet, your words need to attract readers (search engine traffic) as well as search engine spiders. Spiders ‘crawl’ websites looking for key information. Based on what data the spider robots find, your website will be indexed.
If you ignore either audience, you’ll fail to capitalise on the golden opportunity open to you…
Where do you start? Initially, you need to identify your keywords…
Generate a list of ‘seed’ or ‘primary’ keywords
Jot down words your customers might use if they were searching for you online. Use everyday, natural words – not business jargon.
Think ‘outside’ of the box. If you are a massage therapist, people might look up the following search terms to find you: holistic massage, complementary therapy, alternative healing, holistic healing, holistic health and stress relief.
It’s important to think of a variety of search terms at this stage…
Are you on the map?
Consider whether geographical words are relevant to your business. If you need to attract local business, geographical search terms are critical. i.e Holistic massage therapist Oxford.
If your business is remote or ‘virtual,’ it’s useful to use county or country based geographical terms – before you tackle world domination!
Define and refine
Once you’ve established a ‘primary’ list, you need to consider a ‘secondary’ list of keyword search terms. Your ‘secondary’ list might consist of specific services you offer. Think of it as a more refined, detailed list of words.
For example, let’s go back to massage therapy. If you offer ‘reflexology’ and ‘Indian Head’ massage, these should be on your secondary keyword list.
The object is to create a list of words to target throughout your web pages, social networking sites and blog posts.
Keep it organic
An organic result is where someone finds you through a natural search, as opposed to a Pay Per Click (PPC) paid listing. It’s far better to invest time in improving your listings using natural or ‘organic’ techniques.
At this stage, it’s all about establishing what you do and communicating this information using simple language.
How to analyse keyword lists:
By this time, you should have two lists bursting with keywords and phrases. Now you need to test them! Use your initial ‘seed’ list to form the basis of your research.
Red hot keyword analysis techniques:
- Use Google’s free ‘Adwords keyword tool’ to ‘test’ your words. This is useful as it can help to eliminate terms you initially mind-mapped and identify other strong search terms. That said, as with every ‘tool,’ test the results. Nothing is perfect!
- Conduct a natural search through Google. Imagine you are the customer looking for your services. Type in your keywords and see what happens! Study the search results or listings carefully. Note which keywords are in the meta data titles and meta descriptions on the search listings. This can help to narrow down which search terms are performing strongly.
- Wordtracker is a fantastic tool to help you identify relevant keywords and phrases.
- Enter keyword phrases into ‘Advanced Web Ranking‘ to see where your website ranks using your search terms.
- Investigate competitors’ sites. Conduct a search using keyword phrases, to identify the competition for those specific terms. Note which keyword search terms the top sites are competing for.
- Analyse your website’s analytics to see how visitors are finding you. Bear in mind that just because ‘some’ people are finding you this way, it doesn’t mean that these are your strongest keywords. Remember that single keywords such as ‘massage’ will return a huge number of hits, making it almost impossible to compete with. So…
- Narrow down your keyword search terms, using regional words and specific search terms. This way you are more likely to attract the customers you are looking for… Also, sometimes the most competitive terms are not the most profitable. Instead of trying to compete with top keyword search terms, include niche terms too. They might attract less volume of traffic, but you’ll increase the likelihood of being found.
- Understand the difference between competitive and modest demand phrases. For example, when I look up “south London domestic electrician ” (with quotes round the phrase to see how many websites match that exact phrase), I get 232 search results. If I search for “south London electrician,” that figure rockets to 1,550,000! Which would you rather compete with?
- Work out the Keyword Competitive Index (KCI) of the keyword phrase you want to compete with. From Google, take the annual search volume on the keyword phrase (monthly average X 12 months), then divide it by the number of competitive pages. Basically, the information helps you understand the demand for any particular search term. If a keyword phrase has an index of 1 or higher, it’s a pretty good bet.
Try these techniques and let me know how you get on… As with anything, you need to keep testing and re-evaluating your keywords to see whether they perform for you…
Next blog post:
The secret to weaving SEO keywords into website copy. It’s not as easy as it looks!
If it all seems like too much effort or you simply haven’t the time, you can always ask an SEO copywriter to do it for you! Keeps me quiet…
