Keyword Research Services - the foundation of effective SEO
WITHOUT KNOWING WHAT YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE ARE SEARCHING FOR, RATHER WHAT YOU THINK THEY SHOULD BE SEARCHING FOR, THERE IS LITTLE CHANCE THAT YOU’LL BE FOUND BY THE IDEAL PROSPECTS AS OFTEN AS YOU’D LIKE
Do you know what your prospects are actually searching for?
It seems a fairly straightforward question, and many of my clients will approach me with a very specific (and often minimal) number of keywords. These keywords may have previously become a fixation with them as to how they are ranking, with a daily preoccupation with laborious manual checks. Frequently, when I ask, ‘So why these keywords?’ I’ll get the answer that it was just the most obvious or what the competitors were also competing for. Despite this obsession, when I ask, ‘So what traffic does this keyword generate for you?’ there is often a long silence. This information is often frequently available to them, but they have no idea how accessible it is.
What is the SEO keyword research process?
Keyword research is the systematic study of potential keywords using analysis software that determines the relative volumes of keyword searches per month in a specific region or area. Once this data has been generated, these keywords are evaluated for intent. If the intent of the keyword is inappropriate, a keyword may be entirely irrelevant to a client without an understanding of the searcher’s intent.
What is search intent?
A searcher’s intent is what they are ultimately looking to understand or find from their search.
For instance, if they search for ‘accountancy jobs, ’ the intent may be relatively clear that they are looking for or considering employment in this sector. However, it is less clear if they were to search for ‘accountancy salary’. For instance, it might be an employer wanting to determine the average they should offer, or maybe it is an employee or student trying to determine what they could make or should be making.
This is why a consultative approach to SEO, and particularly intent, is imperative. Without thoroughly discussing with the client a search term’s applicability to their business, it may not be appropriate for a whole host of reasons. It may not suit their business or their future business plans or may only be peripheral to their core business activities.
Hidden gems – keywords you didn’t know you had
Before looking for keywords you may want to rank for, as part of my keyword strategy, I undertake an exhaustive search for any keywords you may already be ranking for. I’ll frequently discover one or two pages or posts that are ranking for keywords that the client wasn’t even aware of. This sometimes might generate a good proportion of the traffic without them being aware. The issue is whether this keyword is of use. If it is, it might mean with a little further optimisation, it could be a lead magnet for you. If not, it’s not applicable; it may be worth optimising for a different keyword that will convert better.
Why is keyword research important?
Without keyword research, all other SEO efforts are compromised. Why? Without understanding what pages should be optimised for, you may start ranking for the wrong keywords. Even if you start getting an increase in traffic, the visitors might not convert because they had no intention of using or needing your services.
What is a keyword research example?
An example from my own experience is a client wanting to rank for ‘cherry picker’. This is an incredibly wide search term. A person searching for this may have an interest in ‘cherry picker sales’, ‘cherry picker rental’, ‘cherry picker training’, ‘cherry picker jobs’, or maybe just a definition of cherry picker. So, there really needs to be more qualifier keywords to determine what the intention is.
Of course, a further issue can be that a very generic search term, with numerous searches, may be challenging to rank for. Of course, in saying this, there is a need to have a viable number of searches a month to justify the effort involved in optimising the place. What is viable search volume can very much depend on the level of intent there may be. As a note of caution, you should expect your SEO to share these search volumes. If they don’t share this information with you, then ensure you ask them to share it with you. If they still aren’t prepared to share this information with you, then I’d strongly suggest you entertain other possible SEO providers.
A further issue with this is even if you have a further qualification keyword, it might not be enough. For instance, if you offer a regional service, then it may be important to put a geographic qualification, say ‘London’, etc. If you don’t and you start to rank without the geographic qualifier, then visitors who do come to your site, which you can’t serve, will likely spend little time and certainly not convert. However, since many visitors spend little time on the site, it will give the impression to the search engines that it isn’t as engaging a site as your competitors. Moreover, poor user experience is believed to be a ranking factor, so it will likely mean that an initial rise in that search term’s keyword ranking after being optimised may begin to drop after the initial surge. So, a poor choice of keyword can actively work against you.
Existing keyword research tools you might not be leveraging
I mentioned at the start that you might have access to some major insightful data that you might never have considered.
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