Yes, being a blogger myself I can harp on my words on that. It can be quite a work of a detective to zero down on the right set of keywords. But the good thing about keyword research is that you get to know so much about customer mindset.
See it is not only about bringing in visitors to your blog, it is also about getting meaningful visitors. With extensive research on keywords you can more or less predict customer’s switching demands, shifting market situations, and in turn produce the kind of services or contents web browsers are seeking for. To note, the game begins with the words typed in the search engine.
How will you assess a keyword’s value?
#1 Judge yourself – Since it is your website you are the best judge. Ask yourself whether the keywords you have chosen are relevant to your website?
When searchers type the keywords, is there a good chance for them to land on your website? Give these aspects a serious thought. The moment you are confident of your keywords, go ahead.
#2 Conduct research – A deeper insight into the competitive value of your keywords always help. Find out if top slot search engines carry the set of similar keywords. Visit forerunner websites. If online advertisements are posted alongside the organic search of the same then the keywords have remunerative value.
#3 Spend on sample campaign – To view the rank of your keywords, you can go for ‘test’ traffic to see its conversion rate. In Google adwords select ‘identical match‘ and direct the traffic to the desired page of your website. Follow route of impression and rate of conversion.
Now let us focus on the basic five steps which can impact your keyword selection.
#1 Analyse searcher’s behaviour – Before selecting your keywords be sure of your target audience. Follow the behavioural approach of the audience while experimenting in search engines. Some keywords might sell like hot cakes, while some keywords might lose its shine with time. So just don’t be a mad follower.
Keywords which generate high traffic now might not be in the same league tomorrow. Therefore as an SEO professional, I suggest understand the persona change of your viewer and then decide on your set of keywords.
#2 Competition analysis – It’s a rat race. You might be targeting top rank on Google or Bing but there will be tough competition at each step. Others might also follow similar process. An organised competition analysis will help you determine your present position and what you have to do to outrank topslot domains. Only then you will be able to determine your page by page keyword selection. Chasing high competitive keywords can be a tough job while you can do smart work and use free market gap, focusing moderate demand.
#3 Business mapping and budget analysis – Any kind of business enterprise will have a budget consideration. This might not be an issue with large corporates but definately with SMEs as their SEO campaign will revolve around a particular budget. Here I share my views with experts that SEO professionals should settle with those keywords which has monetary returns and also favours other business objectives associated with the campaign. Try and have a perfect sync with budget and business goals.
#4 Mobilise conversion rates – The basic purpose of search engine marketing is to get good sales lead. The idea is just not to have a high ranking organic search result but to yield better return values. Internet marketer should strategise SEO in a way that it has positive return on investment. The tactic should be at effective SEO campaign instead of keyword number crunching.
#5 Apply high converting keyword strategy – This is a strategy of involving high value keyword set which has the potential of generating good traffic and is capable of giving monetary returns. These are called scalable keyword which diverts ‘in demand’ keyword search and passive search to your URL. This strategy is extremely beneficial both in business point of view and SEO mobilisation.
Top sources of keyword referral links:
- Google Adwords keyword tool
- Google trends keyword demand prediction
- Wordtrackers free basic keyword demand
- Microsoft advertising intelligence
For starters Google Adwords keyword tool is very helpful. For SEO based keyword research, this tool proposes keyword and also predicts search volume. It even evaluates the cost of organizing paid campaign for the selected terms . If you want to understand the value of certain keyword then assign the match type to (EXACT), then see the regional monthly searches. Note, this represents total searches. The number of visitors for your keyword will vary according to ranking and click through rates.
What is keyword difficulty and deploying keyword?
To target a certain set of keywords you have to comprehend the demand of the keywords and the efforts required to get to the high rank. If the big brands seize the highest URLs then as a starter you have an uphill and long battle on your cards. But be smart to deploy the keywords at the right places.
The best place to locate keywords is the title page, in the first twenty five words of your content. Other areas can be body text, META tags and summary. You can take reference from Google keyword planner and LongTailPro. The ambition is to optimize your website by using effective keywords organised in your content.
Understand the long tail of keywords
It is marvellous when a particular keyword have searches ranging from 500 to 5000. But in reality this comprise of just 30% of total web searches. Some keywords’ search result crosses lakhs on any given single day. This is what we mean by ‘long tail‘ of keywords.
A single long tail can comprise of hundred million unique searches number of times on a given day. When calculated altogether they form the majority of world’s online demand through search engines.
So online marketers must understand that a long tail keyword often have better conversion result. The difference is, person browsing through a collection may not end up buying, but a person finding for the best price is ready to shed.
Wrap Up
To conclude, search engine optimization is almost like a marathon race. So patience is the key attribute. Be sure to implement a strategy which is pro active in nature and capable of riding the long race horse. It is here where business oriented and competitive keywords play the beneficial role.
I repeat my words, understand searcher persona and twist and turns of competition. That will form the ground work for successful keyword research and business oriented SEO strategies will add value. So wish you all the best for your venture into keyword selection.
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