Since no two people think or surf alike, the keywords each employ are susceptible returning search results and click triggers that can either promote impulse surfing (much like impulse shopping) or settle in to a relevant result that encourages conversion.

Since you never really know where you will end up when you use a search engine, as a site owner, the daunting task of second guessing to identifying keywords that convert can be like trying to find a needle in a haystack, unless you know where to look or where and how to focus your research.

Since there are no rules of search, prospective customers can type in the most obscure long-tail terms to identify an objective query. As a result, considering how to position your pages, either laser like and precise for competitive keywords or broad and nebulous to funnel and convert broad match or related traffic.

Regardless of your best effort, semantic word stemming occurs over time when you create enough content about a topic. As a result your site starts to appear for numerous related phrases (where potentially any two words on your pages are keywords). The more supporting information you have on a topic, the higher you can rank for other semantic variations.

Keep in mind that over 30% of all searches are unique (which means that even search engines have never seen the combination before) so broad match and keyword stemming are excellent tools to find keywords that hang in the balance. Not to mention a prospect used to finding results through PPC (pay per click) sponsored advertisements searches differently than someone who understands search engine semantics and is used to being specific enough to evoke the appropriate keywords in a query for organic search.

The distinction between those who type in “search engine optimization company” than those who try to find the same result using “make my site rank higher” are two different personalities. Both have subjective mindsets that cognize and perceive context, words and concepts differently and each is unique to their own comfort zone, exposure and life experiences and as a result. Just as no two people are alike, no two people search alike which is a good thing if you take that in consideration when optimizing your pages.

Both individuals are susceptible to their own unique emotional triggers that could occur at any time as a result of skimming the returned search result snippets. Just like impulse shopping when you go into a store with one purpose in mind and come out with 40 additional items that mysteriously jumped into your shopping cart, much in the same way impulse surfing can take you to the most obscure pages and websites as a result of an inkling of an impulse or search.

The snippet for those unfamiliar with the term, are the 255 characters under the main link of the returned search result. This information is consistent “if you use the meta description tag” or if you opt not to, search engines will piece together a description of their own extracting content from the page or the site to match the query.

Surfing prospects can be hooked by any one of the keywords or associated “call to action” from the search results, that alone may be enough for a prospect to abort the original intention long enough to investigate your page to determine if it is a relevant result.

If enough of the factors they seek are present, or you have clearly delineated a clear path to a target that does chime in with their intent, then chances are you will have one more visitor perusing about with the intention to purchase (if that is your objective).

On a side-note, where they are in the sales cycle also can influence which modifiers you should focus on (using gap analysis) to find related searches you may not have considered. Keywords like pricing, rates, on sale, discount, affordable or other modifiers all come into play under this premise.

Now for the application:

If you have an analytics program, check your server logs or keywords that delivered traffic to your pages for the past 90 days, look at keyword instead of key phrase. From there, look at the highest combination of broad match terms to find the keywords delivering the most traffic to your site.

For example we created a post called “Using Related Search to find Google’s Most Searched Keywords“, and prior to that one month before we did a tandem two part post for called “Optimizing your Site for the Most Search Keywords” and the same title with a slight variation “Optimizing the Most Searched Keywords to Target your Niche” (using pages in tandem is an excellent SEO strategy).

As a result we gained more “broad match” traffic than most competitive keywords day and night from the links and keywords arching across the semantic bridge to create relevance (not to mention a double listing in search results for a 200% increase in conversion).

Using another post as an example about “Action Words” titled; “How to Use Action Words To Increase Traffic and Reader Response” created to work in tandem with another post about “Creating a Clear Call to Action for Conversion” had the same effect, topical relevance which is a precursor to website authority for those keywords.

The fact they are linked through the blog and have an RSS feed are enough to push it through for the first 30-60 days, after that you should go back to your server logs or analytics software and look for the phrases or pages that are dropping back a page or so, create a related post and freshen up the keywords again to set off a chain reaction / traffic stampede for anything remotely related in your website.

This is a process based on virtual theming, the process of using related keywords to deep link to pages specifically about the keyword. When used properly not only can you squeeze more traffic from a page than ever thought imaginable, but you can keep content lively and active in search engines while creating multiple double listings along the way to dominate search results. The good thing about it, you control the content, depending on what your write about.

So it is through the process of analysis, such as the basic technique outlined above that puts you in the driver’s seat of how you target competitive keywords and everything in between. Stay tuned for more SEO tips, techniques and tactics from SEO Design Solutions.

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Related posts:

1. Choosing the Best Keywords for SEO
2. Targeting Behavioral Keywords
3. The Psychology of a Click-Through – Intention, Desire, Fulfillment!
4. What is Your Click Style?
5. Are High Paying Keywords or The Most Expensive Keywords Worth It?