Keyword research is the first step in any SEO (search engine optimization) campaign. This is the phase where you compile various critical keywords based on your vertical market, competitors, trend analysis and emerging market trends.
The key is to find the sweet spot in between where context, action words and intent overlap and then create clear and decisive conversion funnels to corresponding pages to facilitate consumer engagement and e-commerce.
It doesn’t matter if you understand of embrace the function of keyword research, it is either your website sitting atop of thousands of keywords in a coveted position, Wikipedia or your competitors.
However, the more online real estate you can occupy through domain authority, on page relevance and positioning, the less dependency you require on other methods of driving traffic to your web property.
Just like a physical brick and mortar business, having a successful and thriving destination for commerce online equates to relevance, convenience, presentation and orderliness to facilitate a satisfied consumer experience.
Keywords represent the conversation of commerce and are the most fundamental path to your preferred pages that indelibly sculpt the degree of expectation when a user finds your website using them. The correlation of relevance and orientation (once visitors arrive) is imperative to establish a precedence for wandering shoppers who are actively seeking solace each time they execute a search online.
Just as no two individuals think alike, “no two individuals search alike”, so, owning the proverbial gap that resides in between the root phrase and the context of various modifiers, adjectives and synonyms is mandatory in order to garner a larger percentage of the market and ambient traffic.
Keywords are a means to an end and deliver interested consumers (based on the way they are compiled in a search). The objective for marketers is to maximize and streamline conversions as a result of the continuity that results from the keyword and landing page’s orientation.
If you can deliver context and continuity from the onset, combine that with positioning and you have an unstoppable 1-2 punch that puts your web property in a category of its own.
It is the websites that understand that positioning starts with the snippet (which is the group of words displayed under your listing in a search engine) and ends within the first 7-10 seconds after a user lands on your pages.
All traffic is not created equal, some are tire-kickers, others are foraging information (for future purchases) or comparing variables; while other sources of traffic are simply impulsive or wanton surfing with no sense of intent.
What metrics differentiate your websites ability to convert are (a) which keywords you optimize (b) how many pages you have to dedicate to the process of conversion and (c) the array of relevance you are able to create from positioning overlapping keywords and landing pages.
Considerations for Keyword Research:
The Market
- The Size of the Market
- The Target Demographic
- The Nuances and Lingo they Might Use i.e. is there Intrinsic or Industry-Specific Jargon Used?
- What are the Pain Points and Respective Keywords Used?
- Who Dominates the Space (Industry Giants, Editorial Content, Anyone)?
The Consumer
- What Actions Words are Important? Keyword augmented with pricing, consulting, best, affordable, expert, etc.
- Is the product or service seasonal?
- Is it an impulse item or are there multiple steps required?
The Cross-Section
- Is cross-promotion a possibility (consumers searching for travel are also searching for rental cars).
- Which tense is being used (find my, what is, who has the best, etc.) can also be used to zero-in on a specific type of consumer further along or closer to the end of the sales cycle.
- Can you web property be scaled to accommodate a larger footprint for relevance through adding additional related content and landing pages?
Keyword Modifiers
- Which modifiers are best for conversion?
- Have you created specific pages in your website to accommodate distinct personality types who might use keywords such as affordable, best, leading, for sale, deals on, etc?
Long-Tail Keywords
- Are long-tail keywords important for your business model?
- Do GEO specific searches comprise a preferred target audience for your business?
- If long-tail keywords are not important, then how does the site get traffic (top tier competitive keywords, branded search terms, etc.)
Another prominent reason to revisit keyword selection is often sites have a tendency to stagnate or lose buoyancy over time, so you will need to reinforce topical relevance by adding fresh content on a regular basis.
Each time you add a word to any page on a website, you increase the probability of a search engine using that keyword shingle [word or group of words] as a potential hit for a search engine query. The emphasis of context by using various related keywords produces the appropriate signals of relevance that allow a page (or site) to rank for a variety of keyword combination’s.
Why fuss over a few when you can dominate an entire market. For those of you who are the do it yourself types, here are a few links to proven SEO tips on keywords and keyword research.
Suggested Reading:
- SEO and Applied Keyword Research
- Targeting Behavioral Keywords
- SEO, Keywords and the Tipping Point
- Keywords, Click-Throughs and Common Sense
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Glad you enjoyed the post…
Targeting some ultra-competitive keywords is as good as shooting yourself in the foot unless you’ve got massive amounts of time and resources to throw at the problem.Finding long-tail and targeted search phrases that are actually getting traffic can mean the difference between SEO success and failure. Be reasonable in your expectations, and fight the big guys by researching long-tail search phrases that have slipped beneath the radar.
Bingo on that one! Never underestimate the long-tail of search.
I have been researching this for a very long time now and I have not been able to find such top quality information untill I came to your blog today.
Mark McCulloch