The internet is always growing, and Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is the best way to make sure customers can find your website. SEO Brisbane is a complex topic, and it’s usually worth working with a professional marketing agency if you want the best results. But, if you’d rather go it alone, you’re going to need some serious keyword research. In this article we’ll go over the basics of keyword research and how you can find the right keywords for your content.
Why Keyword Research is Important
Before we dive into the process of keyword research, we need to understand the why and how of what we’re doing. Every time someone performs a search on Google, Google compares the search term to the websites in its database. If there’s a good match between the search term and the content on the website, the website is displayed in Google’s search results.
And that’s why keyword research is important. Understanding how people use search engines allows you to match your website’s content to the keywords your customers are searching for. The better you understand those keywords, the higher up you’ll be in Google’s organic search results. This offers three major benefits:
- Market insight – Performing keyword research is a great way to learn more about your customers. Keyword research can help you discover how your customers search, the problems they’re facing, and how you can improve your marketing strategy.
- Grow your traffic – Website content that’s optimized for the right keywords can dramatically increase your traffic. More site visitors means more chances to make sales, and that’s the best way to grow your business.
- Attract new customers – Keyword research can help you identify search terms you never would have thought of on your own. That allows you to reach new customers who wouldn’t have found your business otherwise.
Understanding the Basics of Keyword Research
There are three main components to a high-performing keyword:
- Relevance – Google’s search results are ranked according to relevance. The more closely your content matches the searcher’s needs, the more likely you are to show up in the rankings.
- Volume – The best keywords are the ones that bring new traffic to your website. It’s easy to end up in Google’s #1 spot for very niche keywords, but that won’t help your business if no one is searching for those things. Keywords with higher volumes are more valuable to your SEO strategy – you just need to be mindful of balancing volume against competitiveness.
- Authority – Google’s main goal is to provide resources that help its customers. It does this by judging how authoritative a website is. Websites with more authority are deemed to be of higher quality, and they’re more likely to show up in the search results.
How to Research Keywords for Your SEO Strategy
1. Come Up with a List of Topics- Find the Right Keywords
The easiest way to perform keyword research is to start at the top and work your way down. That’s where topics come in. Make a list of 5-10 topics you want to rank for. These topics are things that are relevant to your business, products, services, or expertise, and they’ll be used to come up with keywords later.
For example, if you’re a bike shop, you may want to rank for topics like “mountain bikes,” “e-scooters,” “electric bikes,” “bike helmets,” and “bicycle repair.” Once you’ve come up with these topics, you can use tools like SEMrush to check the search volume and find out how important they are to your customers.
Also Read: Drive Traffic To Your eCommerce Store With Google Ads
2. Find Keywords for Each Topic
It’s time to turn your top-level topics into actual keywords. For this part of the process, you’ll need to put yourself in your customers’ shoes. Think of keywords and phrases your customers would use to search for those topics. There’s no harm in writing down all your ideas. We’ll narrow down our keyword list later. For now, the more keywords you can come up with, the better.
If you’re struggling to get started then you can use tools like Google Analytics to find out what keywords your website is already ranking for. Google Analytics can show you what people searched for before they visited your website, so this is a great way to develop a list of real, relevant keywords your customers are actually using.
3. Match Keywords to Search Intent- Find the Right Keywords
Google does its best to show the most relevant search results to its customers. One of the ways it does this is by matching its search intent to the websites it displays. When it comes to search intent, it’s less about the specific keywords that were used, and it’s more about trying to provide content that meets the searcher’s needs.
For instance, if someone searched for “how to change a light bulb,” they would be looking for an instructional article. Google identifies that search intent and filters out results that don’t apply, like e-commerce listings for light bulbs.
When reviewing your keywords you need to make sure they match up with your customer’s search intent. The easiest way to do this is to take your keyword and put it into Google. Have a look at the results that come up and use that to figure out whether the search terms are relevant to your business and customers.
Also Read: B2B SEO: How to Rank Your Business Website Higher in Search?
4. Research Related Keywords- Find the Right Keywords
If you’re struggling to come up with relevant keywords then it’s time to look at related search terms. You can use a few different tools to do this, but free apps like Google’s Keyword Planner are a great way to find search terms that are similar to the keywords you have already identified.
5. Narrow Down Your Keyword Selection
Finally, it’s time to narrow down your keyword selection. Review each potential keyword individually. Check to make sure it meets your relevance, volume, and authority guidelines, and get rid of any search terms that aren’t up to scratch. When you’re starting out the goal is to come up with 10-20 high-quality keywords for each topic. You can use these keywords to start optimizing the content on your website and planning future expansions, such as blog posts or new landing pages!
Interesting Reads:
In-depth Information About Search Intent
How to Target a Narrow Audience Efficiently Through Your Website, E.g., A Sports Betting Platform
