Keyword Research
Have you ever wondered how to get your website to appear higher in Google search results? The answer to this is search engine optimization (SEO), a process through which you can help ensure that people searching for a website like yours, can find it. An integral part of SEO is selecting the best keywords. Thus, let’s talk about keyword research and why it’s important.
What is Keyword Research All About?
Keyword research is the process through which you determine the words and phrases that people who would likely be interested in your website would search in order to find it. For example, if you own a fishing charter, you will want to know what people are typing into their search bars and searching for, when they go to book a charter. These are keywords.
There are three different types of keywords: generic, broad match, and long tail. Generic keywords are things like “fishing” or “halibut fishing.” Lots of people search for them but there is also lots of competition. Just think of the number of fishing pages there are on the web.
Broad match keywords are a bit more detailed. For example, “fishing charter in Alaska” or “halibut fishing in Alaska.” These terms are more specific. They have a lower search volume than generic keywords but still lots of competition.
Finally, long tail keywords are highly specific. These are things like “halibut fishing charter in Seward, Alaska”. These have a very low volume but have much less competition, making it likely you can get higher conversion rates by using them.
What Should You Use Keyword Research For?
You should be using keyword research to identify the best terms and phrases to use on your website. You’ll want to use a variety of keywords, preferably long tail keywords, in many different areas of your website.
One of the core places to use keywords is in your content. Blogs are a great place to use them as well as other content that you have. You’ll also want to use them in the titles and at least a few subheadings of your pages as this can enhance your search performance.
Meta descriptions are another important place to use keywords. These are the short blurbs that summarize a web page that appear beneath Google results. When it comes to images, using keywords in their titles and alt text is another good practice. Using them in the anchor text for links (what users click on) is also important. There are many other places you’ll want to use keywords, but these are some of the major ones.
How Do You Do Keyword Research?
One of the biggest questions people have involves how to do keyword research. While the concept is easy to understand, the process may seem a bit confusing at first. After all, how would the owner of a charter find what people are searching when they try to find their business?
The solution to this lies in a wide variety of tools that are available online. There are plenty of tools you can utilize, each of which provides unique data. Below are some of the most popular ones.
Semrush – This is an all-in-one suite that provides SEO tools, including keyword suggestions and search volume.
Google Trends – This is an excellent tool that shows trends for specific keywords over the course of time.
Google Search Console – After setting up with your website, GSC allows you to see which keywords people are searching for, that actually bring people to your site.
Ahrefs – Similar to Semrush, this is an all-in-one tool for keyword identification and performance analysis.
Answer the Public – A great tool for discovering long tail keywords that takes a topic and generates popular questions being asked by others.
How Do You Know If It Is Working?
Knowing if your use of keywords is working ultimately comes down to monitoring data. Integration of successful keyword research should lead to improved conversion rates and increased visitors.
There are many ways to track metrics regarding the performance of your website and individual web pages. One of the most useful is through Google Analytics. This service allows you to access a wealth of data regarding performance of your SEO, giving you insights to track how your keyword strategy affects performance over time.
Ultimately, using effective keyword research is critical for ensuring that your website gets in front of people who are interested in what you provide.