What if you are churning out content, but all of it is going untouched on internet. It might happen if you are not doing keyword research. Knowing what people are searching on google should be the primary task of any content writer. Any poor rating keyword wont get you anywhere.
It is not ‘people will like what you write’, think the other way around. You have to write on hot keywords which people are typing in google.
That said, it is super easy to write on high CPC keywords and chances are your content will, soon graduate to top (Not guaranteed, there are other factors too).
Keyword research makes the job lot easier but ranking for a certain keyword takes a lot of effort and strategy.
What Is Keyword Research
Keyword research is the process of identifying and analyzing specific words or phrases that people use when searching Google.
By knowing keywords trends are popular and in demand, they can optimize their page content, marketing strategies, and advertising campaigns to reach a wider and more targeted audience.
Worth Knowing Facts !
- Keywords should be related to your content or services.
- Choose High volume keywords and also cover several low volume keywords.
- Select keywords that aren’t overly competitive to increase your chances of ranking well in search engine results.
- Focus on keywords that are likely to attract potential customers or visitors to your web pages.
- Keyword research tools and techniques help businesses discover these valuable keywords, enabling them to improve their online visibility and attract more organic traffic to their sites.
Why Even Do Keyword Research
Here are some key reasons why you should conduct keyword research.
Better SEO
Knowing which keywords your target audience uses allows you to optimize your website’s content. This optimization helps search engines understand what your content is about and increases your chances of ranking higher in search results. Choosing potential keywords works in tandem with successful implementation of SEO.
Search Intent
Keyword research helps you understand what your target audience is interested in and what problems or questions they have. This knowledge enables you to create content that directly addresses their needs and concerns.
Traffic Impact
By conducting methodical keyword research, you can attract organic traffic from search engines. When your site appears on the first page of search results for closely-connected keywords, more potential customers can discover your pages.
Content Strategy
It helps you plan your content strategy effectively. You can create content around keywords that harmonizes with your business goals and audience interests.
E Commerce Promotion
Keyword research can inform product development by revealing what people are searching for online. This data can guide the creation of new products or improvements to existing ones.
Key Points To Focus
Thorough keyword research helps us produce content people are looking for.
One can identify keywords that your competitors might be missing or not optimizing for. By targeting them effectively, you can gain advantage over them.
By researching deeply, you can gain insights into user intent. which ultimately helps you tailor your content strategies accordingly. A well-planned research can uncover related keywords and topics that you may not have considered. This can cater to a broader range of audience.
Search trends and user behavior change rapidly. Regular analysis keeps you aware of such volatile keyword trends.
Explore Further What Are Core Web Vitals?
Keyword Research: How To Do It
This question pops up in everyone’s mind. How to find right keywords that will rank faster and higher. Don’t confuse yourself!
In order to pinpoint keyword research, following points will help.
Know your Domain well
If you are hot on your niche, keyword ideas will come automatically. e.g. If you know a lot about shoes, pick general phrases such as ‘Parts of a shoe’ or ‘types of shoes’. This is where you can outperform rivals.
Start with basic words: as in the above example, shoe is a “seed” keyword. Next, add phrases like “slip-on shoes” or “formal shoes” and examine if other sites are writing about it.
Search volume
Volume denotes the number of monthly queries against a keyword. There are commonly two aspects of search volume.
- Low volume keywords are best target for beginners- pick them if you want to face less competition and significantly better traffic. But in long term this is going to be a profitable strategy that will raise your rank and make your content more popular.
- Then there are high volume keywords which have numerous queries on Internet each month. But since they have high competition it is much difficult to rank for them it might take long to come up in SERP results.
- Search volume is a crucial factor that will vary and you need to observe the changes time to time.
- Highly competitive keywords may be difficult to rank for, especially if your website is relatively new. Divide strategy between high and low keywords and plan content on both aspects so that you can cover wide audience.
Relevance
Ensure that the keywords you choose are directly related to the content and topic of your site web page. A site related to health and diseases start publishing content on Car engines could never be trusted since a visitor is never expecting such information a medical site. Likewise, search engines
will too, find it difficult to categorize such content.
Search intent
Any internet user comes with a purpose, and there will be sites that would definitely satisfy fulfil that purpose. If you want to join the ranks with successful sites then keep in mind the intention of the users.
CPC
Another aspect is CPC value. Once you have analyzed search volume you need to look at what value it carries. Generally high Cost indicates more popularity and high conversion rate. For instance add dollar $3 CPC is likely to pay you more money then a $1CPC, but it will pose equally fierce competition.
CTR
Check Click through rate of your content in search results for specific keywords. Low CTR suggests poor content response and high CTR indicates high click to impression ratio.
Analyzing SERP
Next step of keyword research is to know who is appearing on first page of SERP. You want to see yourself there. Don’t you? Your ultimate goal is to rank top on search pages, so it is key to study search results carefully.
There are key elements to note when scanning SERP results. What you see at first glance is
- Title tag- tells us what the article is about. It makes you feel you are at the right place.
- Meta description- adds more phrases to give better idea of what might be inside. It uncovers the benefits of reading particular content.
- Slug- actual keyword embedded in a long phrase or sometimes only the keyword itself.
Click first few results and read them cursorily to determine what commonly they are writing, how they differ and what is so unique about each content.
Keyword Tool
Reliable keyword research tool will make the task even easier. Any tool will show you a table of contents to analyze. e.g. it lets you know the search volume, cpc associated on it, level of competition and changing trends.
User Behavior
Analyze how people are interacting with your site using tools like Google Analytics.
This can help you refine your keyword strategy based on what’s working and what’s not.
Target Question Tags
Most commonly the queries entered in google are questions as “how to,” “what is/are,” or “why”. Use such question tags in title, meta, and heading and subheading writing content in response to these queries get you profitable results.
Trends
Some keyword lose craze among public and gradually become less popular or are replaced by
something else. for instance, if today men are searching for “casual shirts for men” more then writing about “dress shirt for men” wont get you enough traffic then the former keyword. Therefore, keep a keen eye on changing trends and maintain a flexible strategy.
Location specific keyword
This is as simple as that. If people in US search more about leather jackets, leather boots and sneakers and you wish to target that specific geographic area, consider using local
keywords. this way you will rank faster and thrive.
