How do you choose keywords for SEO?
Here is what 13 thought-leaders had to say:
- Use Keyword Research Tools
- Pair Keywords and Matching Media
- Use a Keyword Research Browser Extension
- Look at Competitor Keywords
- Use Long-Tail Keywords
- Think Like the Average Searcher
- Reverse Engineer the Process by Searching Your Website
- Convert the Most Traffic by Knowing Your Niche
- Evaluate Search Intent
- Start With an SEO Audit
- Use a Freelancer
- Use Keyword Planning Tools
- Think in Terms of Topics Rather Than Keywords
Use Keyword Research Tools
By using one of the many keyword tools such as Ahrefs, Moz, or Semrush you gain access to your analytics and search console –– then you can analyze the visitors, the pages they visit, and the keywords they are searching to get to those pages. From this, you will discover which are the most popular items and which keywords are doing well.
From there you can:
- Find keywords with search traffic potential
- Make sure you create content that aligns with search intent
- Make sure the keyword has “business potential”
- Make sure you can rank for the best keywords
Amit Raj, The Links Guy
Pair Keywords and Matching Media
It needs particular expertise to add keywords to your article. On the other hand, many websites appear to pack keywords into their text and hope for the best. Spam-filled pages are actively targeted by Google, which either removes them or ranks them very low. It’s crucial to use the proper combination of keywords and related phrases in your material. All of your efforts will be for nothing if you don’t do so.
Excellent website content is the foundation of our SEO strategy. Good website copy, informative blogs, and articles are essential SEO components. These will aid with the ranking and readability of your site. Additionally, pairing the appropriate image with the proper term might result in a significant increase in rankings. This must be done from the beginning.
Oliver Andrews, OA Design Services
Use a Keyword Research Browser Extension
I use the Keywords Everywhere freemium extension for Chrome to discover unexpected keyword opportunities and related search phrases. Often, some of the best keyword phrases I find are the ones I search myself when I’m trying to solve a problem in my business. These keywords tend to be less competitive than the really obvious ones that come to mind when brainstorming content ideas. The other benefit of doing keyword research in this way is that I save tons of time by generating ideas passively as I browse the web.
Chloe Brittain, Opal Transcription Services
Look at Competitor Keywords
If you are looking to include quality keywords in your latest content, you should try and utilize competitor keywords. There are many SEO tools out there like Ahrefs for example that can help you see which keywords your biggest competitors are using to reach the widest audience. This kind of knowledge is invaluable for any organization trying to come out on top!
Brandon Brown, Grin
Use Long-Tail Keywords
Using long-tail keywords is a helpful way of improving your SEO and expands your ability to reach more potential customers. Long-tail keywords include three words or more in phrases. These types of keywords tend to offer lower search volume, but they attract traffic to your website that is more relevant. They are also typically less competitive and can be easier to rank highly on within search results.
An example of a long-tail keyword using the broad keyword “sunscreen” is “sunscreen for kids” or “best sunscreen for babies.” This will help draw in customers who are looking for products like yours.
Sara Shah, Journ
Think Like the Average Searcher
To start, think of what the average searcher is typing (or dictating) to Google to find what they need. It’s often a keyword or phrase such as “smoothies near me” or “best healthy meals near me.” You have to think like the user to determine fitting keywords, and you can also use Google itself to begin the search. From there, you can use other tools to find additional keywords, but you’ll want to focus on the primary ones and infuse them into your content consistently.
Lisa Odenweller, Kroma Wellness
Reverse Engineer the Process by Searching Your Website
It is easy to spend so much time using research tools to investigate other websites for keywords that we forget to look at our own, making it a good idea to examine which words we are currently using that are driving traffic. Sometimes it is difficult to see what is working by doing a straight search, and by reversing the process, we can gain a clearer picture.
By entering your own website into a keyword search tool, you can filter out the words that are driving traffic, which not only gives you a definitive list which is enhancing SEO but also lets you know what is missing. In addition, this process provides a roadmap of which words to build your content around to maximize effectiveness. By putting in as much effort to investigate your own website as you do the rest of the net, you will be able to find what keywords work best for your target audience.
Adelle Archer, Eterneva
Convert the Most Traffic by Knowing Your Niche
The best keywords are the most relevant to your business while being the least competitive for larger competitors. If you and your competitor both sell athletic sneakers, for example, they’ll rank higher for “sneakers” so you need additional keywords like “how to customize shoes” or whatever specifically fits your niche to score higher on SERPs.
For Public Rec, we track some keywords like “athleisure,” “sweatpants,” or “joggers” to drive more traffic to our brand. Use an online keyword tracker to compare keywords for your brand based on relevance and scale.
SEO is the best tool for scaling in digital marketing, so do your research and focus on how your company stands out from competitors to build targeted traffic the best.
Zach Goldstein, Public Rec
Evaluate Search Intent
The motivations behind the search should ultimately determine the keywords you choose. Doing so enables you to tailor and prepare your content to fit the needs of your target users. Understanding the search intent behind each query allows you to construct effective CTAs and target different landing pages based on search phrases, ensuring that users reach a web page that is appropriate to their needs.
Transactional keywords, such as “purchase” or “buy,” for example, are strong predictors of purchase intent. At that time, searchers using such keywords are unlikely to want to be referred to a blog post or a FAQ page. Directing them to a page unrelated to their requirements will prompt them to look elsewhere. However, because you know the keyword was transactional, you can take them to your product page, which provides all of the information needed to make a purchase, such as shipping information and payment options.
David Bitton, Doorloop
Start With an SEO Audit
You can choose the right keywords by doing an SEO audit, either by yourself or via an SEO professional. The process starts with a list of terms that are related to your brand: think about what your brand is the solution to. Head keywords are the most popular words that people search and are the most competitive. Body keywords are 2-3 word phrases that people commonly search for: think “best sandals” or “sandals for toddlers,” as examples. You can start by typing each of your initial list of terms into Google and then viewing “related searches” at the bottom. Do the same process for each of these “related search” keywords to expand your list.
Ely Khakshouri, Retrospec
Use a Freelancer
Go on Upwork or a similar hiring site and put up a job posting for as many keywords as you want. Plenty of freelancers have subscriptions to services like Ahrefs or SEMrush and know how to use them far better than you could with a few hours of training. This is a worthwhile service to pay for and it doesn’t take them too long to deliver clear results.
Jeffrey Gabriel, Saw.com
Use Keyword Planning Tools
Deciding which keywords you will use for your SEO campaign requires lots of research about different types of keywords, including which ones drive results. This can be a difficult process but, luckily, using Google’s keyword planning tool can help relieve you of this stress.
With Google’s Ad platform, you can create an account and begin to search for different key phrases. Not only does this tool show you the exact number of people who have searched that word in the past, but it also provides a list of associated phrases and their traffic count. You can then take the related phrases they offered and incorporate them into your campaign.
Keyword planning tools help businesses choose the right keywords to use in their campaign to drive growth.
Bryan Philips, In Motion Marketing
Think in Terms of Topics Rather Than Keywords
In the early days of SEO, sprinkling keywords around was often enough to get a site noticed. But the algorithm has advanced beyond that and crawls sites for related phrases and terms that connect back to core topics.
It’s easy to get lost in the weeds of keywords as we decide what to target for each individual page. But remember that the algorithm takes into account search intent and utilizes semantic search to understand the context of the query. In short, ensure your pages are tailored to what the user is searching for rather than just mentioning this or that variation of a keyword.
Claire Routh, Elevato Digital
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