Keywords are important in many aspects of online businesses, advertising, and search engine searches. First, what exactly is a keyword? A keyword is a term that refers to a word that people type into a search engine or a word that describes content of a website. Keywords are a crucial part of search engine optimization (SEO).
There are two different types of keywords. Short-tail keywords are ones that do not include specific details. If a user is searching for pants, they will only type in something like “black pants.” This type of search is most common. Long-tail keywords are keywords that are more specific in detail. Someone searching for pants may type in “black pants size 12.” Long-tail keywords are less seaeched, but have a higher conversion rate than short-tail keyword searches.
Website creators can benefit greatly from keyword research. By knowing the keywords that users are typing into search engines such as Google, a website creator can work these keywords into the content of their website as well as digital advertising. Keyword research tools are available online that can help you to research keywords and implement them for higher ranking in results. By taking the time to do this, you can attract more people to your website and increase conversions and revenue.
When it comes to keyword research, there are 3 stages: discovery, return on investment analysis, and competitive analysis. The discovery stage is when you will compile a list of all possible keywords related to your online business, the website, newsletter, blog, podcast, and product or service you are selling. At this stage, don’t limit your keyword list. You will narrow is down later as you do more research. During the return on investment (ROI) analysis stage, you will figure out the keywords that will be the most valuable to your business and website. It’s here you will learn that it’s a good idea to use generic words that regular people are most likely to search with. Detailed keywords are also more likely to result in a higher return on investment. During the final stage, competitive analysis, you will check out your competition for possible keywords that will benefit you. You can choose competitors that you hope to outrank and take a look at their SEO strategies. Because keywords are the basis of an SEO strategy, you want to know what the competition is doing.
A few other things to consider when doing keyword research:
- Find out what customers are asking: by finding out what customers want to know. A couple of ways to get this information is to offer a short customer survery. If you have a sales department, this is another great place to seek information. Once you know what customers are asking, you can figure out the best keywords and address the customers concerns in your content.
- Look at related searches in search engines: when you begin to type a keyword in a search engine, suggestions will pop up. Use these suggestions to tailor your keywords to what people are searching for.
Keyword research is an important task for website creators as it will help your website to rank higher on search engine results pages (SERPs). By ranking higher, you will be able to draw in more visitors and customers.