If you are looking to drive organic traffic to your website, Keyword Research is the first step to achieve that. Before you write website content for your website you need to think about which search terms you want to be found for. Which means you have to figure out what people are searching and which terms are people putting in the search bar. Then you can use these exact terms in your content so that you start ranking for them. This is the basics of keyword research and keyword infusion for SEO. This ultimate manual on Keyword research for SEO will take you through the steps involved in the process.
What are keyword research and keyword strategy?
First, let’s look at the most important concepts behind keyword research and what it is?
Keyword research is the research you do on the internet to come up with an extensive list of keywords you want to rank for, any decisions you make on the basis of that keyword research is called Keyword strategy.
What is Keyword?
A keyword is a phrase containing multiple words which people are entering in the search bar of search engine while searching for any particular topic on the internet. For example, if someone wants to search shoes the keyword would be shoes for men, shoes for women, sports shoes for men/women etc.
#1 Long Tail Keywords
These are the specific and longer keywords mainly focused on the niche. The longer and more specific search terms are, the easier it will be to rank for the term. Keywords that are more specific and often longer are usually referred to as long tail keywords. Long tail search phrases are highly relevant to specific niches and usually, reflect searcher’s intent more precisely compared to generic phrases.
Let’s take the example of “shoes” again. “Shoes” is a generic keyword now the long tail keyword in the same niche is “converse all star white women’s shoes“. Now the longtail keyword may have less search volume than generic keywords but you have better chances to get into the Top 10 of Google’s search engine results page (SERP), even without getting any backlinks.
#2 Search Intent
Search Intent is all about discovering what a searcher actually wants. Search intent keyword is one of the most crucial aspects of paid search. Without a keen understanding of the intent behind visitors’ searches, even the most well-funded PPC campaign will almost certainly fail. However, by leveraging keyword intent for intent-driven marketing, advertisers can not only increase traffic to their sites but also attract more qualified prospects, driving more sales and generating more leads.
Now so that we know What is Keywords research and what are different types of keywords? Let’s talk about the Importance of Keyword research.
Importance of Keyword Research
As stated earlier Keyword research is the stepping stone to all your digital marketing and content marketing strategies. Once you make clear which search terms your audience uses you can use these keywords in your content and reach to the right audience.
It doesn’t make any sense to optimize your content for keywords that people don’t use. Good keyword research makes sure that you use the same words as your target audience and this makes the whole effort of optimizing your website far more worthwhile.
Now Let’s start with the step to step guide of keyword research.
Step by Step Guide of Keyword Research.
#1 Set a Goal
The first and foremost part of any content strategy and keyword strategy is to set a clear goal for yourself. The Goal can include following aspects.
- Who are you?
- What is your website about?
- What makes you special?
- And what promises do you make on your website?
If needs time to figure out these things So take your time and literally write down your mission on a piece of paper, a computer or anything will do, as long as you do it. Once you’re able to answer these questions in detail, you will have taken the first and most important step in your keyword strategy.
#2 Make a List of Keywords
The second step is to create a list of your keywords. Keep your goals in mind and what will user search for while looking for your content? What kind of search terms could they be used while looking for your amazing service or product? Ask yourself these questions and write down as many answers as possible.
There are plenty of tools available in the market that can help yoiu with keyword research. One of the easiest way is to make a list of Google suggestions while entering your keyword. There is the list of websites and online tools that can help you with related keyword research as well as their rankings.
#3 Create a Long-term Keyword Strategy
You can not rely on one single keyword or one keyphrase to get all the traffic to your website. You should use your mission as a starting point, then take our three steps in carrying out proper keyword research and work towards a solid base.