Search engine optimization (SEO) plays an integral role in almost any successful digital marketing strategy. Great SEO can achieve tangible results while further enhancing other aspects of your digital marketing efforts. In this article, we are going to discuss some SEO fundamentals and provide you with an in-depth look into the foundation of a successful SEO strategy, keyword research.
What Is SEO?
Essentially, SEO is creating and/or updating your website content to positively influence its ranking in organic search engine results. While search engine results pages (SERPs) also include paid results like Google Ads, the goal of good SEO is to increase your visibility within the organic, non-paid results.
Why Does SEO Matter?
What’s the point of having a website for your business if no one can find it? Aside from the small portion of people typing your website URL directly into their search engine, most people will only be able to find your business if it shows up when conducting a search for the product or service you offer. An effective SEO strategy helps drive targeted traffic to your website, putting your business in front of the people most likely to buy what you’re selling.
Keyword Research
Comprehensive keyword research is the foundation of any successful SEO strategy. Three primary datapoints of keyword research are:
- Relevance – How relevant are the keywords in relation to your product or service?
- Volume – How many people are conducting searches using these keywords?
- Competition – How many other websites are competing to show up for these keywords?
When conducting keyword research, you should think about it from your customer’s perspective. Let’s say you own a bike shop. People searching for a new bike are probably not simply typing “bike” into their search engine. It is much more likely they are searching for a specific brand, type, or even something as specific as color. Many of the most effective SEO strategies focus on relevant keywords with the highest volume and minimum amount of competition. This is where long-tail keywords come into play.
Long-Tail Keywords
While “bike” would be considered a keyword, “dark blue mountain bike” are what’s known as long-tail keywords. Your keyword research will probably present you with a variety of long-tail keywords with relatively high search volumes that aren’t being pursued by a large number of competitors. There are several tools that can help you find relevant long-tail keywords to consider using within your SEO strategy including:
Free Keyword Tools
- Moz Keyword Explorer (Free accounts can research 10 queries per month)
- WordStream Free Keyword Tool
- Google Trends
Paid Keyword Tools
Keyword Distribution
If your business offers multiple products or services, then your website should have a separate webpage for each of them, or at least for the ones driving in the most business. During your keyword research process, be sure to account for all of these pages, finding keywords specifically relevant to each. This will make it much easier for you to write or update your webpage content once you’ve reached that step in the process.
SEO Made Simpler
Executing a successful SEO strategy can be difficult to achieve on your own, especially when you have a business to run. Our team of SEO experts can work with you to maximize your search engine visibility, generating the targeted, organic traffic that helps your business thrive. Contact us today to schedule a free website consultation.