Keyword Research
Keyword Research
At the end of the day everything on the Internet can be traced back to one single point that begins with seemingly simple words typed into a search box which open a world of endless possibilities which is why keyword research is so important.
Sounds a little like a Science Fiction novel doesn’t it….
But the fact is that Keyword Research is one of the most important, valuable, and high return activities in the Search Engine Optimization, SEM, Brand Management, PPC and many other fields of Internet Marketing.
What every business needs to understand that choosing, reverse engineering and ranking for the “right” keywords can make or break your website and potentially your entire business today.
Keyword Analysis is the first step to Keyword Research
Keyword research is a fundamental part of online marketing of all kinds. However, if you don’t use the words people are actually interested in and actively searching for, you could be missing a lot of traffic. Keyword research, at its essence, is market research. It tells you what people are interested in, and in what relative numbers.
Through the detective work of puzzling out your market’s keyword demand, you not only learn which terms and phrases to target with SEO, but also learn more about your customers as a whole which is of tremendous value in terms of business intelligence.
Marketing is inherently analytic. Field-testing marketing outreach and performance is key to optimizing budget allocation and market reach. Search marketing is no different, and since “keywords dictate your entire search campaign”, keyword analysis should be your primary focus.
Analyzing keywords and ongoing Keyword Research allows you to:
Optimize Spend: Distribute more budget to successful keywords and eliminate wasteful spending on those that aren’t producing results.
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Increase Conversions: Identifying and focusing on well-converting keywords is good for conversion rate optimization and return on investment (ROI).
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Eye Trends: Knowledge of keyword search frequency provides valuable insight into market behavior which you can apply to multiple aspects of your business.
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Prioritize Your Time: Keyword performance guides campaign importance–spend your time optimizing areas that have the biggest impact on your bottom line. Most business owners would call this the 80/20 rule as 20% of your keywords will likely generate 80% of your active business at any given time.
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Identify New Markets: Use keyword analysis and Keyword Research to expand your long tail efforts, which can deliver as much buying traffic as an industry killer keyword, and discover more specific keyword queries and corresponding warm leads.
No despite having outlined all of these benefits, most SEO companies and search marketers don’t spend nearly enough time on keyword analysis because it’s time-consuming, repetitive and often an add-on service.
At Search Engine Optimization in Atlanta we recommend analyzing your entire keyword strategy at least once a year so that you can take advantage of emerging trends in your market.
Keyword Research Software
One question that SEO Professionals are asked frequently about Keyword Research is:
Can’t I just buy a piece of software and do my own keyword research when ever I want for free?
This can be a tricky question to answer and here are a few factors why this is such a delicate question:
- Yes – you can purchase a piece of software and do your own keyword research but here is the catch
- First, you have to purchase and learn how to use the Keyword Research Software
- Second, you have to understand what you are looking for
- Third, you have to keep the software up to date
- Fourth, even though it seems “free” you are spending money by taking time away from your core business to do keyword research that may be more profitable somewhere else
So, at the end of the day you can do anything yourself, including Keyword Research, if it makes good business since to take the time away to do it. This may sound ridiculous but you could sweep your own floors, vacuum, clean the toilets, etc…
You simply have to decide if that is a “good use of your time” in the business. If you think that it is we would be happy to spend a couple of hours to train you in the process of doing your own research – it is just that most of the time there are more valuable activities that you could be accomplishing.
How To Do Keyword Research
Nothing explains Keyword Research like an Infographic so that is what we are providing on the topic:
Keyword Research Tips
The following tips are important if you are going to try to do you own Keyword Research:
- Try to tap into important keyword phrases that are legitimate phrases with fair to high usage but that have MUCH lower competition
- - Be creative with your Keyword Research and do not go with the flow of the masses. You will never be able to dedicate enough funds and time to swim up stream against the flow.
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A great Keyword Research example if you are a real estate agent is that instead of using an obvious logical phrase like “real estate” (with 323+ million competing pages on Google) or using a keyword acronyms such as MLS (with over 40 million competing pages on Google.)Let’s try a researching a single “root word” term like “listing” all by itself.Here are a few examples which were generated by Keyword Research that all have under 1000 competing pages:”house listings parry sound” - Currently only has 90 competing pages for this exact phrase.
“Wyoming MN home listings” – Currently only has 197 competing pages for this exact phrase.
“michigan real estate listing” - Currently only has 197 competing pages for this exact phrase.
“Wisconsin Home listings” - Currently only has 697 competing pages for this exact phrase.
“Central Virginia land listings” – Currently only has 95 competing pages for this exact phrase.
“north oaks minnesota home listings” – Currently only has 233 competing pages for this exact phrase.
- - Test the use of descriptive verbs like “new”, “old”, “rare”, “limited”, “reconditioned” or “polished”. In many cases these types of terms can help you to root out unique buying niches.
- - The use of colors can yield some good Keyword Research results. Always keep in mind that humans are visual creatures by nature and the “5 Senses” play a large role in what we like and search for on the Internet.
In conclusion of discussing Keyword Research you can see that there may be as much opportunity in the keyword “3 Bedroom 2 Bath House” than their is with “Three Bedroom Homes”.
For all your Atlanta SEO, Atlanta Search Engine Optimization or Atlanta Internet Marketing needs and we can show you how having Search Engine Optimization in Atlanta working for your Atlanta based business to help you succeed this year.
To learn more about how we can integrate proper Keyword Research into your Marketing Strategy visit our Contact Us page or call 404-941-6601 today!
Author: Chris Manning
With over 20 years of successful Information Technology (IT) and Operations Management, Systems Integration, Program Management, Systems and Business Process Outsourcing experience with leading organizations in the United States and abroad Chris Manning is ready to play a Key Role in helping your company to succeed and flourish on the Internet.
SEO Services are one of the most sought after skill sets today due to the competitiveness of the Internet as the worlds primary marketing medium. As an SEO Expert Mr. Manning has been utilizing the tools which are necessary to compete on the Internet both locally and nationally for the past seven plus years.
When you choose your next IT/SEO provider be sure to choose one that is able to create and implement the technology vision that you have for your organization.
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