News flash: If you’re not utilizing keyword research, you’re already behind. We know that sounds harsh, but that’s how important keyword research is to thriving in today’s marketing world. Keyword analysis allows you to better understand what your audience wants to find. If you’re aiming for a target, you’re not going to shoot with your eyes closed.
Keyword research services help open your eyes to improve your chances of ranking in search results through strategic keyword placement. They also help optimize your content by ensuring your team is creating materials that your audience is searching for. And nothing is better when you find that sweet spot of creating content that is actually found by your audience.
Before understanding the need for keyword research, you must first understand the importance of keywords. In the simplest terms, keywords are what people type into a search engine when they’re trying to find information.
This could be a particular word or phrase. Keyword research focuses on what people are searching for and how many people are searching for it, also known as search volume. Once you've gathered this information, you can use it strategically for advertising, social media, and general public awareness.
Whether you have goals related to thought leadership, SEO optimization, or sales, keyword research is an integral part of your marketing strategy. It allows you to use search data to tailor your approach to get in front of the right audience. It’s also customer-centric, which we all know is so important in today’s world. Every business has competition and as consumers look to have more personalized experiences, you have to provide something unique in order to stand out. Providing them the exact information they were looking for could be it.
Besides knowing what your audience is looking for, keyword research can help you optimize your current content, analyze your website’s current rankings, and identify opportunities for new keywords to target. You can also strategically categorize your keywords into topic clusters. That’s music to a content marketer's ears!
Once you’ve developed your topic clusters, you can develop a hub and spoke model to generate new, related content that your audiences are already looking for. Think about when you are looking for information online. How often do you stop at just one page? Once you’ve learned about keywords, for example, articles about keyword research and useful services are likely also going to be of interest.
Focusing on content that your target audience is interested in will put you where they need you to be, which can help develop name recognition, earn trust, and convert to sales. It can also help you determine which variations of your keywords are most popular amongst searchers.
As you probably know, keyword research strategies are the basis of a strong SEO strategy. And the benefits of that SEO data doesn’t end there. SEO should also inform your content strategy because that’s the best way to know that the content you create will actually be found by your potential future customers. Just think about how helpful people would find your brand if that content gets you on page 1. And let’s be real, how often do you really look at anything on page two?
When reviewing your keyword research and evaluating your SEO strategy, there are a few key things to review:
Often, your best bet is to target words that are specific and relate to your subject matter, which also have lower competition. It takes practice and some expertise to know what keywords will have the most success. That’s one reason to pull in the experts to help with keyword research services.
As mentioned earlier, there are many factors an SEO specialist or keyword researcher should consider when creating or modifying a content strategy. There isn't just one magic SEO tool, but there are many ways keyword research services can gather information. There are plenty of keyword research tools available if you want to go it alone and build your own SEO team.
If you're looking for an SEO keyword research service to help out, any SEO expert should be able to talk to you about inbound marketing, keyword research tools, and google analytics. However, you don't want them to claim they can automatically get you to position 1 immediately with the right keyword.
An SEO strategy takes time, and unfortunately SEO keywords aren't magic spells that immediately put you top of mind. Quality service or products from your business and good content aimed at potential clients paired with a strategic approach to keyword research and a SEO campaign are key. Together these strategies will achieve the results you’re hoping for.
Researching keywords provides your organization with marketing trend insight. As your organization starts ranking for its target keywords, you’ll likely improve traffic growth and customer acquisition. As your content shows up where consumers are looking, it helps gain your organization recognition and shows Google you are an authority in the space. And more than that, providing helpful information is a great way to gain trust.
While keyword research takes time, the results show it’s worth the effort. Focusing on your audience and using keyword data to hone those insights makes for more successful campaigns.
If you’re ready to start your keyword research journey, look into the resources and services available. You might also consider an SEO expert or SEO agency to help analyze google trends, find the best targeted keyword, and help your organization with its keyword research process. Finding the best keyword research service for you is worth the investment.
