why-is-keyword-research-important

Why is Keyword Research Important: Act Fast to Beat Your Competition

As a business owner, keyword research is a crucial aspect of your online marketing strategy. Identifying and targeting the right keywords can help you rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs) and drive more traffic to your website.

Keyword research serves as a basic yet essential element of successful SEO strategies.

To understand why is keyword research important in digital marketing we need first to explore effective keyword research techniques and find out how choosing the right keyword can help you rank faster with Google.

In this guide you will learn:

Why is Keyword Research Important for Your Business

Keyword research is essential for optimising your online presence and attracting potential customers to your website. By identifying and targeting the right keywords, you can rank higher in SERPs and get more exposure to your target audience.

This can lead to increased website traffic, higher click-through rates (CTRs), and ultimately, more conversions.

Effective keyword research helps you understand your target audience better.

By analyzing the keywords that potential customers use to search for products or services, you can gain valuable insights into their needs and preferences. This information can then be used to create more targeted and effective marketing campaigns that resonate with your audience.

Ranking higher in SERPs also increases your brand visibility, making it more likely that potential customers will click on your website. This can establish your business as an authority in your niche, further boosting your reputation and credibility.

To conduct effective keyword research, you need to identify the most relevant and valuable keywords for your business.

Tips for conducting effective keyword research

In general, the best keywords to rank for are those that have high volume and low competition. Obviously, it is not easy to find those as your competitors are already ranking for them.

So, instead, it is better to find keywords that are long tail ( 3 or more words) and have reasonable traffic (at least 100 searches per month).

Even if there are fewer people searching for the long tail keywords, there is a good chance, you can rank for them and people will start finding your business online.

There are many keyword research techniques to find those keywords. Let’s see some of them: free or with a help of paid SEO tools.

As simple as it sounds, Google keyword research is still one of the most and best keyword research techniques.

Let’s say you type ‘best keto diet’ in the search box. Google will automatically display the most relevant searches. Sometimes, Google will list the keywords that you did not think of, so it is a pretty good starting point.

People Also Ask

This is a section underneath the sponsored pages. They are the most popular questions that people ask on Google. When you click on some of them, the list expands even more questions, so add it to your list and move on to the next step.

The disadvantage of Google Search and People Also Ask is that you don’t really know what are the search volume and competition for the given keywords.

You can get some ideas from Google Keyword Planner.

Google Keyword Planner

Google Keyword Planner will give you some keyword ideas, search volume data, and competition level.

The free version of Keyword Planner will give you volume estimation as a range of numbers and competition level (low, medium, high).

Maybe that’s not ideal, but better than guessing blindly which keyword to select.

Read more about Google Keyword Planner.

The above techniques are great as a starting point, but to get the real figures for search volume and keyword competition levels you have to reach for paid tools like ahrefs or SEMRush.

Those advanced tools have a comprehensive toolset to do detailed keyword research. Let’s see a few of them.

Competitor’s Website Analysis – Keyword Gap

One of the common SEO strategies is to perform your competitor’s website analysis to see which keywords they are targeting and how they are using them.

In the below SEMrush example, the keywords are split into different tabs for easier grouping. At a glance, you can see what keywords your competitors rank and you are not, thus immediately you can start creating content to feel the gap.

why-is-keyword-research-important-semrush-keyword-gap
SEMrush – Keyword gap analysis based on website competitors

Find Long-Tailed Keywords to Target Local Search Terms

Utilising long-tail keywords and targeting local search terms is another way to get organic traffic to your website. Usually, highly popular keywords are very difficult to rank as there any many, well-established businesses that have done it already.

But, there is a trick to it – using long-tailed keywords.

In the below example, ‘best keto diet’ is a popular search term with extremely difficult to rank for. But, looking down for keyword ideas you may find ‘best keto diet plan Australia’ that has a smaller search volume and reasonable KD% (keyword difficulty).

There is a good chance you can land your post in the first search results, considering your content is relevant, and answers the intent of the search. You can also increase your ranking chances by building some backlinks to your new article.

why-is-keyword-research-important-semrush-keyword-overview
Finding a long-tailed keyword in SEMrush

Analyze Customer Feedback and Reviews

Analyzing customer feedback and reviews is a valuable way to identify relevant keywords that resonate with your target audience.

Start by gathering and organizing feedback from various sources, such as your website, social media, and business directories.

One of the most important places you should collect and analyse customer feedback is your Google Business Profile. Collecting good numbers of reviews is a signal to Google that your business is legitimate and is getting more popular.

Carefully read through the feedback, taking note of frequently used keywords and phrases related to your products, services, or industry.

Categorize and group these keywords into relevant themes, prioritizing those with the highest potential impact on your SEO and content strategy.

This will help you better understand the context in which these keywords are used and address the needs of your customers more effectively.

Incorporate the identified keywords into your website content, blog posts, and social media updates.

Continuously monitor the performance of your content using tools like Google Analytics and Google Search Console, adjusting your strategy as needed.

By focusing on customer-driven keywords, you can create more relevant content, improve your SEO, and enhance the overall customer experience.

Get Ideas for Keywords from Social Media

Social media platforms provide a wealth of information and insights into trending topics, user interests, and popular conversations, making them excellent sources for keyword ideas.

By monitoring hashtags, discussions, and posts related to your niche, you can identify relevant keywords and phrases that resonate with your target audience, giving you a competitive edge in your SEO efforts.

To get keyword ideas from social media, pay close attention to the language used by your audience and industry influencers, as well as the content that receives high engagement.

People on social media often react to news quickly thus it is a good way to find topics and keywords that are trending or may be popular in the near future.

Keyword Research Case Studies and Examples

Let’s see a few examples that demonstrate the concepts discussed in the article.

Jewellery Store – No Organic Search for Main Keywords

This example highlights the importance of long-tail keywords.

A local jewellery store was struggling to attract customers to its website despite ranking high for broad keywords like “jewellery” and “rings.”

Upon conducting keyword research, the store discovered that its target audience was searching for more specific terms like “handcrafted gemstone rings” and “unique diamond necklaces.”

By targeting these long-tail keywords, the store was able to attract more relevant traffic and drive more conversions to its website.

Local Restaurant – Lack of location Keywords

This example highlights the importance of location-based keywords.

A local restaurant chain was struggling to attract customers to its various locations across the city.

Their menu was Mexican food, but targeting such a broad keyword was a mistake as there could be many businesses around and Google can get confused about what business to display in the local search result.

After conducting keyword research, the chain discovered that many potential customers were searching for phrases like “best Mexican food in Sunshine Coast” or “tacos near the beach in Sunshine Coast.”

By targeting these location-based keywords, the chain was able to attract more targeted traffic to each of its locations and increase its overall customer base.

In general, local businesses cannot just use generic terms like ‘dentist’, ‘plumber’ or ‘pizza’. Because they have a physical location, it is important to include it in the keyword they are trying to rank. For example, it would be ‘best pizza in Stafford’.

These examples demonstrate the importance of effective keyword research and targeting the right keywords specific to your business’s niche.

Keyword Research Simple Strategy

Let’s say you are the owner of an online store selling organic, vegan, and gluten-free products. You want to improve your search engine rankings and target long-tail keywords to drive more targeted traffic.

#1 Keyword Research

Start by using keyword research tools like Google Keyword Planner, Ahrefs, and SEMrush to identify popular long-tail keywords related to your niche.

You can discover phrases like “vegan protein bars without sugar,” “gluten-free breakfast cereals,” and “organic snacks for kids.” Make sure they have a search volume of more than 50 and reasonable keyword difficulty (less than 30 in SEMrush).

#2 Competitor Analysis

Analyse your competitors to understand the keywords they are targeting and identify any gaps.

You may realise that many competitors do not focus on “low-carb vegan snacks” and decide to target this long-tail keyword by writing new content.

#3 Social Media & Customer Feedback

Monitor social media discussions and customer reviews.

You can identify more long-tail keyword ideas, such as “best dairy-free ice cream” and “nut-free protein bars.”

#4 Create Targeted Content

Develop informative blog posts, product descriptions, and landing pages that incorporate these long-tail keywords. Ensure that the content is valuable, informative, and engaging to attract and retain users.

#5 Monitor and Optimize

After implementing its long-tail keyword strategy, you should monitor your website’s performance using Google Analytics and Google Search Console.

Analyse the keyword rankings, organic traffic, and bounce rates, making adjustments to your content strategy as needed.

why-is-keyword-research-important-strategy
Keyword Research Simple Strategy

How Our SEO Company Can Help

At Cloude, we specialise in helping businesses with keyword research and ranking higher in SERPs. Our team of experts has years of experience in developing successful online marketing strategies that drive traffic and conversions.

Our expertise can benefit businesses by:

  1. Conducting in-depth keyword research to identify high-impact keywords specific to their niche and target audience.
  2. Developing and implementing a comprehensive keyword strategy that focuses on long-tail and location-based keywords.
  3. Analyzing competitors’ websites to identify gaps in their keyword targeting and opportunities for growth.
  4. Regularly refine and update your keyword strategy to ensure continued success.

If you’re looking to improve your online presence and attract more potential customers to your website, schedule a consultation with us today.

Also Read:
SEO Checklist for Beginners and Experts
The Complete SEO Guide For Your Business
How To Avoid Keyword Stuffing In Your Content

Why is Keyword Research Important – Summary

Effective keyword research is crucial for businesses that want to optimise their online presence and attract more potential customers. By identifying and targeting the right keywords, businesses can rank higher in search engine results pages, attract more targeted traffic, and ultimately drive more conversions.

We discussed the importance of effective keyword research and provided actionable tips for conducting it.

We also provided some examples and use cases to understand it better with real examples.

Moreover, we highlighted the importance of targeting high-impact keywords specific to your business’s niche and discussed strategies for overcoming common keyword research challenges.

Finally, we provided a keyword research simple strategy to follow.

We encourage you to implement these techniques and strategies to improve your business’s online presence and attract more potential customers.

By regularly updating and refining your keyword strategy, you can stay ahead of the competition and drive more traffic and conversions to your website.

Contact us today to schedule a consultation and start improving your business’s online presence.

_________

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *