Get A Full List of Well-Researched Keywords Based on Traffic, Competition, Relevance & Intent
Whenever you build something of quality, you have to start with a solid foundation. Without the right keywords, your PPC or SEO campaign is already starting the race two laps behind the competition and towing a ton of bricks. You get the picture.
Keyword research involves getting inside the head of your customers and clients; discovering how they perceive your product or service and how they search for it. Everyone searches differently and not everyone searches during the same stage of the buying cycle. These are factors that need to be carefully considered when forming keyword lists which act as the core of your SEO and PPC strategy.
We will put together a list of recommended keywords based on the content on your site, your products or services and content we plan on developing. There is no minimum or maximum number of keywords. We make my keyword recommendations according to four critical factors: Traffic, Competition, Relevance and Intent.
Ranking #1 for the search term “Blue Widget Model #39482 Wichita, KS” won’t do you any good, simply because no one is searching for that keyword. Quality keywords not only drive significant traffic, but variations of them drive notable traffic as well (known as “longtail” keywords).
Part of setting your company up for success includes being realistic. Single-word keywords are typically far too broad and competitive. In other words, if the top 10 results for your keyword are .gov websites and Wikipedia entries, chances are it’s out of reach.
Just because you sell auto insurance doesn’t mean the keyword “car accident” is an applicable keyword to your business. Sure, some people searching for “car accident” might need insurance, but most people are searching for a variety of reasons. Even if you ranked #1 for that term, the quality of traffic landing on your site would be terrible. Keywords should be directly relevant to your offering.
This is the most understated factor in keyword research, and doesn’t receive nearly enough attention. Intent refers to which stage of the buying cycle the searcher is in. This is also why we make it a point to discuss your goals at the onset of the project, because depending on your goals (i.e. Are we aiming for increased traffic, brand exposure or conversions?), we would target completely different keywords.
For example, someone who just started the process of looking for a camera might search “best cameras.” After a little research, they might determine what they need is a DSLR camera, so they refine their search to “compare DSLR cameras.” Finally, they’ve decided which camera they want and search “buy Canon EOS Rebel T3i.” Each of these keywords indicate different stages of the buying cycle and optimizing for one or the other leads to very different results.