The core of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is keywords. No matter how hard you try, you won’t receive any traffic from Google if no one is looking for what you’re writing about.
For this reason, perfecting the skill of keyword research is crucial to your success in SEO. Making a mistake in choosing keywords would be too expensive in your SEO investment for your webpage. If you choose the wrong keywords, you are wasting time and money.
While Google constantly rolls out algorithm adjustments, one aspect of inbound marketing that aims to optimise websites for search engines has been relatively constant; therefore, keyword research is a must in your SEO practice to rank higher.
We’ll explain keyword research in this post, its benefits, how to do it for your SEO strategy, and how to pick the best keywords for your website.
What is Keyword Research
Users on the internet do keyword searches to find the information they need. If I’m looking for a new pair of boots, I may type in “black boots for women”. They serve as keywords. Some keywords are long, and some are short.
Businesses must do keyword research if people are entering terms into their devices. Businesses need to conduct keyword research process to find out which terms their target audience uses. How will people discover you if you are unaware of their search terms?
However, keyword searches are not just done by businesses. Google and other search engines will examine the content on your website to identify keywords and rank you for those phrases. Here is where SEO begins.
Read More: On-Page SEO Ranking Factors
Do you need assistance locating your keywords? Ask our iMarketing team experts to analyze your website, and we will consult you for free. You will receive personalized direction and counsel on how to grow leads and sales for your company.
How Keyword Research Works
Although you might want to jump right into SEO keyword research, there are a few crucial things you need to ask yourself before. You must be aware of your target customers’ locations, characteristics, needs, and benefits.
Keyword research is the most excellent method for determining what searchers are actively looking for. Your company has to be aware of the information to avoid and the stuff to concentrate on. Websites often make this error, which explains why more than 90% of pages receive almost little traffic. The success of search engine optimisation depends on keyword research.
Keyword research is one of the finest techniques to increase your website’s organic search traffic. When appropriately utilised, keywords may improve your backlinks, SERPs, and all of your content marketing.
To determine the search volumes and frequency of your keyword suggestions, you may also be able to utilise Google Trends for keyword trends. This might assist you in selecting the relevance of your speciality.
Why is Keyword Research Important for SEO
Keyword research is the process of finding the keywords for your business and understanding how you are ranking or could rank for these keywords on search results of Google.
There are so many reasons why keyword research should be at the forefront of a digital marketing campaign. Here are some of the most crucial reasons why:
Understanding your keywords can assist you in better comprehending your brand and business. What do you market? What services do you offer? Finding your keywords might help you better grasp who you are if you are unaware of this.
You may learn important information from keyword research, such as where you stand for particular phrases, which keywords are simple to rank for, and which your rivals rank for.
Instead of assuming what people are searching for, keyword research might reveal what they are looking for.
Only if search engines know your business can they rank your website. By focusing on specific keywords on various website pages, you may then get ranked for those keywords by Google.
Finding the right keywords to utilise in outreach and blogs help increase website traffic.
Any digital marketing strategy should begin with keyword research, but it should be a continual effort. It would help if you periodically examined your keywords to see where you concern your rivals.
After conducting your keyword research, create pages and content with those keywords in mind. When used in conjunction with other SEO tactics, this can help your website rank and attract more visitors.
How to Perform Keyword Research That Works
You’re prepared to begin now that you know why keyword research is essential. This method will help you come up with a list of vital phrases to utilise in your blog posts, web pages, and marketing materials.
1. Compile a list of general subjects related to your business
Create a spreadsheet with broad categories or “buckets” for your keywords in this initial phase. These could match up with other product categories. You could already cover specific themes regularly if you blog often.
Keep this list brief and straightforward, with no more than 5–10 subjects. It may be beneficial to consider yourself a customer looking for your good or service.
2. Extend each subject by providing a list of expressions you believe your customers use
Determine the words or expressions that your ideal consumer may use to search for information, goods, or services under each of your broad categories.
Look through your organic search traffic bucket to find terms users use to find your website if you already have data from website analytics tools like Google Analytics.
This is an opportunity to generate keyword ideas for data points that can help make your study more focused and successful, not as a final list of keywords.
Make a list for each broad area, then enter it into your spreadsheet. Ask any staff member or your team for suggestions, especially those who will be working with customers. They could possess some insightful ideas.
3. Find related search terms
There are innovative methods to add keywords to your keyword list.
When you enter a keyword phrase into Google, a list of similar search terms bolded at the page’s bottom will appear.
Click on one of the related searches for further information, and then look at the list that Google provides at the bottom of the second page.
You can also enter your keyword phrase into Google Ads Keyword Planner to find out what other pertinent terms people use.
4. Examine the potency of your keyword phrases
Using paid or free keyword research tools, such as Keyword Planner, is the most straightforward approach to do the following step.
When you study your keywords, you need to consider the following items.
What exactly is the search term? Ensure your keyword phrase corresponds to the exact search term people use.
How many people are searching? Building your approach on a keyword term that nobody uses won’t be very helpful. Look for the most popular search term with high monthly search volume.
What degree of competition is there? The technologies that charge money distinguish between competition for sponsored advertisements and organic search. You want an immense search volume with less competition in organic search. Go for it; the place is there.
Look for similar phrases that you might have overlooked and that have a lot of search volume but little organic search competition.
5. Establish your position inside your industry
If you’re up against well-known brands that already dominate the first page of Google for most of the phrases you’ve chosen, you should adjust your approach to find less-competitive long-tail keywords.
Your ideal search keywords should appear on the search engine results page (SERP). Refine your list with long-tail keywords if it’s full of reputable brands with more significant impact and market share than your business now enjoys.
This tactic won’t work only if your rivals haven’t been putting out high-quality material. Even if they spend more money marketing their brand, you might be able to outrank them if you know you can surpass their content in length, quality, and structure.
6. Verify search intent
Consumers who use Google to do searches are looking for something. There must be an answer to each question.
By entering your keyword phrase into a search engine, you can make sure you comprehend the purpose of your clients. What pages now rank for that term, and what services do they provide?
If you try to sell to a customer seeking information, you may gain a click, but the click will be short-lived, which may lower your rating. Customers will be pleased if you deliver a product page when they are prepared to buy.
Make a note of the buyer intent for each keyword phrase in your spreadsheet, or make it a practice for you or your team to verify keyword intent before writing content using that term or phrase.
5 Keyword Research Tips Proven to Drive SEO Results
Choosing keywords has always been a crucial component of search engine optimisation. Effective keyword use may increase website traffic and boost sales. However, selecting keywords shouldn’t be done at random. Consider these recommendations to drive the best traffic to your website, online feature, or page.
Tip #1 – Think Like Your Audience
Always use words and phrases that will help you connect with your target audience when choosing keywords. What might your ideal client possibly enter into a search engine? How does your website specifically meet that person’s need? Let’s take the scenario where you run a Korean restaurant as an example. Prospective clients will likely enter “Korean food” or “Korean restaurant” into a search engine.
Tip #2 – Target Local
Local SEO integration is crucial for organisations that cater to nearby clients. You should promote the location of your services in addition to catering to the audience’s wants. Let’s revisit the Korean restaurant example mentioned earlier. Perhaps Kuala Lumpur is where it’s situated. Include the phrase “Korean restaurant in Kuala Lumpur” in your SEO plan. Make sure “Korean delivery in Kuala Lumpur” is your strategy if you provide delivery services.
Tip #3 – Balance Specific versus Broad
The term “Korean restaurant” might occasionally seem overly generic on the internet, greatly influenced by local SEO. The term “restaurant” is quite broad and very competitive. To focus your marketing efforts, take into account long-tail keywords. “Happily Hour in Korean restaurants.” Contrarily, stay away from overly descriptive terms. For example, “a Korean restaurant that serves spicy Korean sauce chicken with organic cheddar cheese” can be a bit wordy. Use the utmost caution. You see what I mean.
Tip #4 – Keyword Volume
Calling your business “a south-of-the-border eating institution” may seem more acceptable. However, according to search traffic analytics, very few individuals search for “Korean chicken” when they intend to have spicy Korean chicken for supper. Instead of writing with the sophistication and flare unique to your sector, adapt your written material to the ordinary language your target consumer utilises.
Tip #5 – Synonyms and Permutations
Your website doesn’t have to contain the same term again. Instead, consider using synonyms for your goal phrase to distribute wealth. Consider the phrase “Korean spicy chicken for supper” as the aim. Substitute “meal” or “supper” in place of “dinner” (provided search volume supports those alternatives). Also, take into account variations of your desired term. Permutations include your term’s singular and plural forms, such as spicy Korean chickens. Diverse components like the variety of Korean chicken count as well. List of verb tenses and associated words, such as “eat,” “eating,” “ate,” etc.
Keyword Research is better with iMarketing
Google today employs very sophisticated search algorithms to provide relevant results for specific search keywords. However, keyword optimisation is the only tactic that can still influence website SEO.
To ensure that you target the appropriate keywords in your blog articles, you must have the proper keyword research tool in your toolkit and know how to locate keywords. Performing keyword research requires a lot of time and patience. By hiring iMarketing, our specialist will help you to research keywords that can outrank your competitors.
You must create high-quality, relevant material that answers consumers’ searches and optimise your blog articles for keywords if you want to improve your ranking. The only way to rank highly and keep your place for an extended period is to do that. When you are with iMarketing for SEO Malaysia services, we provide all-in-ones, such as free consultation, keyword research, competitor analysis, and content creation. We also will fix technical issues to rank your website at #1.
So what are you waiting for? Contact us and book an appointment for a free consultation!