Keyword Research

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How does Keyword Research support an SMB SEO strategy?

Keywords help people use search engines to find websites that match what they are looking for online.

This is done by a person entering a word or words (called a “keyword”) into the search field (called a “query”).

Google Search

Keywords are the foundation for how search engines function.

The purpose of a Search Engine (like Google, Bing, Yahoo & Duck Duck Go) is to find websites that match a user’s search query and then display relevant results in a list.

This allows users the option to choose which website they want to visit based on how relevant they think it is.

Relevancy to a user is often heavily influenced by the content within the organic listings being displayed in a SERP (search engine results page).

The closer the words and content on a website match the words a user enters into a search query, the higher the likelihood it will show up (or “rank”) in the results page or SERP.

Search Engine Results Pages

Keyword Research is a process of finding certain keywords that websites want to show up for (i.e. “rank for”) on search engine results pages (SERPs).

The closer a website is to Position #1 on a SERP, the higher its “rank” on that particular keyword (or group of keywords).

Millions of search queries occur every day, so ranking for lots of keywords can be challenging for a business.

The goal for a website is to let search engines know what keywords they want to rank for.

This is done by including a particular set of keywords on a website and in the blogs posted on the website.

Search engines are constantly analyzing websites to understand what keywords and phrases are listed (and how often) in the content to determine if/when they should be ranked for keyword and phrases when users enter them into a search query.

Why is Keyword Research important for SEO?

Keyword research is vital to your business because it helps you identify keywords your target audiences/customers are searching for online.

The following questions can help you identify important keywords you will want to rank for:

  • What is my target audience looking for online?
  • What is the size of a specific target audience?
    (How many people are searching online?)
  • What is my target audience hoping to find based on their search query? (a product or service to buy/research, specific content to learn about, data to support an opinion, directions to a certain place, etc.)

Once you have this information, you can then create website/blog content that matches what your target audience is looking for.

Your website has a higher likelihood of getting ranked on a SERP for keywords that show up a lot on your website and in your posted blogs.

Keyword research helps you identify the most relevant (and profitable) keywords you should work to rank for so that search engines can match your business with your target audiences so they find and visit your website.

Keep in mind, though, that a website must rank high enough on a SERP to get noticed by target audiences and generate site visitors (called “site traffic”).

If your website is not listed on the top of page 1 on a SERP, there is little chance consumers will scroll down far enough to find you.

With millions of websites in existence, the challenge for businesses is to find keywords that drive “good traffic” to their website.

“Good” traffic for businesses means people visiting their site who are looking for the specific products/services/value that they offer.

That said, driving interest and site traffic with website content is an art, not a science.

Here are a few examples to illustrate how challenging it is to find the right keywords to build content around and try and rank for:

  • A store that sells golf equipment thinks they want to rank for “new clubs”.

    For many people, however, a search for “new clubs” means they are looking for the newest places in their city to enjoy late-night dancing.

    Driving people who are researching new dance spots online to a golf website, results in “bad traffic” for the golf shop because these website visits are not from people looking for golf equipment.

  • A store that sells Apple laptops thinks they want to rank for “quality apple products”.

    For many people, however, a search for “quality apple products” means they are looking for food products that contain high-quality apples as a main ingredient.

    Sending people who are looking for apple pie ingredients to a company who sells high-end Apple laptops online is “bad traffic” because those bakers are not interested in buying a new laptop.

The late-night dancers and bakers would visit these store’s websites and immediately leave (or “bounce”) because the value they were looking to find was not found on the website they visited.

To generate “good” traffic to a business’s website, a keyword strategy supported by keyword research is a very important part of this process.

How does Organix Digital conduct Keyword Research for clients?

Organix Digital helps you navigate this challenging step in the SEO process.

Depending on the number of pages on your website and the package you choose, Organix Digital will start by developing a list of initial seed keywords: (20) for the Premium package and (10) for the Advanced Package.

We will use online tools (both free and paid), such as Screaming Frog, Ubersuggest, Google Search Console, Google Trends, Spyfu, and others to investigate what keywords are most impactful for your business.

We will evaluate traffic to your site, search volume, long-tail keyword options, keywords used by your competitors, keywords by season (if applicable) and location-based keywords (specific location and/or “near me”).

The end goal is to identify the most relevant keywords to your business that our team can work to help you rank for as high as possible within SERP’s – since this “organic traffic” is free.

Look at this process like choosing the battles you want to fight against your competition – you can’t fight every battle all the time, so it’s vital to choose carefully so you can win!

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