Search Engine Optimization is a vital step when creating a website that you want search engines as well as visitors to find.
What Is SEO Keyword Research?
SEO keyword research is an important marketing task that involves knowing popular words and phrases that people use in search engines. It gives business owners a much better understanding of the demand for a specific keyword and how difficult the competition will be to rank for it organically. This offers some direction to your overall marketing and SEO efforts.
SEO keyword research is not just about checking how many searches a particular word has; it is also about exploring other languages or phrases people use to research this same topic or idea. Having said that, researching for keywords is also a major facet of content marketing, as it can give you ideas for your next blog post.
Why Do SEO Keyword Research?
Keywords are read by the search engines and are used to help identify what your site and/or blog posts are about. Search engines will recognize what words and phrases are most widely searched by users. They, in turn, use these words and phrases to give a website their rank. To increase your rank, make sure you optimize your website articles with keywords popular to your topic. Having the proper keywords makes your content easier to be found by users.
You don’t just make up keywords or use what you think may be a popular word or phrase. It is very important that you do the proper SEO keyword research to find the best result for the content on your website.
How to Do Keyword Research for SEO
The process starts with an idea or head keyword, which is also known as a “seed.” This can come from your own knowledge, forums, or products and services you offer.
After building a good list, you want to know how popular each keyword is and how difficult it will be to rank for them in Google and other search engines. This is where the best keyword research tool comes in handy. There are several options to choose from, including SEMrush, Keyword Explorer, and more. By entering a seed into these tools, you will see how popular the keyword or phrase is and the possible competition.
These seed terms do not just give you search volume; they also provide you related keyword suggestions that you may not have thought of yet. A simple seed word can give you a handful of other high-ranking keywords and phrases, which can all be helpful in helping you rank in your next posts.
Other Keyword Research Tips
There is also a difference between short-tail keywords and long-tail keywords. Short-tail keywords are three words or less, a phrase that pops into your head when you think of doing a general search, such as “ski rentals,” “pizza,” or “diamond ring.” You will turn up many results and a very broad search.
Long-tail keywords are more specific to your niche, such as “junior ski rentals in Vail.” Depending on various factors of your website, including its age and your niche, you would need to know what combination of short and long-tail keywords would work best for you.
Once you have the proper keywords, you will want to put them in several places on your website without overdoing it. You can reflect keywords in:
- Page URL
- Page Title
- Article Title
- Meta Tags
- Body Content
- Image Alt Tags
- Anchor Links
Again, there are a number of online resources to do the research, where you can get a good list of high-ranking keyword results, but if you have the resources, you may also hire a company knowledgeable in keywords and keyword ranking to drive more traffic to your site.
Looking for affordable SEO keyword research services? Advanced Digital Media Services offers the best SEO services to bring in results for your business. We look forward to helping you make your mark on the Internet.
