How to find the keywords you should be targeting to boost your search engine rankings

Targeting the right keywords in your content can have a significant impact on your search engine rankings. Carrying out keyword research will give you more of an idea of your audience and how they search, as well as generating more insight into what your customers want and what their goals are. If you’re looking to get more ROI from your SEO, the right keywords could be a crucial part of the process.

Do the groundwork

It’s important to understand what your audience actually wants, as well as what it is you’re looking to rank for. The best way to ensure that your keywords are appropriate to both is to begin with audience research and then refine this using keyword data. Some of the questions you might ask at this stage include what products within your range are people searching for, who is doing the searching, how are they searching (e.g. which keywords do they use) and why are they searching? From this you can also build a picture of the kind of content that is most likely to satisfy your audience, as well as what will work for SEO purposes.

High and low competition keywords

Once you start the process of keyword research you’ll start to notice which are the most popular keywords and where search volume varies. It’s important to bear in mind that targeting the less competitive terms (i.e. those with a lower search volume) can be as advantages as those with a high search volume – a combination of both is often optimal. The higher the search volume, the more effort will be required to achieve ranking with the keyword. However, if the search volume is too low it may not attract searchers – the trick is to achieve a balance between the two.

Long tail keywords

Although single keywords are often easier to write into content, it can be the long tail keywords – especially those with a low search volume – that turn out to be more effective when it comes to conversion. That’s because the people using them are more specific in their searching and already have an established intent.

Keywords – the options

There are many different keyword options to consider, including:

Keywords your competitors aren’t using

Take advantage of the gaps in your competitor’s SEO. Or, if you’re opting for a more aggressive approach, choose the keywords they are using and target them harder.

Seasonal keywords

Keywords come and go, often with seasons that affect retail, such as Christmas or summer.

Geo-specific keywords

Targeting by region can end up making your content more specific to local users.

Understanding query intent

The intent of the query being made is important to search engines and so something that every business also needs to get to grips with. Search engines will deliver results designed to help the searcher achieve their intent so content that takes this into account will perform better. There are a number of key intents to consider, including:

• The searcher is looking for information e.g. the age of a famous person
• They want to end up somewhere specific online e.g. their local MP’s website
• The search is being made because the searcher wants to buy something, such as a train ticket
• The searcher is browsing to find “the best” of something e.g. compare specific products
• The main focus of the search is to find something in the local area

With this information you can start creating content that will really work, not just in terms of improving SEO rankings but satisfying users too.

Speak to one of our Digital Marketing specialist today on 020 7100 0726 to discuss your SEO requirements.