Keyword research is the first step in SEO-optimised copywriting and therefore search engine optimisation itself. How does it work? How to do it as professionally as an SEO agency? We'll show you!
The role of keywords in SEO
What is the keyword? A word or phrase on which search engine optimisation is based. Because Google uses keywords to direct people to your website.
Therefore, by using the right keywords, we can generate traffic to our website.
Even if you have written a professional SEO article, if you choose the wrong keyword, you will not get the expected results. It is very important to know your target group and their problems, what they are looking for.
Keywords come in various forms and are categorized based on their length and intended purpose. In terms of their length, keywords can be classified into three main categories: "head," consisting of single-word keywords, "medium tail," which encompasses two-word phrases, and "long tail," representing more extended, multi-word keywords. However, it's essential to note that size is just one aspect to consider when evaluating the effectiveness of a keyword, and we will delve into other critical factors shortly.
Keywords can also be categorized based on their function. First, there are "main page keywords" designed to direct visitors to a website's homepage. These keywords typically boast high search volumes and should be strategically placed in the introductory text, as well as in the page title, footer, and side menu. Additionally, there are "generic keywords" that describe various categories, product groups, and general terms.
Furthermore, product keywords, which are the specific names of products or services, play a crucial role in your content strategy. Utilizing these keywords often makes sense; however, it's vital to select terms that are frequently searched by users. It's advisable to employ the version of the product name that garners the most search traffic in your descriptions or menu items.
Should you use them for blog posts? Usually, the answer is no. Blog article topics are too general, so it is not worth using this type of keyword in blogging. They usually describe a search topic in a bit more detail. For example, blog writers from a professional SEO agency usually search for keywords for blog writing by focusing on the problem that the product or service can solve. Or a topic that may be of interest to a particular age group and may be indirectly related to the product offered by the site.
Long tail keywords also have their role to play. These receive few searches, but those who search so deeply on a topic are usually already specific buyers who are about to buy. Therefore, a good thorough, educational content will easily attract leads to the site, and chances are that sales will be just around the corner! But this requires very good content and well thought out long tail keywords.
Keyword research tools: what does an SEO agency use?
If you think like a professional SEO agency, you need to think of keyword research as a strategy. Here are some tips and specific applications to help you get the perfect keywords.
How does an SEO agency do it?
First, they think with the mind of the target audience. As mentioned in the blogging section, the first step is to get inside the mind of your target audience. How do you search for a product? For this, write head keywords or medium tail keywords. And if you are planning detailed educational articles, even longer or more targeted ones.
Collect as many head and medium tail keywords as possible, preferably in one table. Then type them into Google. The terms it offers can show you what medium tail or even long tail keywords are searched for. So Google itself is also worth trying when looking for keyword ideas.
You can also find inspiration in blog posts from sites offering a similar service to yours. In fact, if you want to know the keywords of a popular page, you can check the metadata under the term "view page source" to see what keywords the page is optimised for, and what keywords are there in the title or meta description section.
Keyword planning tools
Once you have a few keyword ideas, you can get more by using programmes designed for this purpose. These keyword planner applications are both free and subscription-based, the latter providing more services such as statistics.
The Google Ads Keyword Planner is primarily designed to plan keywords for Google Ads. However, it is also very useful for writing search engine optimised text. It shows how often a given term is searched for, even at the city level. You can also see the estimated number of searches per month for each keyword, and it also makes keyword suggestions.
When it comes to conducting keyword research, Google Ads is not the sole tool at your disposal. Google Trends offers valuable insights into "what the world is searching for." By exploring Trends, you can access a wealth of useful information. This platform not only presents search ratios but also highlights growing search terms in relation to their previous popularity. One of its key advantages is the ability to sort data by specific regions, allowing you to observe geographical variations in search trends. Additionally, Google Trends provides a comprehensive view of term surges related to specific topics, enabling you to stay updated on the evolving search landscape.
Keywordtool.io
Keywordtool can be particularly good for keyword planning in blog articles, for example. Especially because it specialises in long tail keywords. You can test your compiled one-word keywords and ideas on the keyword tool and you are guaranteed to get a lot of valuable long tail keywords. It shows you how a term is searched for. So when planning your keywords, you should definitely consider this site.
Ubersuggest
Ubersuggest, which is available at neilpatel.com, is also very strong in long tail keywords, so don't forget about it when doing your keyword research. You will often get similar tips as with the Ads keyword tool, but it's worth running through the phrases you plan to use here too, as the two sites can complement each other.
Conclusion
Keyword planning is not complicated, but it is an inevitable part of search engine optimization, because if you optimize your site for the wrong keyword, all your work will have been wasted and you will not get results.
Researching keywords requires thorough work, and should not be rushed. If you do your work well, you can find a lot of useful keywords for which you can create and optimize collection pages, product pages or even blog articles. One thing is for sure, quality SEO is not possible without keyword research.
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