Keywords play a large part in your website’s search engine ranking- the stronger your keyword, the better and likelier it is to have your website noticed under search engine results. Do you know how to perform keyword research successfully? Here’s what you can do in 5 steps:
- Set Up
For new start up companies who are unable to afford costly keyword tracking tools, Google webmaster tools and Google Adwords/Analytics are a good option for users to hop on board of. Not only will you receive access to useful tools, you will be doing so with minimal expenditure. Now you can easily keep track of useful keyword performance and better use it to your advantage. Once you have signed up and set up the relevant tools, it’s time to pick out your keywords.
- Insights
Making use of Google Analytics tools, you can contribute to keyword research by gaining further insight. Under Google analytics, select ‘Acquisition’ and ‘Source/Medium’. Under the ‘primary data’ section, choose ‘Google/Organic’ and ‘Landing page’ for secondary dimension. This will allow you to take a look at the top landing pages, and keep track of keywords/keywords variants that contribute in driving traffic.
- Plan Keywords
Begin doing keyword research with Google keyword planner, one of the easiest and yet most effective tools available to users. Choose ‘Search for new keywords/ad group ideas’ and type in something into the product/service section. You can narrow down the searches using the search algorithms available before choosing ’Get ideas’. Google keyword planner will then generate a list of keywords for you. Take note of the average monthly searches to gauge how many users are searching using these keywords on a monthly basis to better decide if you wish to begin using them.
- Analyse
Analyse the results you are generating and compare them to your competitors. Do you stand a chance in winning over them? What other tactics can you use to strengthen your strategy? When it comes to keyword research, analysing the competitors is an essential step that one should not miss. A good resource to tap into for this would be the Open Site Explorer by Moz.
- Apply
Keyword research isn’t complete without applying what you have learned into your content and monitoring keyword performance over a range of time. So do exactly just that and be sure to track your keywords to see how well they are working out for you.
Perform successful keyword research using these 5 steps and get yourself better more effective results today!
