SEO - Keyword Research
Keyword research is at the heart of the SEO process and one of the first and most important tasks to be performed at the start of a new SEO project.
Do you know what your customers are searching for? WE DO!!
Keyword research provides a window into the consciousness of the searcher, enabling us to understand the language that they are using and also their intent. This information in invaluable throughout every phase of the SEO process from Page optimisation through to Link Building.
There are a number of tools to help you determine which keywords and key phrases are most popular, including Wordtracker, Google's Keyword Tool and Keyword Discovery.
If your market is not at the bleeding edge then you will need to conduct more conventional keyword research. There will always be single word terms that look attractive and attract huge numbers of searches. Keyword research requires that you maintain a realistic outlook. For example, if you have just started a website about F1 you may be tempted to optimise your website for the term F1. In reality the chances of your website hitting the front page of Google within a practical amount of time for the term F1 are slim because of the huge competition. However don't forget the long tail.
If you have not heard of the long tail we recommend reading "The Long Tail" by Chris Anderson or alternatively check out his blog. You will soon discover that there's more than enough traffic or business in the tail without having to target terms like F1. The key therefore is to look for key phrases that have a reasonable search volume but are not overly competitive. Google provides a basic competitive scale in it's keyword research tool, but there are more powerful tools around - which you generally have to subscribe to.
As an additional bonus you will be pleased to hear that the longer the key phrase the higher conversion rates. Why, well lots of people search for the term F1 but there's not enough information for you to determine the user's intent. Is the user looking for information on this season's races or tickets for Silverstone. If the user entered "F1 tickets Silverstone" you know exactly their intent...to buy tickets!
Consider the following example:
Volkswagen might naturally consider using the keyword 'Polo', however if a potential customer entered the single word 'Polo' they would be presented with any number of the following results:
- Polo the mint!
- Water Polo
- Polo - The Ralph Lauren brand
- Horse Polo
- Volkswagen Polo
The keyword 'Polo' is therefore too ambiguous and needs to be qualified with additional keywords to create a unique key-phrase, such as 'Volkswagen Polo'.
The combination of keywords to create keyphrases enables is to explore the long tail and to validate each opportunity.
Keyword Validation Service
Be very wary of SEO companies that "guarantee" that they will get you website to the number 1 position on Google. It is absolutely possible to guarantee such a performance, but it's very unlikely to be for a keyword that has a high level of traffic. Within SEO it is possible to pick a keyword that nobody is searching for, optimise a landing page for that keyword and rank 1st on Google within a few weeks. However the chances of any meaningful business stemming from that page is very unlikely.
Sugar Free Media provide a keyword validation service to ensure the keywords you that you are targeting are effective. If you would like to discuss this service further please CONTACT US.