SEO and Key Phrases

Now that you have a base idea on how SEO works, and you know the key terms and concepts to use. It is time to understand SEO and key phrases. We have already established that search engines evaluate a web page to match it to certain key phrases and keywords searched online.

As a business, it is your goal to get your website ranked for certain key phrases that matches what you are selling or promoting. In order to do this, you need to build your key phase list. 

Building your key phrase list is not as easy as conjuring words and using it on your website. It requires a fair amount of research and insights. There are also tools available to help you grow your list of keywords.

Building Your Keywords List

The foundation of every search on the internet is key phrases. For instance, when you are searching the web for something, you will use certain words. That is relevant to the search in order to find exactly what you’re looking for. 

After the search, the search engine shows a list of pages that it perceives to be most important to the words or keywords the searcher used. Search engines are complex databases. These are intelligent systems that have built a meticulous understanding of denotation and the way language is used. 

For instance, if you search for motorcycle rentals, the search engines will look for pages that are relevant to the search. It will also show pages with similar synonyms to the key phrase. Such as “motorcycle for hire”, “motorbikes for hire” and so forth. These search engines have also developed extensive awareness around synonyms, misspellings, and related searches. 

That means it is also important for businesses to implement certain keywords that are most expected to be used by your target audience. The goal is to have your website displayed on the top of the searches so potential customers will see it right away.

Understanding search psychology plays a crucial part in keyword research. The best way to do this is to think like a customer. By tapping into the mental process of a potential searcher. You can build the list of correct keyword mixes to target. In simpler terms, you need to think like a potential customer when building your key phase list. 

How To Choose A Keyword

When you are in the process of choosing a keyword, there are four simple things to consider. These are listed below.

• Search volume – you need to determine how many potential customers and searchers are using that specific phrase to find what they want. For instance, the keyword “motorcycle” has an estimated monthly search of 430,000, and an estimated 18,100 searches for “motorcycle gloves.” There are a lot of tools available to help you determine the search volume of each keyword per month.
• Competition – additionally, you also need to determine how many more businesses and websites out there are using and targeting the same keywords. 
• Susceptibility to Convert – you also need to determine the probability of the searcher using that keywords or phrases to be converted on your site. A conversion is a visitor’s desired action to your website. You need to determine which keywords are more likely to convert visitors to customers.
• Value Per Lead – lastly, you need to consider the value per lead. Determine what is the standard value per prospect appealed by the keyword. The average value per lead varies depending on the nature of your website. 

Step-by-Step Key Phrase Research

Now we move on to the step-by-step approach to key phrase research. Follow the steps below.

Step 1: Brainstorming

Typically, companies will hire a team of search engine optimisers to do their website’s SEO. In being able to come up with great key phrases, the team will brainstorm together. One of the easiest ways to come up with keywords is by thinking how you would describe your business. Typically, you will find essential keywords and key phrases from your website’s description, your services, and the needs of your customers that your business fulfills. 

Think of how a person would search for what you are offering? It is also a good idea to consider synonyms and misspellings. It is common for misspellings to occur during a search.

Step 2: Gathering Data

There are two ways to gather accurate key phrase data. The first one is done by surveying customers. The second one is to look at your website’s referral logs. Find which terms and key phrases your customers are using to find you and add those to your list. 

Step 3: Use Keyword Research Tools

Keyword research tools make the process easier. There are several tools available in the market; some of them are free, and some require a small fee. 

There are some tools you can use to scan your website’s content and suggest keywords based on what they see on your website. However, most keyword tools require you to enter keywords. And create recommendations based on previous research data. These keyword tools will also suggest similar keywords, common misspellings, industry-related keywords. Others are common keywords used with a specific keyword and frequency of the keywords in search queries. They will also present you with certain key phrases and keywords. That are sending traffic to your competition and how many sites are also using those keywords. 

Additionally, you must aim for the right mix of keywords. It is a good idea to use a mixture of low-volume terms with low levels of competition if you are looking to gain traffic in the short term. However, you should also consider high-value keywords in high-volume areas. 

Keep in mind that it may take a little while to achieve your target, but once you do, revenue can make it all beneficial. The key to compiling key phrases and keywords is creating a spreadsheet. The spreadsheet should contain a list of keywords with additional information about each one such as search volume, competitors, and etc. 

The spreadsheet should help you analyze each keyword and choose the right ones to target. There should be a list for the whole website as well as a list for each web page you want to develop.

Implement your chosen keywords to the web pages you want to optimize for the best results. In the next article, we will talk about optimising content for key phrases and link popularity. See you there!

© Image credits to Anni Roenkae