SEO and content are important aspects of inbound marketing. Keywords are at the heart of each of these compositions. However, a common question that pops out is, “How can you know people are using or looking for particular keywords?”
There’s a wealth of blogs on SEO and keywords out there – but not much on this exact issue. So, we are here to help.
But first…
What is a Keyword?
According to Google, a keyword is “an informative term used in an information retrieval system to signify the content of a document.” In simple terms, a keyword is now “most commonly a word or phrase that is a topic of relevance”.
There are four major types of keywords;
- Broad Keywords are shorter terms — usually only one word. These keywords may be readily applied to your business or firm, but they can also be applied to many other companies in your field.
- Fat Head Keywords are comparable to wide keywords but are generally made up of two or three generic, broad keyword.
- Chunky Middle Keywords are where the most competitive and least competitive keywords cross paths. They are the “keywords and phrases that genuine potential buyers type into search engines every day,” according to Jabez LeBret.
- Long-Tail Keywords are lengthier phrases or a string of words that are more particular to who you are – both your company and your industry.
What Role Do Keywords Play in SEO?
Keywords are vital because they’re the key to learning about the issues, pain concerns, and interests of your potential consumers – or your ideal buyer personas. When they express themes in the form of internet searches in pursuit of further information, your target audience uses keywords.
Here are three main reasons why you need keywords.
1. Content Foundation
Each page of content (or blog, offer, or email) has a central theme, which is usually related to a keyword or keyword phrase. Keywords assist your readers to comprehend the page by establishing the basis of your content.
2. Keywords Provide Meaning & Clarity
Visitors analyze material for keywords or phrases they initially looked for when reading the information they find.
3) Keywords Are Beneficial to Search Engines
When search engines scan your site, they index pages based on the keywords they discover to help them figure out what the content is about.
Four Methods for Determining What Keywords People Use
There’s a lot of due research to be done when it comes to figuring out what keywords potential buyers, clients, and customers are using, and it’s something you should very seriously. Here are a couple of tried and tested methods for determining what keywords individuals are utilizing.
1. Use Your People
Who counts as “your people”? Customers, future purchasers, employees, and so on. Your people are everyone who is familiar with your firm, utilizes your product, and buys your items… even those who select a rival. So, do some study and figure out what questions they’re asking. What do you mean by “hot subjects” or “trends”?
These remarks will play a significant role in your keyword strategy. When you’re doing this, be sure to take yourself out of the equation and put yourself in your persona’s shoes — use the same words and concepts they do, ask questions the same way they do, and so on. Frequently, the keywords that a company believes it should rank for or discuss are not the phrases that its consumers actually use.
2. Participate in Social Media
Don’t forget about your social media platforms when attempting to figure out what your customers are talking about, asking, or complaining about. Social media advancements and changes have brought with them a look at hot subjects and more, including:
Facebook has introduced a slew of changes to its graph search function, which allows you to look up pretty much anything your friends are talking about. Learn more about Facebook Graph Search and how to make the most of it in a few minutes.
On the right side of their newsfeed, they also have a Trending toolbar that shows hot subjects and allows you to refine your search by Politics, Science & Technology, Sports, and Entertainment.
There are two methods to gain an intimate peek at what people are talking about on Twitter. The good news is that you don’t have to be on Twitter to see them (although you will need to follow others from an account.) Trending topics may be seen on the left sidebar of Twitter’s site and can be customized based on location and interest. For popular topics, phrases, and hashtags, you may utilize Twitter’s search tool.
Google+
When you log in to your Google+ account, go to the Trending tab to discover who is talking about what on Google+, similar to Facebook and Twitter.
YouTube
YouTube has a Trends Dashboard that shows the most popular videos and topics, much like its social media platform buddies. Select a location, state, or nation, as well as an age group and gender, to focus on these trends.
“Trending Topics” are “algorithmically produced topics using terms in the video’s title, tags, and description among groups of videos that are currently gaining in popularity,” according to YouTube. The views of embedded videos and views on YouTube are used to determine which videos are trending.”
3. Google Analytics
It should come as no surprise that Google provides a plethora of tools to assist you in deciphering keywords and phrases. They have a couple of golden tickets to keyword comprehension. Here are some of these tools;
Google Trends
This gives you access to Google’s search databases on the inside. You can filter Google searches by areas, categories, and languages, as well as change the time and search parameters (image, etc.). You can focus on a single keyword or compare many.
Google Autocomplete
You know how when you go to Google to search for anything it begins to answer your query or think for you? That’s how autocomplete works. “Autocomplete suggestions are possible to search phrases,” Google explains. The Autocomplete search phrases reflect what other people are looking for as well as the content of web sites.” That’s quite great.
Google AdWords Keyword Planner
The best part about the AdWords planner is that you don’t need to pay for AdWords to use it; all you need is a Google account. Users may visit the Keyword Planner with an account and enter a keyword, and Google will fill in the search volume (how often it is used) and competitiveness of that phrase (how many people or businesses want to rank for that word).
Since Google is awesome, you can use this tool to filter by language, location, and whether you’re using a mobile or desktop device.
4. Wordtracker
Wordtracker is a program that determines if a keyword or keyword phrase is worth putting effort into creating content for. This tool estimates the number of times a keyword or keyword phrase is searched each day, as well as any related terms or phrases. Although Wordtracker requires a subscription, you may test it out for free for a few days.
Conclusion
With enough time and resources, even the most difficult problems can be addressed. And, contrary to popular belief, nothing is impossible in SEO, even keywords. When it comes to utilizing your resources and being intelligent, keywords are very important. Although you’ll have to jump in and put in some effort, there’s a wealth of knowledge you need to have.
