Why is keyword research important for all businesses?

Without the help of keywords, your website will never rank or drive traffic. If you take the time to understand and discover the perfect keywords for your marketing content, you can quickly push your site to the top of Google. Keywords provide the potential to begin introducing high converting traffic to your company. Listed below are several keyword research essentials that will equip you to unlock the secrets of SEO and boost the exposure of your content. 

Google Keyword Planner

One of the top free options is Google Keyword Planner which is a free tool that was originally developed by Google to pair with Google Adwords. However, many SEO professionals have turned to it as a way to uncover high-volume, low competition keywords to utilize in their websites. It allows users to judge the monthly search volume of certain keywords as well as discover similar keywords. All you need to use Google Keyword Planner is a few seed keyword ideas. Then, you can see how many searches were performed that month as well as closely related keywords and their rankings. 

Those interested in using Google Keyword Planner can visit the site and then begin selecting various keywords and terms. Once you begin to uncover words that are relevant to your business, you can begin searching for related keywords. Google Keyword Planner can play a significant role in your early research as it will enable you to avoid wasting time searching for the perfect keyword. 

SEMrush

SEMrush has developed into one of the top methods for uncovering keywords due to its effectiveness and ease-of-use. With SEMrush, you can analyze the keywords your competitors are ranking for, and then you can scoop up these keywords. SEMrush is also useful in helping you recognize new seed keywords. You can enter a competitor’s URL into the SEMrush search bar and then gain an analysis of their keyword usage. One note: leave the “http://“ portion of their URL out as it would only pull up data for their homepage. You can repeat this process for any number of competitors, and this can put you on the right track towards refining your keyword research. 

There are a number of ways to rely on SEMrush to help you improve your SEO practices. For example, once you have begun to analyze your competitors’ keywords, you can quickly begin using them to advertise your own company. If you have struggled to create a cohesive SEO strategy, SEMrush can be effective in getting you up and running. You can analyze data and then begin plotting out ways to use it to grow your company. Whether this includes planning out a series of blog posts which will include new keywords or uncovering new advertising opportunities, SEMrush is unique in the number of ways it can help you move forward. Regardless of your current practices, you can always improve your SEO tactics, and SEMrush may be helpful. 

Moz and AHrefs

Third-party websites like Moz and AHrefs can also be effective research tools for improving your keywords. For example, Moz allows you to compare keywords for sites and offers suggestions for keywords to include in your content. AHrefs is unique as it will help you analyze the ranking difficulty of keywords and even calculate their potential for influencing growth in your website. As it is constantly updated with fresh data, AHrefs will allow you to continue uncovering new keywords to test. These sites can help every e-commerce professional, whether they are a beginner or an expert. You can run keyword reports, recognize which keywords matter, and then incorporate them into your overarching SEO strategy. 

As you begin to uncover new keywords that may be effective, you should also consider creating a content calendar for organizing the release of your posts. You can consider including a few new keywords that you find in each piece of content, whether that includes blog posts, pages, or even emails. Plan out which keywords you would like to include and then begin creating dynamic, eye-catching content. 

Sort Your Keywords

Regardless of the sites you use for acquiring keywords, you should be proactive in sorting your keywords into distinct categories. Whether this includes short-term vs long-term or short-tail vs long-tail keywords, you should clearly sort them into different categories. In the long-run, this will be invaluable in saving you time and money while allowing you to maximize the benefits of the new keywords you discovered. 

Rely on Low-Hanging Fruit

While you should use these websites and tools to uncover keywords that rank well, you should also learn to rely on less-common keywords, known as low-hanging fruit. These keywords are not used as often, but they should still be relevant to your content. With the help of these keywords, you can pair them with more-popular words which will allow your webpages to rank higher. As a customer makes their searches more specific, they may stumble upon these keywords which may lead them to your content. SEMrush, Moz, and AHrefs are all effective tools for uncovering these forms of keywords. 

Cover Your Bases

Above all else, you should leave no stone unturned. Rely on your skills and learn from the keywords offered by third-party websites. With the help of various research resources, you can uncover the perfect words for your content. Do not worry if you devote large amounts of time to keyword research as it is tough, time-consuming work. The more thorough you are, the more likely you are to incorporate effective keywords. 

As you look to cover your bases, you should also work to avoid doing harm to your website. In your zeal and excitement for uncovering new words, you should not over-stuff your webpages as this will always do more harm than good. Focus one using only one-to-two keywords per page and be careful to avoid confusing your customers and users. 

If you lack the proper keywords, then your website and content may be destined to fail. Keywords will help every element of a marketing campaign and business. As a result, you should search for as much data as possible with the help of the research methods outlined above. Slow down and take time in this process. It will pay off in the long-run. 

If you need more help, check out The Ultimate Keyword Research Checklist by SEMrush.

Marla DiCarlo is an accomplished business consultant with more than 28 years of professional accounting experience. As co-owner and CEO of Raincatcher, she helps business owners learn how to sell a business fast so they can get paid the maximum value for their company.