Keywords are like a sun, around which orbits all your SEO process. The first question which you are likely to be asked, when acquiring services from a SEO expert or if you are learning SEO on your own is what keywords you are competing for. So it is important to have a full understanding of how keyword works in terms of SEO, before starting your SEO campaign.
What is a keyword in terms of SEO?
A keyword in terms of SEO can be a word or multiple words which you have selected to compete for, in Search Engine Result Pages (SERP) search engine. Whenever a user enters your specific keyword, your page along with all other pages who have selected that very same keyword will compete in SERP. Search engine shows the results based on their algorithms which helps them to rank each page with their significance to that certain keyword, and shows results accordingly.
Choosing the right keyword
So its quiet understandable that choosing the right keyword for your product and services is the key to a successful SEO campaign. You dont want your whole SEO process to go astray from the start. Although choosing keywords for product and services looks fairly simple but in terms of SEO, can be very challenging.
Following are a few helpful tips you should keep in mind when selecting the perfect keywords.
Think from users perspective
While you might know the best phrases and keywords relating to your products and services, it is quite possible that there are other keywords used for them by your potential customers. You have to know what keywords a user could type in search engines, relating to your product and services. This will require some research on search trends. You can collect some ideas from your existing customers.
Look for Volume of searches for your keyword
The next step is to check the volume of searches of your keyword. The more the volume the more potential of possible traffic, but at the same time it is likely you will be facing more competition on those keywords. Usually generic terms for any product and services are likely to have high volume searches. So if you are going with those types of keywords, prepare your strategy accordingly.
Visit websites of your competitors
It is important to know your competitors. Visit their websites, find what keywords they are targeting (this can be done by reading their content and Meta tags). Check the quality of their content and come up with ideas to surpass it. Check their keywords; you might find a keyword relating to your products which you might have missed.
Importance of long-tail keywords
While general and smaller keywords are likely to have more volume, you should never ignore mixing them up with some long-tail keywords as well. Long-tail keywords are more detailed search on a certain type of product. They have less volume and are considered less competitive. But, they are likely to attract more specific type of traffic to your website. Less competition also means that it will be much easier for you to rank higher in Search engine result pages.
You need to have a mix of both, this will help you to have a long-term and short-term SEO strategy. You can use long-tail keywords for your short-term strategy and the more competitive and generic keywords for long-term strategy.
Online tools
Always use the help of available online tools; they will help you with volume and trends of keywords relating to your products and services. These tools are easily available and are an important source to finalize your keywords.
Past Trends
By taking a look at the past trends relating to your keywords, it will be easier to sketch the course of future trends of your keywords. Its important to research and know the trends regarding a certain keyword. This will help you come up with new ideas regarding your keywords and help you pick the best keywords related to your products and services.
Time to finalize your keywords
Once you have gone through the above process it will be much easier for you to finalize your keywords. Make sure your keywords target both short and long-term strategy. Your SEO strategy should not be of one or two months. But you want to remain on the top of search engine results pages (SERP) forever.
Make sure you use your selected keywords effectively on your pages. Use your long-tail keywords in blogs to gain more attention.