Do you know how to select the best Keywords for your business website? Keywords are the words typed into search engines. They are the topics that searchers are trying to learn more about. In order to attract those customers, you need to do research on what keywords relate to your business, and find the keywords that searchers will use to find your page.
How to do Keyword research:
- Make a list of keywords your buyer personas would search for; determine who they are and what their goals are.
- Categorize the keywords by the stages of the buyer’s journey. Problem-based keywords are in the awareness stage, solution keywords are in the consideration stage, and lastly branded keywords are in the decision stage.
- Mimic the language your buyer personas would actually use. For example, in different areas people say either soda or pop, so a keyword strategy around soda doesn’t work where people refer to it as pop!
- Expand your keywords by searching the web for alternatives.
- Determine what keywords your customers are already using to find your site.
- Decide what keywords have the best opportunity to rank for. Lots of other websites are trying rank for some of those keywords too and only 10 make it to the first page of search results.
Using long–tail keywords will amplify your search and help you receive better results. A long tail keyword is a primary keyword, usually two to three words, that’s expanded upon with other context. Think of the search term “smartphone” versus “2017’s guide to the best 4.5’ smartphones”. It is important to optimize your page for long-tail keywords. The best way to rank for a primary term is to be specific by using long–tail keywords. When you optimize for a long-tail keywords, you’re also optimizing the page for more broad keywords.
The great thing about search engines, such as Google, is that they now have become “smarter.” Your wording does not need to be exact but can have similar matches to what the customer is looking for. It is important to not over use the keyword on your website. Keep in mind what the difficulty level for the keyword is and how often people are searching for it. Tools like Google Analytics and Hubspot Keywords Tool, can also help you see the level of competition. What you should seek for are keywords that have a higher search volume with a low difficulty level.
Where you need to add your keywords on your website:
- On your page title, with your company name after the key words.
- Add the primary keyword into the URL, and use dashes to separate long tail keywords. 301 URL insures no broken links to your page. If there are broken links, make sure to have a 404-error page so that they aren’t taken to a different site.
- Adding keywords to your page header, content, and image alt txt will also help bring customers to you.
- Add the keyword to the Meta description. This is the short summary below the long or title; each page should have a unique Meta description no longer than 160 characters.
Selecting the right keywords for your business can create leads and traffic to your website. After doing the research and finding the best keywords that work for your business, it is time to select your top keywords and write some content using them.
