First and foremost, keywords are terms that people type into search engines to find information. Keyword research is the study of those terms and how you can utilize those keywords to benefit your business. This type of research can provide important insights into issues, questions, and solutions for your target audience. Understanding the importance of keyword research can be impactful for your overall digital marketing plan.
Benefits of Keyword Research:
- Understand search intent
- Understand online audience
- Increase quality conversions
- Helps you curate content for your website, ads, etc.
- Increase organic ranking
- Identify new trends in the market
SEO Keywords - Short-Tail vs. Long-Tail
Short-Tail Keywords
Short-tail keywords are typically one-to-three words long, and they are words that are usually broad. For example, if you are wanting to research a marketing company in Indiana, the search may be “Indiana Marketing Company”. These keywords typically have a higher search volume which can lead to more website visitors. However, since it is more of a generic search, conversions are less likely to occur with ranking for these types of keywords.
Long-Tail Keywords
Long-Tail keywords are more specific and are short in terms of words used in the search than short-tail keywords. Going back to the example above, searching for a marketing company in Indiana might look like “Marketing Companies in Fort Wayne”. With these keywords, the user has a higher intent behind their search. Meaning that the likelihood of a conversion happening is more probable due to the detailed query search. Even though the volume of search for this form of keyword is less than short-tail keywords, incorporating these long-tail keywords into your website’s content is valuable.
Tools for Keyword Research
Google Keyword Planner
The Google Keyword Planner is most beneficial when researching keywords to use for your Search campaigns. This platform gives the cost and volume estimates of each keyword which is important to know before launching your search campaign. One of the best perks of this platform is that you can filter the keyword research by location. Meaning that the data is more relevant for your business and the area(s) you are wanting to target.
SEMrush
SEMrush is a digital marketing platform that can help your business improve its online presence as it has many tools that discover valuable marketing insights. SEMrush has one of the largest keyword databases available, allowing for a more detailed analysis of keywords. From internal audits to competitive research, SEMrush is one of the best all-in-one resources out there to enhance your online visibility.
Wrap-Up
Finding keywords that are popular and relevant to your business will help you rank higher on a SERP (Search Engine Results Page). Sure, keyword research may be a timely task considering the number of keywords you want to target and other factors, but this type of research will help your business stay competitive. New searches are happening every day. Actually, according to Demand Sage, there are about 99,000 searches on Google every second. So, staying on top of this will only benefit your business! Sound a little out of your comfort zone? Give us a call or send us an email. We would love to help!
