Increasing web traffic is a common topic of conversation these days. I wouldn’t be surprised if they didn’t start teaching keyword research and the basics of search engine optimization in high school.
The most traditional way to think about keyword research is to think about the words people use when they are searching. We all know our own businesses and the industry terminology; we can talk in acronyms, jargon, and company-speak along with the best.
There may be situations in which your prospective customers are looking for those specific terms, but more often than not their search is behavioral in nature.
People go to Google with a question in mind or a problem they need to solve, sure sometimes people search just for the fun of it, but most of the time they are looking for detailed and relevant information. They are searching with intent.
Back in the old days, searches tended to be on one or two words and searchers had to spend a lot of time sifting through the results to find the information they are looking for.
As both search engines and people have gotten more sophisticated search phrases are getting longer and more specific. This makes blogging a powerful tool for driving traffic to your website. It doesn’t make sense to add a page of content to your website for every long tail keyword phrase, but it does make sense to write a blog post that provides great information and is optimized for the phrase.
So when you’re getting ready to write that blog post, article, or fill out the content on your website, there are a few things you can do to take your keyword research to the next level and take advantage of the long tail phrases to drive more free traffic to your website.
5 Advanced Keyword Research Tips
- In addition to the root words for your industry, include behavioral terms as well. People don’t want to find something generic, they want the ‘best,’ or the ‘warmest,’ or the most ‘affordable.’
- Think about whether the intent is to research or to buy, the words and the content you create may be completely different based on the searcher’s ‘intent.’
- Continue to use keyword tools to validate your phrases, but also include intelligence from social networks and the trends that relate to your niche.
- Research and use related topics – if you sell swimming pools, those buyers also need pool cleaning products, suntan oil, and other pool accessories.
- Use Google’s related search as as source for additional ideas and as a source of validation.
For example, the related searches for the phrase “inground swimming pool,” might generate an idea to write an article to help a prospective buyer understand various options and the long term and short term costs associated with putting a pool in. This is the type of information someone would be looking for during the research phase.
When it comes to doing keyword research think about why a person is searching in addition to what they might be searching for. Don’t forget to have fun and use your imagination.
What’s your favorite keyword research tip?
Until next time.
Cheers!
About Beth Browning
Thanks for the tips Beth.
Another great way to do keyword research is to go to relevant forums and look at the most popular forum topics. Forums are filled with people who are looking for answers to a question or solutions to a problem – it really is a keyword gold mine.
Hope that helps!
Andrew
Get more website traffic here.
Thank you for stopping by to read and comment!
Great tip on looking at the topics in popular forums – that’s a great idea.
Beth
Using your imagination is “key” because we get lost in the weeds of keyword research and forget to be creative – great article Beth!
Thanks Beth! It is easy to get lost in the weeds isn’t it?
I agree with you,. but it’s only one way to find keywords through actively communicating in forums,. but I am sure there are many ways to maximize keyword research
There are many great ideas to maximize keyword research. It’s fun to explore the different possibilities!
Thank you for stopping by and taking the time to read and comment.
Cheers!
Beth