Matthew Widdop
Matty is a Junior SEO Executive at Intelligency, helping our clients to improve their digital performance. Matty is currently studying for his Level 3 Multi-Channel Marketer apprenticeship and has completed a Sport Journalism Degree at the University of Huddersfield.
Digital marketers use keyword research across several disciplines to understand user search intent and behaviour, this allows for targeted digital campaigns that increase growth and Return on Investment (ROI). In this article we explore keyword research, why it is important and how to create a fool proof keyword strategy for your business.
What is keyword research?
Keyword research is the process of identifying popular words and terms users enter into search engines. This allows marketers to create content around specific keywords that rank higher on search engines and increase traffic.
Keyword research is used across multiple marketing disciplines including:
- Search engine optimization (SEO) Keyword research is integral to SEO, which is the process of improving a websites performance to appear higher on search engines. By using keyword research, SEOs can identify areas to target these keywords to improve their organic rankings.
- Pay-per-click (PPC) PPC is the process of bidding on certain keywords or phrases to be advertised on search engines when users enter specific search terms. With keyword research, PPCs can make informed decisions on which keywords to target that will generate the greatest ROI.
- Content marketing Keyword research is important for a successful content strategy, creating your content based on specific keywords allows you to align your content to users search intent.
By understanding what keywords to target, digital marketers can generate higher levels of traffic to increase business growth.
When to conduct keyword research
Keyword research is often the first step in the SEO process, any content created during the SEO process is informed by the keyword research. A website audit may take place before Keyword research to understand the business its needs and what topics you could potentially be targeting.
In addition, PPCs also need to conduct Keyword research at the beginning of their process to capture the keywords they are going to bid on and help inform their strategy.
Topics – When starting out with keyword research you need to select some topics that are related to your field. For example, as a marketing company we might choose:
- SEO
- PPC
- Content marketing
- Public relations
- Influencer marketing
- Social media advertising
Brainstorming – Once you have chosen your topics that you believe cover all areas of your business, the next step is brainstorming keywords that are related to these topics. This will not be the definitive keyword list; you will filter out some of these keywords in the next section.
Choose your KW tool – Keyword tools can be used to segment, track and analyse keywords, providing data that allows marketers to see which keywords are performing best. There are several different tools to choose from but some of the most popular include:
- SEMrush keyword magic tool
- SeRanking keyword research tool
- Google Keyword planner
- Moz Pro
Expand on keyword research – After choosing a keyword tool, the next step is to take the keywords you have brainstormed and enter them into your tool, the tool will give you related keywords or exact matches and show you what users are searching for. You can use this data to expand your keyword database.
Data informed decisions – Once you have found all your keywords, it is time to use the data you have collected to make informed decisions on which keywords to target. Some data that may help you come to a decision may include:
- Search volume Metric that tells you how many people are searching for a specific keyword
- Keyword difficulty Tells you how difficult it is to rank for a certain keyword, there might be a lot of content around a specific topic making the competition more fierce
- Cost-per-click Metric tells you how much you would need to spend every time someone clicks on your advertisement.
Do you want help with your keyword research? Here at Intelligency we have digital experts that can provide you with a comprehensive keyword research strategy. For enquiries, please contact us @ info@intelligencygroup.com
