With the Covid restrictions lifting, people are now more available to
work from home, which means a whole new world of opportunity for those
who want to make money online. Chances are you’re reading this now because
you’re looking for ways to make money online, and you’ve probably
come across the phrase “keyword research”. We’re going to tell you
all you need to know about keyword research, including how to do it
properly so you maximize your results and produce content that your
audience wants to read. Let’s get to it.
Why Keyword Research Is Important
If you’ve ever spent any time at all in the SEO world, you’ll know that
keyword research is one of the most important facets of SEO. Why? Because
without it you’re simply throwing darts at a blank wall. You can’t
just randomly input keywords and expect to see some results. There has to
be some kind of strategy behind your keyword research in order to see
profitable results. Without a strategy, you’ll end up with low-quality
content that doesn’t perform well and does little to no actually
help your SEO campaigns.
Saving money on ads is fantastic, especially as you might not have
the budget to throw around like you used to. But the flip side is
that keyword research is now more important than ever because you might be
spending more on content than ever before to try and capture some of
that organic traffic. And no, we’re not just talking about a small
portion of your overall content budget. We’re talking about changing
your whole approach to content creation and marketing.
How To Conduct Proper Keyword Research
So how do you go about doing keyword research? The first step is to get
a good understanding of what SEO is and how it functions. If you’re
stuck in the dark ages and don’t know what SEO even is, don’t worry, we’ve
got you covered. We’re also going to tell you the difference between
organic and paid search traffic, so you know what to expect.
As we’ve mentioned, SEO is incredibly important, which means that it’s
a good idea to sit down and really understand how it works. First and
foremost, search engines such as Google are a goldmine of information.
They gather information from all over the web, and through various means
of ‘analysis’ (which we won’t get into) they determine which content is
most relevant to a certain search term. Think of it like this: when
someone is searching for a product or service, their brain naturally turns
to these digital spaces to get the information they need. So if you want
to rank high in these search engines, you need to make sure that your
content provides the right information to the right audience.
Organic (or ‘organic traffic’) refers to the traffic that arrives at your
website or online store without the use of paid advertisements. Organic
traffic is typically driven by a combination of factors including authority
within the relevant industry, relevant content, and backlinks. Paid
(or ‘PPC’ or ‘Google Adwords’) search traffic refers to the traffic that is
generated by placing advertisements on search results pages. In some
cases, you can also get paid traffic through ‘affiliate marketing’, which
is when a third party broker (an ‘affiliate’) promotes a product or
service in exchange for a commission when a customer clicks the
advertisement or buys the product or service.
The Importance of Fresh Content
The importance of fresh content cannot be overstated. Google actually
publishes an algorithm that favors websites with fresh content over those
with older content. So if you want to see your site perform well, you need
to make sure that your content is always being updated and replaced
with new content. There are several ways to do this including creating
special content that is only available for a limited time,
announcing major news items that require an official press release, or
sponsoring events that attract potential customers.
Aside from regularly updating your content, you should also be
considering expanding your blog into a magazine-sized publication. There are
a variety of platforms designed for just this purpose, and you should
consider whether or not this is the right move for your business. The
great thing about a digital publication is that you can always update
content as often as necessary without having to worry about whether or not
the content is ‘dated’.
The Difference Between Organic And Paid Traffic
Organic and paid search traffic are very different. Organic traffic is
very much like traditional SEO in that you’re trying to provide
informational value to the consumer in order to have them click
on your content. However, there are a few key differences. First and
foremost, you’re not paying for adverts on your site. The second
difference is that you have complete control over the content that
you create. Third, you have complete control over the subject matter of
your content, which means that you can produce any kind of material you
want, whenever you want. The only limits are your creative and
informational capabilities. Fourth, you have total autonomy over
the ‘look’ and ‘style’ of your content. You can produce an entire
magazine in the style of an official newspaper, for example, or you can
choose to go with a more modern look. The only limits are your
creativity and the technical implementation of the web platform you’re
using.
Paid search traffic on the other hand, is much more like traditional
advertising in that you’re using money to acquire customers. You’re
paying Google for advertisement space on their search results pages and you
have to abide by their rules and algorithms regarding what kind of ads
they allow. Typically, paid search ads appear alongside organic results on
a single page, though they can sometimes appear on separate pages
also. You typically aren’t in full control of the content that
accompanies your paid search ads, as it’s determined by the search engine
based on a number of factors including the copy and the graphic
design associated with your advertisement.
The difference between these two types of traffic is very important, and
it’s something that you need to keep in mind at all times. While
organic traffic is very much like traditional SEO in that you’re
providing value and information, paid search traffic is completely
different. When it comes down to actually generating revenue, paid
search traffic is where most online businesses make their money.
Why Should You Try Keyword Planning When Doing SEO?
Keyword planning is very important because it makes it easier to tailor
your content to different platforms and devices. If you haven’t
experienced this before, trying to search for something on a laptop
and then trying to search for the same thing on a smartphone is
like trying to read an old-school, handwritten
letter…only it’s probably even harder because there’s so much more
text. Even if you can see the text, you have to physically lift your
finger and hit the enter key in order to actually type out your search
query. This is why it’s so important to do keyword research first –
you’re able to see what terms other people are using and then decide
whether or not you want to use these same keywords
in your content.
If you want to do some keyword research, you can use tools like Google
Keyword Planner to help you find the keywords most
suitable for your content. Using this tool is very much like using
traditional SEO in that you’re essentially entering your search query
into the box and clicking ‘go’. Google will then provide you with a
list of keywords and suggestions for content to match your search
results.
So there you have it – now that you know the fundamentals of SEO,
keyword planning, and how to do it properly, you’re ready to get started
building your digital marketing strategy. Don’t hesitate to give us a
call if you have any questions about getting started or if you just want
to discuss your strategy in more detail.