Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is essential for any digital marketing venture; however, it’s not just about writing content. If you’re just writing content daily without a plan, research or keywords, then you’re wasting your time. To ensure your content drives long-term growth and results and is fully optimised it’s essential to complete in-depth keyword research.
This blog will explore the steps you can take to optimise your content and complete thorough keyword research.
Know what your target audience is searching for
The cornerstone of a successful SEO strategy is knowing what your target audience is searching for on the web. By understanding the core topics and themes they are typing into Google, you can tailor your content to ensure they find you.
You can find this out through:
- In-Depth Audience Research: Dive deep into your target audience’s interests, questions, and problems.
- Analyse Competitors: Study your competitors to see what keywords and topics they are targeting.
- Use Tools: Utilise tools like Google Analytics and Search Console to gain insights into user search queries.
Complete keyword research
Keyword research is the foundation of your SEO content. It involves identifying the keywords and phrases that are most relevant to your business and target audience.
There are many great Google and third-party tools to help you do this by providing you with a list of all the possible topics that people are typing into Google.
Start by:
- Brainstorming Keywords: Spend 5-10 minutes brainstorming a list of keywords you believe your audience is searching for.
- Using a Keyword Planner Tool: Input your initial list into a keyword planner tool to generate an extensive list of possible keyword ideas to consider.
- Refining Your List: Carefully review the results, removing irrelevant keywords and organising the keywords to a succinct and highly relevant list.
Find the themes
While Google can provide you with exact keywords that people are typing, it’s not a real human thought process. They’re not based on keywords; they’re actually based on themes and ideas. So, what we want to do is group relevant keywords that are similar to each other into a theme:
- Group Keywords: Identify the themes among your keywords. For instance, if you have 400 keywords, you might end up with 30-40 themes.
- Strategic Planning: Themes give you a strategic way to address the types of search queries people are typing.
Identify your keyword rankings
For those themes, there’ll be predominant keywords in each, that are ranking higher. You can then break those rankings down into three core categories:
- Page One: Keywords where you’re already on the first page. Fine-tune and optimise this content to improve your position.
- Page 20 to 50: Keywords where you’re on pages 20 to 50. Google recognises your content but doesn’t see you as a top, relevant authority figure. You need to enhance your content.
- Rank 50 or Beyond: For keywords where you rank 50 or beyond, Google doesn’t identify the keyword with your website. Consider creating new content focusing on these keywords.
Analyse the gaps
The rank gives you a blanket of the 40 things you’re going after. Gap analysis involves comparing your current rankings with your target rankings. Identify the gaps and assess what’s needed for improvement:
- Identify Shortfalls: Determine where you fall short compared to your desired rankings and competitors.
- Assess Strategies: Decide what strategies to implement based on the gap analysis to improve your rankings.
Create SEO content
Now that you have a list of specific and relevant keywords and know where you need to improve to climb the ranks all that’s left to do is make the amendments:
- Adjust Existing Content: Rewrite or edit any content that is ranking poorly to include your new keywords more effectively.
- Create SEO content: Create blogs, social posts, ads, videos, etc. that cover and include all of the keywords in your list.
Enjoy higher ranking by optimising your content with keywords
Effective SEO content starts with thorough keyword research, understanding your audience’s search intent, and strategically organising keywords. By following these steps and continually monitoring your SEO strategy, you can boost your online visibility and increase your chances of attracting organic traffic to your website.
