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Keywords will make or break your search page ranking. Knowing how to find the right keywords for SEO is crucial to being seen on the Internet. We’ve already gone over the basics of keywords, now it’s time to dive into keyword research.
You might be wondering why we’re making a separate post about keyword research. Why not add it to the other keyword article? That’s because keyword research is a surprisingly lengthy process and it didn’t seem right to gloss over it in our other post.
Keyword research doesn’t have to be difficult, but it requires time and effort. Be aware there will be a lot of trial and error. Researching keywords not only helps you rank higher on search pages, but also helps you figure out what your customers are looking for.
You can stand out from the crowd and meet your customers’ needs at the same time.
There are a couple of terms you should know about before you start your research. You should also be aware of the different kinds of searches people perform to see where you fit in.
Search volume is how often a keyword or phrase is being searched for. The higher the search volume, the more difficult it is to rank for. This can also be referred to as keyword difficulty.
Big companies usually rank for the highest searched keywords, which tend to be single words that cover a lot. Think of a big retail brand claiming the keyword “clothing” as their own. If you’re starting out or have a medium-sized business, it’s best to try for a lower difficulty. Don’t choose a keyword that has too low of a search volume though because then you’ll never be seen.
Part of keyword research is learning how to balance finding keywords with good search volume while not going too high or low, making it hard to compete for a top spot.
Understanding the difference between short-tail and long-tail keywords is important, We’ve talked about them before in our keyword overview, but let’s dive back in.
Short-tail keywords are usually one word and are difficult to rank for due to their vagueness. A perfect example is a big retail brand using the term “clothing”.
Long-tail keywords are phrases that people use in search bars. They generate less traffic but bring customers that are more likely to buy your products. Instead of using “clothing”, you can use something more specific like “black t-shirt with funny sayings”.
There are 5 common types of searches. Depending on what you want to do, some search types are better than others.
This type of search is all about getting answers. It’s when people are looking up the name of an actor or landmark in a specific area.
Navigational searches are when people want to go to a specific website and put it in the search bar. Think like someone searching for Facebook but doesn’t know the specific web address.
This type of search is the one you’ll want to be part of the most. It’s when someone wants to buy something. They’ll type in something like “dog lover t-shirt”.
This is when consumers research and compare different products. You could appear in these searches if a potential customer is looking at what is the most comfortable shirt that has a design like yours. Make sure your product descriptions show all the positives of your product.
This is when people want to look for local businesses, like a coffee shop or restaurant.
Keywords are the foundation you’re going to build your research off of. The more keywords you think of, the better it’ll be for your research journey. You’ll come across keywords that may not work as you go through your research and have to give up on them and start at the beginning with a new one.
Don’t be scared though, there are plenty of ways to find keywords. Have a pencil and paper ready or document open to get started.
Make a list of what your store/website is about. Write any and all ideas that come into your head. Think about what your products are, your designs, what colors you use the most, and even what you write about (if you write).
It’s important to take a step outside of yourself and think about how a customer would search for your products. What might be an obvious word or phrase to you, may not be so obvious to a potential customer.
Create a list of different words and phrases you think a customer would type into a search bar to find your store. Don’t be afraid to write several phrases that are similar to each other. They can be as wide-reaching as “print on demand t-shirt” to something very specific like ” black t-shirt for nature lover”.
The more you come up with, the better. It’s a lot easier to get rid of bad ideas than come up with new ones.
If you feel like your list is missing something, ask people around you what words they would use. It never hurts to get outside perspectives.
Look at what your competitors are doing. Read their content and look at their metatags to give you an idea what keywords they’re using. You don’t have to aim for the same keywords, in fact, it would be better to look for ones they’re not using.
Using a different keyword could give you the edge you need.
By researching the competition, it gives you a better idea of what you’re up against and how you can stand on even ground. Who knows, you may even find content ideas because you noticed your competition isn’t touching on something.
It’s smart to think about keywords that fit a certain period of time, like holidays. Think of any seasonal keywords that fit your store, like “mugs as gifts” or something more specific. Including these kinds of keywords in your list is important, even if the holidays are a long way off. Think about how the seasons affect shopping habits as well.
Do any of your products fit in perfectly with spring, summer, fall, or winter? If so, see if there are any season-specific keywords that fit your store.
Depending on where your customers live, keywords may change slightly in different regions. There can be multiple words or phrases for the same thing. Think of the classic “soda vs. pop vs. coke” issue in the US. See if there are any variations of words you’re using that you may not know about.
There’s a big difference between using the same words and using similar words.
Now that you’ve gotten your list of keywords, it’s time to organize them. It’ll be helpful if you transfer your list into a spreadsheet. Doing so will keep everything clean and easy to refer back to. Have one column be your keywords and the other columns be what we discuss below.
Search engines rank content based on relevance. Relevance means how much your content is connected to what a searcher is looking for. This is where the 5 different types of searches come into play. Create a column for the search types and write what kind of search that keyword is connected to.
Organizing this way allows you to narrow your field of keyword possibilities and guides you on the right content path.
Search engines will rank content higher if it seems authoritative. Authority means you know what you’re talking about and other sites have linked your content within their own content.
Try organizing your keywords based on how authoritative you believe you’ll be. You can use a scale of 1-10 or even low to high to designate how authoritative you’ll be.
Don’t be discouraged if you aren’t very authoritative, you’re just starting out.
Next, organize keywords by how often they’re searched for. Different tools can help you determine their monthly search volume. Again you can use numbers or a scale of low to high.
Make sure to create a column that says whether your keyword is long or short-tailed. This will help you balance your content creation between the two.
By the end your spreadsheet should look something like this (these are fictional numbers):
Now you’ve done all your research and your keywords are organized. It’s time to finally start using them. You can use them in your product pages, page titles, within blog content, and meta descriptions. Using keywords this way will get search engines’ attention. Please refer to our Keyword Basics article for more ways to implement them.
Once you find your keywords and publish your content, you might think your job is done. But, you’d be wrong.
Don’t forget to analyze the results of all your hard work. See if you notice an uptick in visitors after a week and a month of publishing your content. You may notice that some keywords work better than others. There are plenty of tools out there to help you analyze all this information so you don’t have to feel overwhelmed.
You don’t have to do all this research on your own. There are plenty of free and paid tools you can use.
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