If you have a business, it’s hard not to have heard of search engine optimization. Rocío Santamaría, SEO consultant, talked to us about how to earn a relevant position on Google in her workshop ‘Introduction to Professional Keyword Research.’ A beginner’s guide that started with a direct question.
Why is it important to conduct keyword research?
“Because keyword research is the foundation of an SEO strategy.” Rocío then went on to outline each of the benefits of planning, as it allows you to:
- Get the most out of the project and maximize its profitability
- Define the information architecture of the website.
- Properly optimize the content of each important URL and its On Page SEO
- Find opportunities and areas for improvement.
- Developing the right content strategy for the blog (informational content)
- Optimize URLs that bring benefits to the business (products or services)
Before you start using tools, Rocío suggests that you do a review and learning exercise that covers several phases.
Initial steps for conducting keyword research
- Research
First things first. Don’t rush. Before taking any action, you need to gather as much information as possible. Think about what type of business you are dealing with: a service website, an e-commerce site, or a local business? Understand the market niche, its competitive advantage, and the business objectives. Familiarise yourself with the products or services it offers and which ones stand out. This will help you start your keyword research effectively, prioritising the URLs where you need to start working on keyword search.
- Meet your Search Persona
From the creators of Buyer Persona comes Search Persona. Do you already know who your ideal customer is? What are their problems, fears, and motivations? Now you need to build your Search Persona. A detailed profile of your target audience is essential for focusing your content and keyword search strategy. Keep in mind that a professional will search differently than an average user. Get to know your audience thoroughly!
- The 5 Levels of Consciousness
Users go through different phases when searching on Google, from being completely unaware of their need to being fully aware and ready to buy. Take advantage of these levels of awareness to guide your content and keyword strategy!
- Unaware of the problem: the user does not know they have a problem or need. Content on the blog needs to be worked on. For example, red eyes and blurred vision.
- Aware of the problem: the user knows what problem they have. As an SEO strategy, we should write a blog post about that concern or about the benefits of a need. Example: what is dry eye syndrome?
- Aware of the solution: when you already know what solution to apply but don’t know exactly what product to buy because you are in the comparison phase. Here, we recommend working on a typical buying guide post, comparisons, etc. Example: best eye drops for dry eyes.
- Product aware: the user now knows what they need, knows what the solution is, and knows that you can offer it to them through your product/service. They know what product to buy and decide to search through the categories of an e-commerce site, for example. Example: eye drops for dry eyes.
- Fully aware: the user already knows which product they want, by name. Prepare a good offer. They will land on a product page. You must optimise that product page so that the search ends up on your page.
- Types of Keywords
Rocío recommends: ‘Go to the search engine in incognito mode and search for the keywords’ you want to analyse. Gradually add them to a document where you can work on the potential of each one. Keywords vary in length, search intent and seasonality.
- By length, according to the number of words in that keyword:
- Short tail: one or two words. Search engines return very generic results, requiring a significant investment of time and resources for few clicks. It is not really clear what the user wants.
- Middle tail: between 3 and 4 words. This is a more specific group of keywords, but it still has a lot of organic competition.
- Long tail: these are 5 or more words. They give us very specific results. Although the search volume is small, there is less competition for positioning.
- By search intent, Google defined them as follows:
- Knowledge (informational) – These are usually answers to the questions what, why, when, how much, how.
- Do (transactional) – These correspond to when the user wants to perform an action such as purchasing or downloading.
- Visit (navigational) – When a user types in the name of a brand or website, and when a user searches for how to get to a local business.
- By seasonality. A keyword is seasonal when searches fluctuate throughout the year: nougat, bikinis, Black Friday. Keep in mind that SEO is slow and requires a lot of work well in advance. Take advantage of them at the right time!
- SEO tools
There are many tools available, but ultimately, the methodology you use is what matters. No tool is better or worse than another; you just need to know how to conduct keyword research effectively. There are many options, and ideally, you should combine them to conduct effective research. These range from paid tools such as SemRush to free Google tools such as Keyword Planner. In short, SEO is an ongoing process and often takes time. Working on keyword research will allow you to optimise your content, find opportunities for improvement and, most importantly, attract your ideal audience. And keep an eye on your competition. Knowing what keywords they are using and how they are doing can provide you with valuable clues.
About Wayco Learn
Wayco Learn workshops are theoretical and practical training sessions aimed at teaching
new professional skills. The topics focus on a specific area of expertise, ranging from digital product creation to public speaking techniques, sustainable food and architecture.
