How to Find the Most Search Keywords: 6 Easy Ways to Optimize Your Page Traffic
Keywords are the foundation of all SEO work. They have the power to make or break your entire strategy and can be one of the most important aspects when it comes to increasing traffic and sales.
In this blog post, we will cover how to find keywords that everyone is searching for, but may not know they want or need!
What is a Keyword?
A Keyword is a word or phrase that people search for when looking up a specific topic. It is important to note that keywords can be singular or plural, and the same keyword may have multiple meanings.
When people search for a specific term on Google (or any other major search engine), they are shown results based on how relevant these terms are in relation to what they searched for.
It is a must that the keywords within your content should be relevant and beneficial for certain audiences.
For example, when writing about “Keyword Research†you would want to include terms like SEO or SEM so people will find your article in searches related to these topics.
Why are they important?
The Keywords Have Power! One of the most important aspects of getting traffic to your website is SEO (Search Engine Optimization). Keywords are the foundation of this process and can make or break how well your site will rank in search engines.
Keywords help you find your audience because it gives them something to look for. If no one searches for what you’re offering, then how will they know you exist? It may seem simple but the answer is complicated! You can find keywords in two different ways.
It is important to find keywords that are relevant, but not too competitive. Your goal should be to rank for a long-tail keyword that is highly specific and will ultimately lead you to more traffic in the end.
How to find the most searched Keywords
1. Relevance is Key!
The first step is to think about the topics you want to rank for in terms of generic buckets. You'll come up with about five or ten topic buckets that are important to your business, and then you can use those topic buckets (or keywords) later on in the process when it comes time to find specific words.
If you're a regular blogger, these are probably the topics you blog about most frequently. Or perhaps they're the topics that come up more often in sales conversations.
Put yourself in your buyer personas' shoes and question yourself what types of topics would your target audience search for on Google and other major search engines?
2. Know Your Competitors Keywords
Once you've thought about the topics your business would like to rank for, it's time to research what keywords competitors are using.
By now you should know which types of businesses or niches exist in your industry and who some of the top players may be.
Take a look at their website and see if they have content with headlines containing keywords you might be interested in.
You may also want to check out their blog posts, press releases, and articles they have published on other websites around the web.
3. Mix of Head Terms and Long Tail Keywords
Once you've looked up your competitors and found some keywords, it's time to mix them together into a list. You can start by listing out all of the head terms that might be good for your business (e..g: "SEO", "Marketing", etc).
Afterward, try to find long-tail keyword variations that are highly specific and won't be as competitive.
It's important to find long-tail keywords because they often receive more traffic, yet aren't too difficult for you or your competitors to rank for!
4. Search Engine Optimization
Now that you have a list of keywords and phrases, it's time to take them over to Google Keyword Planner.
The search engine giant has all kinds of tools for marketers like yourself who wish to drive traffic through paid or organic means. You can either type in your head term (e..g: SEO) and see what comes up, or enter your long-tail keywords into the search bar.
5. Organic Search Traffic
Once you've found some organic search traffic terms (or head term variations), it's time to start looking at how many monthly visitors they receive.
You can do this by clicking on each keyword and viewing their "Avg. Monthly Searches" statistic. You can then sort through your list by this statistic to figure out which phrases are the best for you and your business!
You can go through this process for each topic bucket you've created and pick out the best keywords to help your business grow in traffic.
6. Keyword Research Tools
There is a variety of tools that can help you find keywords. Some are free, some have a paid model, but all will give the same result in the end! Here are just a few examples:
- KWFinder
This tool is totally free and provides suggestions for new keywords based on your seed keyword(s). It also works to see where you rank for each of your keywords.
- Google Search
This tool is free and great to use whenever you want to find out what people are searching for on Google within a specific industry or topic area. Simply type in the terms that apply, hit enter, and see what comes up!
- SEMrush
Similar to Google Search, this tool is also free and provides you with a list of keywords that your competitors rank for. This can be quite useful if you're looking to do some competitive research.
- Google Keyword Planner
Paid model but the most accurate as it comes directly from Google! You need an Adwords account in order to use this tool (which costs money, to begin with).
- Google Trends
This tool allows you to see what the most popular searches have been in a specific geographic area or over a period of time. It also shows data for your seed keywords and lets you compare them against one another!
Once you've brainstormed some topic areas that are important to your business and identified some long-tail keywords for those topics, it's time to move on.
What are the benefits of using Keywords?
The benefits of using keywords are numerous, but here are a few good reasons why you should use them in your content marketing strategy!
- They help drive targeted traffic to your site. Â If people search for terms related to what you offer and find useful information on your website/blog, there's a better chance they'll become a lead or convert to a paying customer. Â
- This is especially true if you pick the right keywords, optimize your page with them, and link up to relevant pages on your site through anchor text.
- They help people find what they are looking for online even when they don't know exactly how to describe their problems/goals! Â
- Remember, the main goal with SEO is to rank in Google's top pages when people search for your business and brand!
- They help you know what information is most relevant or valuable to your audience so you can offer it up on your website/blog.
- You can also use keywords to help your SEO efforts, but it's important that you don't go overboard with this one!
- The best way to do things is simply to pick a few top keywords for each piece of content and optimize the page around them so search engines know what the page is about. Â
- They are also useful for social media marketing purposes! Using targeted keywords in content is a great way to find your target audience on multiple channels and increase the likelihood of conversion, engagement, or conversation-starting.
- When you use these types of terms as a hashtag, you can use a tool like RiteTag to see which terms are most popular and relevant so your posts don't fall flat.
- They help people categorize topics in their head when they're looking for information or trying to explain something they have in mind! This is especially true if it's an overarching topic that covers multiple specific buckets.
- They help increase the likelihood of your content going viral! Â The more relevant and popular keywords you use in your blog posts, the easier it becomes for people to share these on social media.
- This is great because as we know, one of the best ways to get targeted traffic quickly is through sharing/distribution channels like Facebook and Twitter.
- They help you make your website/blog more organized and keep everything relevant to the topics people are searching for!
- This is especially important if you have a large blog with several pages of content or an eCommerce site that's selling multiple products in different categories. This way people can find what they're looking for quickly and easily.
- They allow you to track your SEO efforts! Â If you're using any type of analytics tool on your website, the more relevant keywords that are being used around specific pages/posts, the easier it becomes for you to see how people found those pages and what they did after visiting them (i.e., their flow through the site).
Conclusion
Keywords are extremely powerful tools that every business owner and marketer should be using in their content marketing strategy. Â
They can help you attract better quality traffic, increase profitability, become a thought leader in your industry, and so much more!
When it comes to SEO keywords are extremely important but they need to be used sparingly around specific pages/posts on your website and blog. Â
The best thing you can do is start with a few generic topic buckets, brainstorm some keywords around those topics, and then optimize your page/post content for those terms!