Choosing keywords that will drive results

When it comes to your Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) strategy, keywords and content should be near the top of your list. But different keywords will serve different purposes and achieve different outcomes for your business. So what should you consider when choosing keywords that will drive results like increased sales, sign ups and increased traffic? And how can you achieve the right results?

What are keywords?

So first of all, what exactly are keywords? Well, these are essentially the building blocks of SEO. These are the different words and phrases that users are inputting into search engines to find information, products, or services. Using these words in the content on your website can help to ensure that your business ranks highly for relevant search terms, driving traffic to your website.

What should you consider when choosing keywords that will drive results?

To achieve the biggest return from your keywords, you will need to choose keywords that will actually drive results for your business. To do this, there are a number of different factors to consider. These include:

• Choosing keywords that will rank
• Choosing keywords that will improve business performance
• Choosing keywords that will rank quickly
• Choosing keywords to fill a performance gap

Strategies for choosing keywords that will rank

When deciding on which keywords to use, you will likely focus on the user or search intent, as well as the relevance of the keywords for your business or company. However, just because your keywords look like they meet all your needs on paper, whether or not these keywords will achieve real ranking results is determined by more than just the relevance and the search intent. To make sure you bag the best possible ranking results, you will also need to consider:

• The competition- if your chosen keywords are highly competitive, the chances are that your content will not rank in the top position. Other companies with bigger budgets, more industry authority, or even just the steady influx of new content with the same keywords, will all make your rankings more volatile.
• The search volume- ranking highly for keywords or phrases that aren’t often searched for can help you secure a niche on the market, but this likely won’t drive any notable level of traffic to your website. At the same time, keywords with a very high search volume are more likely to be more competitive. As a result, targeting both aspects with different content can be an effective strategy to drive results in different ways.
• Long tail keywords- choosing long tail keywords or phrases can be an effective option for driving results. This is because these keywords tend to have lower levels of competition and higher conversion rates.

Choosing keywords that will improve business performance

Not every keyword is equal, with some helping to increase brand visibility, or to provide important information to potential customers or clients. It’s important to make sure that keywords that are focused on improving business performance are also included. For this you could consider:

• Commercial intent- These are keywords that target the purchase or commercial intent of searchers online. Search phrases that use terms like “buy,” “discount,” or “best price” signal the readiness of potential customers to engage with a business, and creating content to meet this need is essential for improving business performance online.
• Product specific keywords- To improve the performance of your business online, you could consider targeting keywords related to the specific products or services you offer. This helps attract users who are actively looking for what you provide.
• Seasonal Keywords- Adapting your keyword strategy to seasonal trends or events relevant to your business can be a good way to capitalise on business traction at specific points in time.
• Local Keywords- For businesses targeting a specific geographical area, incorporating location-based keywords can attract relevant local traffic, and boost your business. As such, you should consider including city or region names in your keywords.

Choosing keywords for quick rankings

For some keywords, ranking won’t happen instantly. Instead, it will take time to build up to a higher ranking position. It can be a good idea to combine keywords that will rank quickly, with these slower keywords to try and drive more traffic to your business, in a shorter space of time. This could include:

• Aiming for the low-hanging fruit- Some keywords relevant to your business, and relevant to the search intent, will have a moderate search volume, with only a low level of competition. This is known as the “low-hanging fruit” for keywords, as these are often easier to rank for due to the decreased competition, and as such, these can yield quicker results.
• A balanced SEO strategy- Balancing your keyword strategy between long-term goals and short term goals can be a great way to achieve quick results. Your long term goals should focus on ranking for competitive keywords, which can take a lot more time and effort. In contrast, your short term goals should target keywords that are easier to rank for, for quick results.

Filling performance gaps with the right keywords

Finally, when it comes to improving the performance of your business online, you should consider choosing the right keywords to ensure that there are no gaps in your overall strategy. This will involve:

• Performing keyword gap analysis- You should start with analysing your existing content and keywords to identify areas that you haven’t covered. This could also include the keywords that your competitors are ranking for but you’re not. Once the gaps have been identified, you can fill these gaps by incorporating the relevant keywords into your content strategy.
• Diversifying your content- Creating content that is more diverse to target a wider variety of keywords and topics relevant to your business can be a great way to cover all bases, and fill any gaps. As part of this, you should explore different formats such as videos, infographics, or podcasts to attract diverse audiences.
• Continuous monitoring- To ensure effective performance in the long term, you should consider regularly monitoring your keyword rankings and performance metrics. This will allow you to continuously optimise your keyword strategy based on changes in search trends, algorithm updates, and business objectives.

For more information or advice about keywords and SEO strategies, get in touch with the experts today, here at Pumpkin Web Design. We are Preston’s leading web design and web marketing experts, and we work with companies across the North West, from Southport to Wigan, and even Manchester, to deliver web marketing solutions that really work.