Your clients are looking for you! They want to find your goods and services, and statistics show that the first place they’ll look is online, probably by using a search engine.
Those engines (like Google) show users the “best” web pages to match their search. If you’re lucky, your website will be one of the top 10 listed in the search engine results pages and organic search traffic will flock to your site.
Or, maybe it’s more than luck. Search engine optimization (SEO) is the practice of tweaking your website content, design, and development so that your site’s more likely to be listed among the top rankings in Google’s search results. And the keywords you choose to include on your website are a vital part of your SEO strategy.
You can improve organic search rankings for your website by targeting the right keywords to use in your headlines, home page body copy, services and product descriptions, and more. And we’re here to show you how.
How Organic Search Engine Rankings Are Decided
Organic search results (the ones that aren’t paid ads) are ranked based on a website’s perceived relevancy to users’ searches. Search engines receive a search request from a user and scour the internet (in a matter of seconds) to find the best possible website to answer their question.
To do that, search engines use algorithms that reward things like:
- Quick loading times that aren’t bogged down by heavy images and videos
- Well-structured navigation that’s easy to understand
- A healthy domain authority score (you can check your site’s authority score for free here)
- Content that’s relevant to the user’s search
That last one is where keywords come in. Search engines scan the content of your website to see whether you’ve included “keywords” that are relevant to peoples’ searches. If you’ve included the right keywords, search algorithms will see your website as a good option for users and recommend your website by placing it in the top results.
The Role of Keywords
Keywords help search engines understand that your website is a good fit for the keywords people use in their online searches. For example, if people in Malvern are looking for accountants, they might search for keywords like “Malvern accountant”. If your website uses that keyword (in the right places and at the right ratio), search engines will place you in a top position.
Beware of bad practices like “keyword stuffing”. Stuffing a website with keywords will actually backfire, causing search engines to flag your website as spam. Your site will be demoted in SEO rankings and regaining your credibility can take years. Best to stick with a more honorable – and less spammy – optimization strategy.
Tips for Choosing Your Target Keywords
The Internet’s a big place, and it can be overwhelming to try to narrow the entirety of global searches to a few potent keywords for your business. Here’s how we focus our keyword efforts so clients include the most relevant search terms on their websites.
Find a Proven Keyword Research Tool
If you’re using Google Analytics on your website, you’ve already got an effective and free SEO tool. If you haven’t, consider installing it (and let us know if you need help).
Or, you could opt for a paid SEO tool that offers the advantages of a more user-friendly experience if you find Google Analytics esoteric and confusing. Paid tools make it a lot simpler to research, plan, and track a search engine optimization strategy.
Know Your Target Audience
Like most marketing tactics, keyword research is far more effective if you understand your audience and the problems that have driven them to search for your services.
You probably know the most common phrases that clients use to look for you online. Let’s go back to our Malvern accountant example. Your clients might use terms like “accountants in Malvern”, but they might also seek specialty services that fit your company, like “accountants for freelancers” or “outsourcing corporate accountants”.
Knowing who you want to draw to your website and what they’re looking for when they search for your services (called “search intent”) helps you pinpoint the right keywords at a broad level. Now, let’s refine your research.
Look for Keywords That Are Popular – But Not Too Popular
Your keyword tool will tell you the monthly search volume (MSV) of each keyword. It’s tempting to focus on the popular ones with thousands of monthly searches, but those are usually very hard to rank for. There’s fierce competition (more on that below) for those popular keywords, so unless you’re prepared to pour thousands of dollars into paid ads to target them, choose keywords with a good MSV.
As you’re researching keywords, be sure that you’ve chosen to focus on the correct geographic area. MSV numbers in Australia might be fascinating, but they’re no good to you and your website. Set the geographic filter to reflect the place where you do the most business.
Make Sure the Competition Score Is Low
A lower MSV often correlates to a lower competition score, and that’s a good thing. Choose keywords that are within the desirable MSV range but with a competition score that’s as low as possible.
Yes, you’re targeting a smaller pool of searches, but you’re also facing far less competition to rank for those searches. You’re more likely to earn a place in the top 10 if you’re not up against Fortune-ranked companies that can funnel endless advertising money into ranking for highly competitive search terms.
Where to Place Keywords
Strategic keyword placement is as important as choosing the right keywords, and those terms need to appear in more places than you might guess.
Choose 3 to 8 keywords that suit the entire website (your inner services or product pages might include a few more that are specific to those pages) and make sure they appear here:
- Page titles and headlines: Search engines will read these to be sure the topic of your web page matches the user’s search.
- Website copy: Keywords should appear throughout your copy in a natural way (not stuffed).
- URL structure: When you’re choosing the way the website address will look for internal pages, it helps to include a keyword in them. For instance, Malvern accountants might choose a URL like this for their blog page: www.accountantfirmname.com/Malvern-accountant-blog
- Meta description and title: Meta data is the information that’s displayed on the search engine results page. Currently, the title should be between 50 and 60 characters, the description between 140 and 155 characters, and both should include your main keyword.
- Internal and external links: Link to pages within your website (internal links) whenever possible and link to other sites (external links) if they’re relevant, mention your company in a favorable light, and aren’t direct competitors. Search engines give linked text more weight in their algorithms, so hyperlink keywords where you can.
- Local SEO: If you’re a local business and you want to get more local customers, use keywords that people in your area might use to find your services. Again, “Malvern accountant” will give users local results that “good accountant” won’t offer. It’s also wise to optimize your Google Business Profile so that your business and website appear when clients use Google Maps to search for services.
Need SEO-Driven, High-Quality Content for Your Website?
Finding the right keywords is just a small step towards driving more organic traffic to your website. You’ll need to use them to create content that helps your site rank highly and entices more leads to click “Buy” or “Book”. Plus, you’ll need to check that your keywords and content work to build your brand voice while helping you hit search and conversion metrics.
Gaining traction with SEO takes time and precision. If you don’t feel equipped to plan and execute an SEO strategy that gets results, let’s talk about how we can take this part of marketing off your hands.
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