Steps to Find Keywords and Optimize Your Website

Let’s get started!

Initial Keyword Research

The first step in finding keywords is to conduct an initial Keyword Research. This involves using a keyword tool, like Google Keyword Planner, to identify keywords relevant to your industry, niche, or topic. Enter a seed keyword, such as “lawyer,” and get a list of related keywords, along with their search volume, competition, and bid range.

You’ll want to balance keyword competition and search volume. For low-volume sites, ranking for a medium-volume keyword is a good objective. Alternatively, find highly specific keywords with a high intent but low search volume – such users are more likely to purchase your product or service.

For example, if you are a lawyer in Denver, you might want to target keywords like “best real estate lawyer in Denver”, “Denver divorce lawyer”, or “Denver personal injury lawyer”. These keywords have lower search volume than “lawyer” or “Denver lawyer,” but they have higher conversion potential.

Spy on the competition

The next step in finding keywords is to spy on the competition. This involves looking at what keywords your competitors are ranking for, what content they are producing, and how they are promoting their content.

You can use tools like SEMrush or Ahrefs to analyze your competitor’s website and see their top-ranking keywords, pages, backlinks, and traffic sources. Additionally, tools like BuzzSumo or Social Animal can help you identify their most popular content on social media platforms.

By spying on the competition, you can learn from their strengths and weaknesses, identifying gaps and opportunities in the market. This process allows you to discover new keywords that you might have missed in your initial research.

For example, if you are a lawyer in Denver, you might find out that your competitors are ranking for keywords like “Denver estate planning lawyer”, “Denver bankruptcy lawyer”, or “Denver immigration lawyer”. You might also observe that they are producing blog posts, videos, podcasts, or webinars on topics related to these keywords. Utilize this information to create your own content strategy and target these keywords as well.

Keyword Intent

The third step in finding keywords is to use keyword intent. This involves understanding the purpose behind each keyword and the type of content that matches it.

Keyword intent can be classified into four categories: informational, navigational, transactional, and commercial. Informational keywords are used by users who want to learn something or find an answer to a question. Navigational keywords are used by users who want to find a specific website or page. Transactional keywords are used by users who want to buy something or perform an action. Commercial keywords are used by users who want to compare products or services before making a purchase decision.

Each type of keyword intent requires a different type of content. For informational keywords, create informative and educational content, such as blog posts, guides, tutorials, infographics, videos, etc. For navigational keywords, create landing pages that direct users to your website or specific page. For transactional keywords, create product pages that showcase your products or services and persuade users to buy them. For commercial keywords, create comparison pages that highlight your unique value proposition and differentiate yourself from the competition.

Think about a searcher’s mindset: ranking for high-volume keywords sounds great, but not if those searchers aren’t likely to buy your product or service. Consider the following two terms: "top attorneys" and "top Denver real estate attorney" - Although there are far more searches for the former, the latter is more likely tolead to the customer hiring your service.

Create the Content

The fourth step in finding keywords is to create the content. This involves producing high-quality and relevant content that matches the keyword intent and satisfies the user’s needs.

To create the content, you’ll need to generate your content ideas around your keywords. Utilize tools like AnswerThePublic or AlsoAsked to find questions and topics related to your keywords. Additionally, tools like HubSpot Blog Ideas Generator or Portent Content Idea Generator can help you get catchy and creative headlines for your content.

You’ll also need to decide on the format and type of your content. It could include blog posts, product pages, an authoritative guide, infographics, videos, podcasts, webinars, etc. Whatever you choose, make sure that your content is original, engaging, informative, and useful for your audience.

Creating so much content is challenging. To help, you can turn to an SEO marketing company that can discover the right keywords and content to ensure your site gets boosted.

Optimize for Keywords

The fifth and final step in finding keywords is to optimize for keywords. This involves sprinkling keywords throughout your content and other elements of your site to signal to search engines what your content is about and how relevant it is for the user’s query.

But it’s not just about stuffing keywords everywhere. You need to use them strategically and naturally in your content and optimize your site for them. Here are some of the places where you can add keywords to your site:

• Title tag: This is the title of your page that appears on the search results pages and the browser tab. It should include your main keyword and a compelling reason for users to click on it.
• Meta description: This is the snippet of text that appears below your title tag on the search results pages. It should include your main keyword and a brief summary of what your page is about.
• URL: This is the address of your page that appears on the browser bar. It should include your main keyword and be short and descriptive.
• Headings: These are the subheadings of your page that divide your content into sections. They should include your main keyword and related keywords and indicate what each section is about.
• Body text: This is the main content of your page that provides information and value to the user. It should include your main keyword and related keywords naturally and contextually throughout the text.
• Image file names and alt text: These are the names and descriptions of the images that you use on your page. They should include your main keyword and describe what the image is showing.
• Internal links: These are the links that connect your pages within your site. They should include your main keyword or related keywords as anchor text and direct users to relevant pages.

By optimizing for keywords, you can improve your site’s relevance, authority, and ranking on the search results pages.

Conclusion

Finding keywords that make your website rank better is not a one-time task but an ongoing process. You need to constantly research, analyze, create, and optimize your keywords and content to stay ahead of the competition and attract more organic traffic to your site.

We hope this article has helped you learn how to find keywords that make your website rank better. If you need any help with keyword research or content creation, feel free to Contact us today. We are a professional SEO marketing company that can help you boost your site’s ranking and performance.