As a marketing agency, boosting your clients’ online visibility is essential for driving qualified leads and ultimately increasing revenue. One of the critical components of a successful search engine marketing (SEM) and search engine optimization (SEO) strategy is keyword research. In this blog post, we’ll explain the importance of keyword research and offer up some techniques to ensure you’re on the right track to generating traffic and leads.
What is Keyword Research?
Keyword research is the process of identifying the search terms (or keywords) that people use to find relevant information and ultimately businesses like yours. The research process helps inform website and content optimization with the goal of increasing visibility on search engine results pages (SERPs). It’s crucial to conduct thorough and ongoing keyword research to ensure that you’re capturing all possible traffic opportunities and that your website shows up in front of the right audience.
Why is Keyword Research Important for SEM and SEO?
Keyword research is an essential component of both SEM and SEO campaigns because it helps ensure that the website and content you’re publishing is relevant, engaging, and will ultimately rank high in search engine results. Conducting keyword research is an ongoing process that helps ensure website and content relevance for the keywords people are searching for.
Moreover, choosing the “right” keywords can help drive qualified traffic to your website, with the increased potential for leads and ultimately sales. Understanding the search volume of different keywords and how competitive they are will also help guide your campaign strategy and where to prioritize your efforts.
Keyword Research Techniques for Marketing Agencies
Below are five important steps to consider whenever you are beginning the keyword research process.
Identify High Volume and Low Competition Keywords
As mentioned, identifying the most relevant and popular search terms that relate to your business is crucial for SEM and SEO campaigns. Google Keyword Planner is an excellent tool to provide insights to help you determine which keywords could be worth targeting based on their search volume and competition levels.
When determining which keywords to target, it’s essential to balance competition levels with the potential for traffic volume and whether the keyword/phrases match with the goals of the campaign.
Research Competitor Keywords
In marketing, it’s essential to know your competition and the keywords and phrases they’re targeting. Tracking and analyzing competitor keyword strategy can help inform your own keyword research strategy.
There are several tools that track your competition’s keywords, such as SEMrush or Ahrefs. By understanding your competitors’ keyword strategy, you can better identify which search terms will help differentiate your brand and target more niche audiences.
Use Long-tail Keywords.
Long-tail keywords are more specific search phrases that typically are several words in length, which can help target more specific audiences that are searching for a more niche product or service.
As these keywords are more specific, the traffic volume typically tends to be lower, but the leads are more relevant, leading to potentially higher conversions rates. Try to target long-tail keywords with more specific content as part of your SEO strategy.
Use Keyword Variations.
When conducting keyword research, look for variations of a particular keyword, taking into account synonyms or words with similar meanings. For example, if you’re targeting the keyword “SEO agency,” you might want to use variations such as “digital marketing company” or “Internet marketing business.”
By using a mix of different keywords and variations, this can help you capture different search terms and potentially improve your chances of ranking higher.
Refine & Adjust Regularly
As mentioned, keyword research is an ongoing process; it’s not just a one-time action. Refining and adjusting your keyword strategy based on search trends or campaign goals is essential to stay ahead of the curve and improve search visibility.
Keyword research is a critical component of any SEM or SEO campaign. By taking the time to research and refine your keyword strategy, you’ll improve website visibility, driving qualified leads and, ultimately, increasing sales. Remember to focus on relevant keywords, researching competitors, using long-tail keywords, incorporating variations, and continuously refining and adjusting your strategy.
With these techniques, your marketing agency can drive more organic traffic and build out a successful SEM and SEO campaign across your clients’ websites. Looking to learn more? Reach out and schedule a time to meet and discuss your SEO/SEM goals.
