3 Steps to Identify Keywords for SEO
1. Identify search terms people would use to find your website or business.
2. Research related terms using a free keyword search tool.
3. Create your keyword list and start using them.
Search engine optimization drives traffic to a website by using specific words or phrases (keywords) that are relevant to the business and being used by people to find what they need.
Think of a time you searched the Internet for something specific. What did you type to find the information you needed? Those are keywords. To drive traffic to your website and improve your Google rankings, identify your specific keywords and put them to work on your website. SEO is not complicated, but it does require a small amount of time.
Let’s look at 3 steps to identify keywords for SEO.
1. Identify search terms people would use to find your website or business.
In other words, if you were looking for your business or information, what would you search to find it online? What exactly are you looking for? What are people trying to find that would lead them to you? Write those words down. The list can be long and include phrases. This is brainstorming, so don’t exclude anything that you think is relevant.
Once you have made this list, the next step is to highlight, circle, or underline the broadest topics or terms. These are your main keywords/topics. Underneath the main keyword/topics, you will move any keywords that were not highlighted, circled, or underlined. These are your secondary keywords/topics.
Now, you have a medium-sized list of primary and secondary topics. You’re not quite done. Continue to list any relevant search terms or phrases that people might use to find your website. At this point, it might be helpful to search online for what you’re looking for. What phrases or terms would it take to find what you need? Write those down under your secondary topics.
2. Research related terms using a free keyword search tool.
There are many free websites to conduct a free keyword search. There are also paid versions that are specific to your website and provide more extensive analysis, but we will begin with a free search for now.
Pick one topic from your main topic list and select a search engine above. We linked 3 free options that provide SEO keywords based on your search along with their volume (high, medium, or low) for your consideration. It would be wise to check all three sites for the same keyword search and see the generated results. As you begin using the search sites, you may prefer one over another. Use the one that makes sense or gets the results you need.
This article provides insight into the best free keyword research tools.
3. Create your keyword list and start using them.
An important point before you begin making your list is this: your list may change over time. This is not something that remains constant. Search engines and humans are constantly evolving, so your keywords may change. Also, your business will grow and change over time. As a result, you will keep a list of keywords and put them to use, but periodically you will check to see what’s working and what is not. As you see what’s working, your list will change.
From the main topic search in step 2 above, notice which words have a higher search volume and their rank for competition. Search volume indicates how many people search the topic or term monthly. A higher number is better for monthly search volume. Add the highest search volume keywords to your new list. Additionally, you will want to note whether they are high, medium, or low competition. This indicates the level of competition for that search term among websites
Ideally, you want a high-volume, low-competition keyword. This would mean that lots of people search for it, and there’s not a lot of authoritative, relevant content available.
Your brainstorming to identify your keywords began with the main topics. Compare your main topics to the keywords you have found and generate your list of keywords and phrases to incorporate throughout your web content. Your website content keywords may also be different than specific blog post keywords. For example, your blog posts will not always have the same content. As a result, you will create a new micro search specific to the blog content. Keywords will be used throughout your blog post to help users find that particular blog post.
Search engine optimization can be overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be.
At Flywheel Marketing, we love SEO and optimizing websites organically to drive traffic and generate sales. We partner with small businesses to help them understand where they can grow and the steps to take to achieve that growth. Get a free quote from us today by clicking the button below. We can take the guesswork out of keywords and SEO!