Whether you’re opting for paid or organic advertising, understanding the fundamentals of how keywords work is crucial if you want to get to the top.
If you had to boil all of your website’s content or social media down to just a handful of simple phrases or words – and this includes all of the images, videos and text copy – these should be your primary keywords. It’s the internet’s way of indexing the context and relevance of what you’re all about, and how others can find you.
It’s for this very reason that they’re so important. If you’re trying to sell a black leather jacket in Queensland, then targeting “jacket” or even “leather jacket” is still far too broad, and users won’t have a hope of ever possibly finding you – the competition is simply just too vast, and this is where research comes into play. However, first you’re going to need to know how keywords work.
What Are Keywords?
The function of keywords is that they essentially act as a data driven truth serum. When nobody’s watching, we’re combing the internet for solutions to all kinds of problems, in the hopes that somebody out there has the answers. At its core, research via keywords is a powerful market research tool that can be leveraged in many different ways.
The role of Google and other search engines is to categorise organic content, and to present the user with the most relevant results. If you are able to harness and weaponise the power of SEO (Search Engine Optimisation), you’ll in turn receive a steady flow of regular traffic to your website or platform that’s more or less free of charge – but what you choose to do with said traffic, is entirely up to you.
How To Choose Keywords?
There are quite literally thousands of platforms and programs available for marketers, brands and businesses to use in the hopes of finding the keywords to use that best fit their product or service. While many offer a paid subscription model, one of the best options available is the free module that Google itself provides, known as the Google Keyword Planner.
When sourcing keywords that are appropriate for your product, service, sector or industry, there are a few things to consider in order to see some tangible results. These include:
Search Volume – How many people are on the hunt for the specific keyword?
Search Intent – What are users hoping to achieve through search results?
Value – How much will you pay to use this keyword via paid cost per click advertising?
Difficulty – How many other competitors are trying to target the same keyword?
Combining the information provided, via the above four factors, will help you to determine whether a specific keyword is worth pursuing or not. After all, producing content takes time, so it’s only natural that you want your efforts to be rewarded with results.
Types Of Keywords And Their Uses
Stuck for ideas when it comes to your keyword strategy? The good news is that your options are virtually limitless, and even the most obscure phrases can be used to drive traffic to your website. In fact, you should be experimenting with the types and styles of keywords in order to measure what works for you and your brand.
Branded vs Unbranded – Branded terms generally bring in the highest converting traffic, because the searcher already has a certain level of brand familiarity and (often) affinity. If you were on the hunt for a burger bar in Brisbane, “Ze Pickle” would be branded vs “best burgers Brisbane” is unbranded.
Seed vs Page Specific – While seeded keywords may seem obvious, page specific phrases can help to “grow” your audience base. The phrase “home improvement store” is the broader seed, versus the more niche “deck building supplies”. The latter in particular can greatly assist in improving retention and lowering your bounce rate.
Short Tail vs Long Tail – Similar in concept to the above, short tail keywords are usually very popular in search form, but often have lower converting leads. In comparison, long tail phrases are usually specific questions in an almost sentence like format, usually with lower traffic. The latter has seen a rise in popularity thanks to voice search functions on smartphones.
Global vs Local – Are you trying to promote your products or services to users that are within a certain geographical range? Localised keywords will help you to “hone in” on them, and promote you as a market leader within your own little pocket of the world. This can be particularly helpful if you have a physical item or business with a shop or store front.
Evergreen vs Topical – At times it can be highly beneficial to jump on topical world events, or to strike while the iron is hot. However, it’s also important to balance this out with evergreen content and keyword planning, to ensure that your efforts go the distance and don’t “fizzle out”. The latter is what forms the backbone of your brand’s website or social media.
Do You Need Help With Your Content, Keywords and SEO Strategy?
Producing quality, consistent and on brand content takes time, effort, experience and resources – and you’re not alone if you can’t quite commit to that. Avoiding the use of keywords and content marketing all together may actually be doing your brand a disservice, but thankfully, investing in a solid content marketing strategy has never been easier.
Here at Content Hive, producing top quality video and digital content is exactly what we do best. We have itemised a list of digital content services, and allocated credits next to each of these. This means that each month, you can use your credits with us to produce digital content such as social media posts, blog articles, videos and even animated Instagram stories.
We believe that this model means we can produce high quality content in faster than normal delivery times. It also means that because you have a monthly credit, you are going to want to make sure you use these up – and so do we – meaning that your digital content is always consistent.
If you aren’t quite sure where to start on your digital marketing journey and would like to speak to a professional, why not book in a free discovery call with us at Content Hive today to discuss how we can get your brand buzzing online.
