Using Effective Keyword Research

It is really important to perform a fundamental research on keywords before you decide on which ones to rank for. This article explains in depth on how you can build an effective list of keywords for your website.

(1) Start off by grouping a list of User Search Queries (keywords) that your target audience is using to locate your products and services.

Your targeted list of user search queries is the foundation of the keyword phrases that you will optimise your site for. As you would already know, it is hard to rank for single keywords since they are highly competitive. For example, a quick search on “web design” draws a highly competitive landscape of results and ad listing, regardless of relevancy. So if you are new to the market, it’s best not to fight with the rest that are already up there. Your efforts are better utilised elsewhere. But, that’s okay since you don’t need to, nor do you especially want to rank for such keywords anyway.

The search terms that convert best to sales are typically very specific key phrases comprised of two to five words (aka long-tail keywords). For example, if you are are a Singapore female and plan to buy a massage package, it’s not very helpful to search for massage package on Google. You’d narrow down your search to female massage packages in Singapore to find exactly what you want.

SEO Tip: Even though there could be many popular keywords with the most searches that yields a lot of traffic to your website, it is way better to target long-tail, and more specific keyword terms that will result in the quickest and highest conversions; be it sales, leads or phone calls. In other words, determine the money keywords that trigger sales and conversions. Your keyword phase should be large enough to draw good visitor traffic, yet specific enough to outplay your competitors and get you to the top of google.com.sg.

(2) Optimise your Keywords for Relevancy and Number of Searches

When you choose your keywords it’s very important that you do your research. So, before you optimise your site it is important to identify potential keywords you can rank for. This tool will help you understand the different keywords for your industry so that you don’t accidentally target the wrong keywords. For example, if you sell all types of dresses online, you would use this tool and realise that you may want to add the following phrases to your list to be sure to catch all of the potential traffic: black dress, evening dresses, plus size dresses, cocktail dresses, formal dresses, party dresses, maxi dress, summer dresses, designer dresses, white dresses, mother of the bride dresses, sun dress, strapless dresses, vintage dresses, long dresses, dresses for sale, dresses online.

(3) Spying is not always bad, especially when you can do it legally and ethically.

Spy on your the websites of your competitors to get more suggestions on related keywords. Competitive Keyword Analysis is a powerful keyword strategy that will allow you to be truly successful. Knowing what keywords your competition is targeting and ranking for is another smart way to find keywords that lead to the type of traffic you want.To easily see what keywords your competition are ranking for, solicit the help of Aiden Creative, and we will help you find insightful results into the user search queries (keywords) they are ranking for.

(4) Targeting Singaporeans, or users based in Singapore? Localise your keywords!
If you offer local services or run a brick-and-mortar business, be sure to localise your keywords: add district names, road names, or major landmarks (shopping mall, popular road names, etc) to your keyword selection. For example, if you are into property, you may want to add the name of your city or property to each of your targeted keywords:

• Tampines real estate specialist
• Top property agent in Tampines area
• Top real estate agent in Singapore east

(5) Study and Refine your Keywords

As soon as your initial keyword list is ready, analyse the detailed info such as number of Global Searches, local searches and Competition) on each one. It’s also important to pick the right user search queries and avoid seasonal keywords, which will show a drop in popularity in the next few months.

You have the keywords ready. Now what?Now that you have refined and optimised your list of keywords, it is equally important to identify the most valuable pages on your website for the targeted keywords. Decide which pages on your site you should optimise for high search engine rankings. It is recommended that you optimise each page for NO more than 5 keywords (1 major keyword and 4 complementary ones). Each specific page should be optimised for it’s own individual set of keyword theme. You ought to also place the keywords on the right places across the website – there are a number of places where you might place your keywords – and some page locations are much more effective than others.

So we hope you enjoy this article on “Using Effective Keyword Research” for SEO effectiveness. If you think you have benefited from this article, please share it with your counterparts.