When seeking to optimize your company’s website, keyword research is one of the main launching pads for a successful SEO campaign. Whether you’re planning a small local SEO campaign or are working with an SEO company like MorePro for a national campaign, you need to understand which keywords to choose.
However, before you can determine the best keywords, it is important to understand what your potential customers are searching for on the web. This concept is called consumer intent.
What does consumer intent mean?
Not all keywords are created equally, and simply choosing the keywords with the highest search volume is a losing strategy when it comes to SEO. You want to identify keywords that indicate the searcher is trying to make a purchase rather than simply searching for information. For instance, a keyword like “emergency plumbers phoenix az” indicates that some poor unfortunate homeowner is trying to hire a plumber right now. A keyword like “leaky pipes” may have higher search volume, but it probably won’t result in many conversions.
By fully understanding consumer intent, our SEO company is able to select high-value keywords to include in your content, leading to better digital marketing results.
Before selecting a keyword, ask yourself these basic questions to better focus your SEO branding strategy.
Is the searcher looking for a product or for information?
If the consumer seems to be searching for information, your keywords are likely not reaching them. For a business, the most likely to convert searchers are seeking a specific product or service. For example, when someone searches for “car engine making high pitched noise,” they are simply looking for information. If they search “mechanics near me,” they are searching for a service. About 58% of consumers have searched for a product or service, according to Pew Internet research. Those are the consumers you want to target with your keyword research.
What is motivating their search?
When seeking to optimize your content, think about what is driving the consumer to use a search engine. Do they have a specific problem they need to solve? Are they looking for the best product for their needs? Are they simply curious about a certain industry? By using analytic tools, categorize the motivations of your potential customers and adjust your search engine optimization strategies accordingly.
Are consumers already searching for your brand?
Search engine users who already know about your brand are one step closer to becoming customers. While this is smaller pool than the group searching for your specific product, attracting them to your site is more likely to have a payoff. It’s often helpful to select your own company’s name as one of your keywords.
How are consumers reaching your competitors?
Analyze the keywords that are linking to the websites of your competition. How are they reaching your potential customers? Once you understand how the competition is attracting customers online, you can then adjust your keywords accordingly. Even better, a local SEO company can develop strategies to put your website a step ahead of the competition in the search engine results.
How can your content better serve your customers?
Write content that solves someone’s problem. While people will visit your website to look at your product or service, targeting their needs more specifically will put you a step ahead. While consumer intent is important when selecting keywords, you should also ensure your website is full of valuable information for your customers.
Once your business the nuances of consumer intent, you will be one step ahead of the competition when conducting keyword research.
Still need help selecting high-impact keywords that will lead to more conversions? Contact MorePro, the SEO company that gets results.