Target the right keywords and you will get the right audience.
Today, let’s talk about a simple search engine optimisation technique. I’ll be discussing how to target the right keywords for your SEO campaign. In his interview with Gideon Shalwick, Dave mentions “SEO is all about making sure that you are targeting the right keywords to come up in the organic search results”. When you target the right keywords, you target the right audience.
A successful SEO campaign starts with good keyword research. People fall into the trap of looking for keywords with the highest search volume thinking that it would bring hordes of traffic to their website. What these people do not realize is that keywords with high search volume also have very high competition. More competition means investing more time and effort to beat all the other websites competing for the same keyword only to get visitors on your site who are not interested in buying your product at all.
But how would you know if the keywords you are targeting are the keywords your potential customers are typing in the search engines?
One good search engine optimisation technique to follow is to put yourself into the shoes of the searcher. Don’t think like an SEO expert, think like a customer. If you were a person looking to buy your product how would you Google it?
Keyword Research Tips – Browsing vs Buying Keywords
To bring targeted traffic to your website you need to choose keywords that people are using to find products and services similar to yours. Studies have shown that 40% of searches are done via local based keywords. To put it simply, people are adding locations to their search queries. When people add a location to their search they are actually looking for a specific product in a specific location.
For example, if I were a small business owner in Melbourne looking for SEO services for my website what keywords would I use?
a. SEO
b. SEO services
c. SEO services Melbourne
Someone searching for “SEO” can just be looking for information about search engine optimisation. They are probably conducting a research for school or doing a presentation at work about SEO. A person searching for “seo services” is deeper into the search process. They are looking for more specific information. Now, somebody searching for “seo services Melbourne” is looking for a specific product in a specific location. These people are more likely buyers than researchers. (And if you answered “c” you are more likely to have a more successful SEO campaign than those who answered “a”).
For more keyword research tips watch this video of our recent search engine optimisation workshop to learn more about the keyword research process. In this video, Dave talks about browsing vs buying keywords and how it would bring targeted traffic to your site.
Will adding a location at the end of your keyword make the ideal anchor text when you are link building and trying to rank for your local keywords? Just like with your example, SEO services Melbourne, would it make your site rank for ‘seo services’ when searched on Google Australia?
I was just wondering if that’s the case or if that keyword strategy is more for your on page optimization.
@Vik – Adding a location to the end of your keyword is an extremely powerful method to use. Local search is highly targeted, and in most cases, people who are searching for local results are much more highly qualified to buy. For example, “Melbourne SEO Services”.
Of course, you can also target the more broad terms as well such as “SEO Services”, but when most local keywords are very easy wins (for the moment at least!), it is a great strategy to target those local keywords.