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3 Things To Look For When Choosing Keywords For SEO

Choosing SEO Keywords

3 Things To Look For When Choosing Keywords For SEO

Keyword research is a long, extensive, and highly analytical element of an effective SEO strategy.

Keyword targeting is one of the more critical elements of search engine optimization as the words you choose to target will be responsible for bringing in quality converting traffic. You don’t want to make the mistake of targeting a keyword that brings traffic, yet doesn’t convert those visitors into dollars. If you’re conducting a PPC campaign, keyword research is even more important. When conducting keyword research, here are 3 things to look for when choosing keywords for your SEO campaign.

Keyword Competitiveness

The less competitive a keyword is, the easier it’ll be to rank it on Google and other dominant search engines. A keyword’s competitiveness level is based on how many other websites are trying to rank for it. Tools like Moz and Google’s Keyword Planner tool will help with determining the competitiveness of the keyword. Generally, the most competitive keywords are one-word keywords such as “dentists”. This is because every dentist or dentistry who has a website is directly or indirectly targeting this keyword.

To be more precise, you’d want to target a keyword like, “dentist in Charlotte NC”. By doing so, you’ll be targeting a specific demographic, the Charlotte area, which will result in a less competitive keyword. However, because you’re with the local Charlotte area, when someone searches for “dentist” you’ll still be able to rank for the term due to the way local search algorithms operate.

Long Tailed Keywords

Hands down, the best type of keywords to target are long-tailed as they’ll generally be less competitive. What are long-tailed keywords? Long-tailed keywords are keywords that have more than two words in them such as, “dentist in Charlotte NC”. They generally receive fewer searches than short keywords, yet they return more conversions. This is because when users input long-tailed keywords into search engines, they’re absolutely sure of what they’re searching for. Long-tailed keywords are perfect for pay-per-click campaigns, especially given the fact that you’ll be charged every time someone clicks on your ad.

Location-Based Keywords

Location-based keywords are a must for all local SEO and PPC campaigns. If you’re offering a local product or service, it’s important that you communicate that effectively to search engines by including the business’s location within the keyword. Also, the majority of search queries for local services include the user’s location.

Most search engine users find it necessary to include their location or desired location in order to negate search results from other cities or far away areas.

In summary, it’s ideal to target keywords that are less competitive, long-tailed, and location-based.

However, if you’re not sure which keywords will produce the most conversions for your business, let me research them for you. Better yet, hire TruRank to take on your entire SEO campaign.