Keyword research is one of the cornerstones of building an SEO
campaign. The keywords you target on your site will determine what kind
of searches your site gets pulled into the SERPs for, and what kind of
visitor will ultimately find your site. New websites doing their keyword
research for the first time don’t have the luxury of analytics to help guide their keyword selection process, so they have to start from scratch and use their best judgment.
Here are 5 keyword research tips for new websites to help ensure they get off on the right foot.
1. Don’t Let Search Volume Dictate Your Keyword Selection
A keyword like “software” gets almost 25 million searches a month in
the US alone. There is no denying the powerful potential of what ranking
#1 for “software” could mean to a company, but new sites owners need to
remember two very important things about search volume. First off, the
higher the search volume the more competition there will be for that
keyword. Your new website is going against big brands that have been
online and doing SEO for a lot longer than you. The odds of your website
jumping to the top of the SERPs for such a broad keyword anytime soon
are slim to nil.
Secondly, just because a keyword has a high search volume that
doesn’t mean it should be your priority keyword. What kind of software
do you sell? Is it computer software? Accounting software? Are you
offering software training classes? Do you create custom business
software? Yes, you may sell software, but that doesn’t mean it’s 100% on
point with your business. Computer software gets a measly 550,000
searches a month, but the searchers are a much better customer for your
site because they want exactly what you have to offer.
2. Go After the Long-Tail But Plan for the Broader Terms
Part of having a successful SEO campaign is building trust with the
search engines. Unfortunately, the age of your site plays a big role in
that trust factor and new sites just don’t have it. To work around this,
new websites should be sure to incorporate long-tail keywords
(“computer software engineering classes for beginners”) into their
content. These long-tail keywords may have a much lower search volume,
but that also means there is less competition and a more targeted
searcher who is closer to converting. By targeting these long-tail
keywords you will help your site survive long enough to build that trust
so you can start to go after some broader keywords down the road and do
well.
3. Choose Keywords on a Page by Page Basis
It’s so important that you target completely unique keywords on each
page of your website based on the content of that page. For instance,
your homepage might target “computer software engineering classes,” but
you should target “java programming for beginners” on the page about
Java programming, not the homepage which focuses on general courses. The
content on your site is what is going to back up your keyword selection
and help that page do well in the search engines. If you try to put a
keyword on a page where it isn’t the main focus of the content you’ll
never do as well for that keyword as you would like. Best practice
dictates that you can target 2-5 keywords per page on your site, so make
sure you’re sticking with the most relevant options!
4. Remember to Factor User Intent into Your Selection Process
When someone searches for “apple” are they looking for information
about the fruit or do they need a new computer? User intent determines
what someone means. Different keywords can be used to search for the
same thing, while the same keywords can be used to search for different
things. It’s very important that you keep user intent in mind when
choosing your keywords because that will determine the kind of visitor
that comes to your website. Having more visitors is great, having
targeted visitors is better.
5. Your Keywords Aren’t Set in Stone
There is no rule that your first round of keywords have to be your
last and only keywords! I’ve been in the SEO industry for nearly 13
years and in that time the language of the industry has evolved. Certain
terms which are now commonplace, like “inbound marketing” didn’t even
exist when I started in this industry. Social media marketing and any
keyword related to it only popped up in the last few years as the
technology developed. My point is that as your industry evolves the
lexicon is going to change with it. You have to be willing to work those
new keywords into your website and SEO program or you risk becoming
outdated and getting left behind.
Search behavior also changes with time. How people search for things
online today is no guarantee of how they will be searching five years
from now. If you don’t adapt your keywords to reflect user behavior,
then your site will get lost in the shuffle.
These are just a few of the things that new website owners need to keep in mind when conducting their keyword research
and keyword selection process. Remember, the keywords you target will
shape the scope of your SEO campaign and impact the kind of people that
find your site. Even though you can always reoptimize your website for
new keywords, it better to get your site off on the right foot from the
get-go!
Nick Stamoulis is the President of Massachusetts SEO company Brick Marketing. With nearly 13 years of experience,
