For an SEO and SEA specialist at Convident, the online marketing process always starts with extensive keyword research. By doing so, our online marketers analyze various factors related to search terms. For example, we look at the search volume and the relevance of keywords. But what else is involved and why is keyword research so important?
What is keyword research?
Keyword research is a thorough analysis of the search terms that your target group(s) search for. When internet users want to know or look up something, they usually open the internet, Google. The user then types what he is looking for in the search bar and the search engine’s algorithm starts looking for it. Many different search terms and relevant terms apply to your entered keyword. When internet users or potential customers search for terms that are relevant to your products or services, you want to appear with your website or webshop. These internet users search for relevant search terms for your products, so they have a wish or need for this.
All relevant keywords for your business are searched by using various tools or programs. An SEO or SEA specialist prepares a document with all search terms that your target group(s) (possibly) search for. In addition, this report contains several data that can be useful for your online marketing activities. More on that later, but first how does an SEO or SEA specialist work with keyword research?
With every trajectory, we start with keyword research.
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Content is much more than just written texts.
How does keyword research work?
When starting an SEO process, an SEO specialist always starts with thorough keyword research. When starting a SEA process at Convident, a SEA specialist also starts with extensive keyword research. Our specialists first check your website or webshop. We analyze the products or services that you offer and related concepts. Your website contains some web pages explaining your services. A webshop contains dozens of web pages on which its products are explained. All these web pages contain content about the product or service in question. The content on this page may consist of written text, images, videos, or other interactive elements.
Now that an SEO or SEA specialist has examined your website or webshop, it has become clear what you offer and how. This allows our specialists to find out which search terms suit your activities. For this, we use, for example, the keyword planner of Google Ads where search terms can be entered. Google Ads then indicates how much is searched for the relevant keyword each month. In addition, the platform indicates the search volume and the level of competition for the relevant keyword. The nice thing about Google Ads is that in addition to information about the entered keyword, keywords are also shown that are related to the search term you chose. For example, Google Ads has the function to find out what other search terms there are that your target group(s) are looking for.
Find search terms where your target audience(s) searches.
What are the search volume and competition levels?
Within the Google Ads keyword planner, various factors related to the search terms found are shown. Perhaps the most important metric is the average monthly search volume. One can see within the keyword planner that general keywords, such as ‘online marketing, can have an average monthly search volume of 5,400. If we make this search term more specific, for example ‘online marketing agency’, we see that the average monthly search volume is 3,600. If we go one step further, we see an average monthly search volume of 170 for the search term ‘online marketing agency Groningen’. What is striking is that the more specific your search term becomes, the lower the search volume. Sounds logical, but we can see exactly how it works with the different keywords.
In addition to search volume, the Google Ads keyword planner also indicates the level of competition for certain search terms. It divides the competition level into three options: high, normal, and low. The word actually says it all, but the competition level indicates how big the competition is for a specific keyword. With a high level of competition, many entrepreneurs want to include the relevant search term in their advertisements or SEO texts. At a low level, few entrepreneurs will pay attention to the entered keyword. A low level of competition means that there is little competition and so the price to be paid for the keyword is also low. This concerns the price that the entrepreneur must offer to be able to use the keyword in his or her advertisements.
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Different types of keywords
We have just seen that there are different types of keywords. One keyword is short and general and the other keyword is long and specific. The type of keyword you should use depends on a number of factors. For SEA specialists it is very important to determine what kind of keyword to use. SEA specialists develop advertisements and link them to a specific type of keyword. If this keyword is broad, the advertisement will be linked to multiple keywords. And so the ad will be shown a lot more often. If you only want to target one specific keyword with your advertisement, the SEA specialist will have to choose an exact keyword for his advertisement.
We explain the different types of keywords and give examples when you can use them.
Exact keywords
Exact keywords are the most specific keywords from the keyword research within Google Ads. So when users type an exact keyword into the search engine, only results that contain this specific keyword or very similar variants of this keyword are shown. Suppose as an entrepreneur you sell red jackets and you have developed an advertisement based on the exact keyword: ‘red jacket’. When an internet user searches for the following query: ‘red jackets’, your ad is shown to the internet user. In this example, red jackets are the plural of the exact keyword “red jacket.”
Exact keywords are very specific.
Phrases (long tail)
When a keyword is specified as a phrase within Google Ads, this means that an ad is triggered when typing the exact keyword and phrases that are very similar. We again take the same example as before. Suppose as an entrepreneur you sell red jackets and you develop an advertisement with the linked phrase ‘buy red jacket’. When an internet user searches for the exact keyword ‘buy a red jacket’, your ad shows up. But also when an internet user searches for a related phrase, such as ‘buy jacket red’, your ad shows again.
“A keyword research provides more insight into your target group and company”
Broad match keywords (short tail)
Broad match keywords are the most common form of search terms and are also familiar as shorttail keywords. Broad match keywords usually use one or two words and are therefore not specific. A search engine shows your web page to an internet user when he/she searches for your broad keyword. In addition, the search engine also shows your web page to internet users when they search for queries, which relate to your broad search term. Suppose you are an entrepreneur and you develop an advertisement for the broad keyword: ‘red coat’.
When an internet user searches for ‘buy a red coat in Groningen’, your ad will come up because it is related to your broad search term. But also when an internet user searches for ‘repair a coat’, your ad will come up. Maybe you only sell red jackets and don’t repair them. As an entrepreneur, you should therefore pay attention when you enter a broad keyword.
Experience is needed to set the right shorttail keywords.
Modified keywords
One way to eliminate the risk of broad match keywords is to use modified keywords. With these keywords, you indicate to Google Ads that certain words must be within your keywords if you want your web page to appear in the search engine results. You indicate this in Google Ads by placing a plus sign in front of the modified keyword. Suppose you are an entrepreneur and enter the following modified keyword for your advertisement: ‘+buy red coat’. Only internet users who are specifically looking for a red jacket will see your ad because ‘red’ is preceded by a plus sign. The ad will therefore only appear with Google Ads if the search term contains the word ‘red’.
Negative keywords (negative keywords)
Within Google Ads, it is also possible to label a certain keyword as a negative or negative keyword. This means that you can indicate when an advertisement should not be shown for a certain keyword. In Google Ads this can be done by placing a minus sign in front of a keyword. Suppose you are an entrepreneur and have developed an advertisement for your red winter coats. If you enter the negative search term ‘red winter jackets – summer jacket’ in Google Ads, your ad will not show up when someone searches for ‘summer jacket’.
Your ad will not be shown due to a negative keyword.
“In the introductory meeting, we discuss our findings from the keyword research.”
Which keywords do you use?
Which keywords you should use strongly depends on your target group(s). Try to find out the search behavior of your target group(s) using tools and programs such as keyword planner. Of course, keywords with a high average monthly search volume and low competition level seem very attractive. It is good to use keywords with a high search volume but always think about the relevance. A broad match has a high search volume, but it may be too general and therefore not relevant to your business.
It can also be very useful to do research on your competitors. Which search terms do they try to rank for in Google’s organic search results? See with which web pages your competitors score high in Google, analyze the content and keywords used and then write a stronger and better SEO text for your website or webshop. In addition, you can also see within Google what internet users are searching for or what are frequently asked questions. Internet users often search the Internet for answers to their questions. For example, searches often start with: ‘Why is one” or ‘How does one work’. By including these search terms in the content of your web pages or writing specific landing pages for these keywords, you realize a lot of relevant traffic to your website or webshop.
Look at your target group, company, market, and competitors.
Why is keyword research important?
Keyword research is the starting point of an SEO or SEA process at Convident. Without keyword research, our online marketers do not know exactly where your target group(s) are looking. If we do not know where your target group(s) are looking, we cannot develop strong SEO texts to score high in Google.
Of course, there are standard search terms that are clearly relevant to your business. But often new search terms are found in Google or the keyword planner that is slightly more specific for your products or services. By means of keyword research, we find out search terms that you may not have thought of yourself. Moreover, internet users sometimes use search terms that you would not have expected yourself, with keyword research we find out about these search terms.
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What does keyword research cost?
Keyword research can be carried out by one of our online marketers when starting an SEO or SEA process. Because we have a lot of experience in conducting thorough keyword research, we can quickly view the results. We can then immediately start with your (agreed) online marketing sprint. Are you unsure about the content on your website or webshop? Let one of our online marketers perform a no-obligation scan of your used search terms! Then we can indicate in a short time whether your content is strong or whether we can still optimize your website or webshop.
Outsource keyword research to Convident
What we notice is that entrepreneurs often write content based on their expertise. These entrepreneurs are specialized in their profession and often use technical terms to communicate. Unfortunately, your target group(s) do not always search for these technical terms. On the contrary, sometimes we see the most interesting searches from internet users. Convident’s online marketers look at your content from a different perspective and think from the perspective of the potential customer. What needs and wants does the potential customer have and what searches does he/she use to fulfill his/her wants and needs? With keyword research from Convident you have a complete overview of relevant search terms for your products or services. In addition, it indicates the level of competition aswe have analyzed the competitors.
Curious about the doors that keyword research opens for your business? Let one of our online marketers perform free keyword research for your website or webshop! Then drop by the office for a cup of coffee and a good conversation about possible online marketing opportunities.
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