There is absolutely a science and an art to ranking in Google, Yahoo and Bing. But the hard reality is that if you don’t take the time to understand what keywords are effective to generate leads then you will never get the results that you are hoping for.
Yesterday, we determined that many SEO companies are currently getting it all wrong. The rules have changed and in order to achieve the best SEO results possible, marketing agencies have to be willing to change too. So what can you do when Google is a moving target? Well, first, stick to the basics: quality content, pristine on-page SEO and earned links from other sites in your niche. But the most important thing to do is to Set Goals.
In our last blog we talked about the power of setting goals and checking back on your Search Engine Results on a regular basis.
Best SEO Strategy Point #2: Keyword Selection
Keyword selection is hands down the most important part of your SEO strategy. However, 95% of all SEO companies advise the same thing… and that is to go after the keywords in your list industry that have the highest search volume. Well, that is a great idea if you are a large company that already has a ton of influence and Page Rank. But the average company isn’t that lucky and has to compete online with other brands that are bigger than themselves. So, if you go after the most competitive words, you are just joining the herd of idiots who are all competing for the same hard-to-get keywords.
However, what most SEO companies don’t tell you is this simple truth that I am about to share…you should have optimized your website for keywords that have the highest amount of search volume with the lowest amount of competitors. These keywords are usually more qualified, rank faster and usually cost less if you are using an SEO company to help you improve your SEO rankings.
Action Items & Take Aways
- Keyword selection is essential to succeeding in SEO. If you rush through this step you will never succeed.
- Work with your agency to find keywords that are realistic for your to rank for. We all want the biggest keywords in the land, but companies with bigger budgets than you will most likely get those keywords so don’t waste your time wrestling the big guys.
- Don’t choose a keyword that would require your team to hit a Homerun just to rank for. Pick keywords that have the highest visibility with the least amount of competition.
- Realize that you might have to rank for multiple keywords in order to achieve the same visibility you would get if you just ranked for one big keyword. Relax, it is ok.
- Put all of your keywords into an editorial calendar so that you can map your content strategy with your keywords. Rule of thumb: One to two keywords per page.
- Think of keywords as Topics not just one specific keyword. Research the power of using LSI keywords in your content strategy.
- Use tools like UberSuggest to provide related keywords to your content.
- Request a keyword analysis from your marketing agency to see what your Search Engine Rankings are doing. If you are not working with an existing agency contact us. We would be happy to help give you analysis as our gift to you.
