SEO of a website is done solely based on goals and target that a business or brand wants to achieve. It can be defined as a process of making your website and web pages optimal for search engines like google, bing, yahoo etc. The most important aspect is keyword research. There are four major goals of any brand and business that wants to get their search engine optimization done and it includes:
- HIGHER RANKING
- HIGHER VISIBILITY
- CONVERSION RATE
- BOOST BUSINESS
And the most important aspect to achieve all these goals is KEYWORD RESEARCH. If you want to know about the tools that can be used for keyword planning you can refer to:
You must’ve heard the term before. If not, no need to worry I am here to explain it all with all minor and major details.
KEYWORD is basically a search term that is used by people over the internet to gather the information related to it. For example: If a user search DIGITAL MARKETING COURSE, this would be considered as an keyword and search engine will provide relevant results to the user. Now the question arises
What is Keyword Research?
Therefore, planning and researching about keywords that are used by your target audience is called keyword research.
How is keyword research performed?
There are certain metrics that one should consider before choosing any relevant keywords.
- SEARCH VOLUME: It refers to the average number of searches on keywords. So, it is important to check the traffic on the keywords. If the volume is higher it means the demand is also at rise.
- KEYWORD DIFFICULTY: The crux is that If the keyword difficulty score is higher, it makes our website difficult to rank. If the keyword difficulty score is lower, it is easier to rank the website on the same keyword.
- CPC (Cost-Per-Click): CPC is the amount paid by advertisers per click. So, as a marketer we need to understand the cost incurred by our competitors.
- SEARCH INTENT: Search intent means the intent of user or What user want to achieve with the search. The intent can be of different types such as informational , navigational, transactional or commercial. So, the keyword we are going to select purely depend on intent of the audience we want to capture.
- TRACK PERFORMANCE: The last and most crucial aspect is tracking conversion rates of keywords.
To know about the tools you can use to make your work easier you can refer to keyword toolkit blog. Another important aspect is understanding types of keywords
TYPES OF KEYWORDS
Keywords are broadly categorized in two types short-tail keywords and long-tail keywords.
SHORT TAIL KEYWORDS: These are the General Keywords or phrases that are useful mainly for brand awareness and driving traffic. These keywords have:
- HIGH COMPETITON
- HIGHER SEARCH VOLUME
- LOW CONVERSION RATE
- BROAD INTENT
LONG TAIL KEYWORDS: These are the most specific Keywords or phrases that are used to attract high-quality traffic and improve conversions. These keywords have:
- HIGH RELEVANCY
- LOWER SEARCH VOLUME
- HIGH CONVERSION RATE
- SPECIFIC INTENT
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN LONG-TAIL KEYWORDS AND SHORT-TAIL KEYWORDS
| Aspect | Short-Tail Keywords | Long-Tail Keywords |
| 1. Length | 1-2 words | 3+ words |
| 2. Specificity | General and broad | Very specific |
| 3. Search Volume | High | Low to moderate |
| 4. Competition | High | Low to medium |
| 5. Conversion Rate | Lower conversion rates | Higher conversion rates |
| 6. Cost-Per-Click (CPC) | High | Lower |
| 7. Search Intent | Broad intent (informational or navigational) | Focused intent (transactional or informational) |
| 8. Difficulty | Harder to rank for | Easier to rank for |
| 9. Target Audience | Wider audience | Niche audience |
| 10. Traffic Potential | Generates more traffic | Drives targeted traffic |
| 11. Content Optimization | Harder to tailor specific content | Easier to optimize for specific needs |
| 12. SEO Strategy | Used for general branding | Focused on conversions and niches |
| 13. Usage in PPC Campaigns | Higher cost per click | More cost-effective |
| 14. Relevance | May lack relevance to user’s exact query | Highly relevant to user’s intent |
| 15. Popularity | More popular and competitive | Less popular but effective for niche markets |
| 16. Time to Rank | Takes longer to achieve rankings | Shorter time to rank |
| 17. ROI (Return on Investment) | Lower ROI for small businesses | Higher ROI for targeted campaigns |
| 18. Example | Shoes | affordable running shoes for women |
| 19. Long-Term Benefit | Lower long-term benefit unless brand-focused | Higher long-term benefit in niches |
| 20. User Behavior | Often used in the initial stages of research | Used when users are ready to take action |