July 28,
2018February 25, 2020

Getting Started: Choosing SEO Keywords

When you start a new business or a new brand, one of the best ways to start growing is through search engine optimization (SEO). Changes to better your SEO increases the likelihood of your website being ranked for searches in Google, Bing!, and other search engines. That means you’ll need to be choosing SEO keywords.

Search keywords are basic fundamentals of SEO and are necessary for creating a strategy. Optimizing your website for specific keywords gives you more control over the searches that your website appears for, and in turn, allowing your site to reach the eyes of your target audience. Additionally, changing your site’s keyword distribution allows for you to adjust over time.

The tough part is when you’re just starting out. You likely don’t have much, if any data for precisely choosing SEO keywords for your website. Over time you’ll gather data and be able to determine where you can make improvements. But how do you pick the right words with minimal data?

Decide & Understand Your Goals

Before quickly deciding your first SEO keywords for your brand, slow down and allow for some time to think about your SEO goals. Generally companies use SEO to increase website traffic and in turn increase revenue. Remember, you’re just starting out so we need to think a little bit deeper than only “I want more traffic.”

How Fast Do You Want Results? SEO isn’t a quick fix. SEO is a long-term strategy that begins paying off after months and continues to payoff for years after the first post. For fast results you’ll want low competition high value keywords.

How specific is your audience? Do you have a very narrow band of characters that fit your audience profile or are you more flexible with who comes to your website?

What Type of Traffic? Do you want people to buy your products or are you seeking increased brand awareness?

Blend Head & Long Tail Keywords

If you’ve set your goals you should then be able to decide on a set of “head” and “long-tail” keywords. Head keywords are usually 1-3 word phrases that generate higher traffic but are also higher competition.

Long-tail keywords are typically conversational phrases. They are lower traffic but are also lower competition.

Head keywords are more suitable for long-term strategies focused on traffic while long-term keywords are better suited for fast results-centric strategies. You’ll beed both in a combination to achieve the best overall results.

Do Preliminary Research.

Once you have goals set and vision formed it’s time to research.

Form Root Ideas. Sketch out some ideas of what you think people might search for that’s related to your business. You only need a few braid categories; not an all encompassing list. Remember to mix both head and long-tail keywords into the list.

Use Keyword Generators. Don’t be afraid to use an online tool, such s Moz’s Keyword Explorer. Tools like this will help you come up with ideas and it also gives you some stats for future reference.

Create A Keyword Master List. Export all the keywords you can into a spreadsheet. By placing them into a spreadsheet you can quickly compare, filter, and organize your keyword data.

Narrow Down The List

Now you can begin stripping your Master List of the weakest words and phrases. Use the following variables to help filter your list and move one step closer to choosing SEO keywords.

Search Volume: Search volume is how many times a phrase is used for search. It can help you gauge how much traffic you can receive from a keyword, but bear in mind volumes do fluctuate.

Competition: Expect the keywords with the highest search volume to also have the most competition. It’s natural that other websites will want to acquire traffic through the same most popular keywords. You’ll need to strike a balance between volume and competition.

Relevance: You might have a high traffic keyword on your list that also has low competition. However you’ll need to ask yourself if it’s relevant and will bring the traffic you want coming to your website.

Current Ranking: Do you already rank for some of your keywords? If yes you might have some early stage momentum to work off of and accelerate your growth.

Finally Choosing SEO Keywords

You should have narrowed your list down to only top candidates at this point. The selection now is more of a matter of personal preference. You have a list of those keywords that are in line with your goals and are expected to bring the traffic you want. Now pick a few and get started. You don’t need to use all of them right away.

This initial blend of keywords won’t be perfect, however it’ll help form a foundation from which you can grow and expand upon in the future. Pay attention to your results over time and don’t be afraid to make some adjustments if you can see points for improvement.