How to conduct a keyword analysis

Imagine you run a business selling products or services. You offer a great selection, all neatly presented on your smart website. Yet, you are struggling to generate traffic, and customers are increasingly choosing to visit your competitors’ sites instead.

Does this sound familiar? Then it is time to get started with search engine optimisation. Search engine optimisation (SEO) consists of several disciplines, and for many, it can be difficult to know where to begin. However, it is absolutely crucial to establish a solid foundation from the outset, and a thorough keyword analysis is essential here.

If you are experiencing issues with lack of traffic and, as a result, potentially missing out on sales, it could be because your website does not reflect what your customers are actually searching for. In other words, your website is not properly optimised to rank at the top of Google’s search results when potential customers look for your products or services. This is something you need to change immediately, so that it is your website customers choose to shop from. A keyword analysis can help you achieve this.

What is a keyword analysis?

In simple terms, a keyword analysis involves identifying the right keywords that your customers are searching for, and which fit your business profile. But how do you do this? It requires some good old-fashioned detective work, combined with careful sorting and prioritisation. A good keyword analysis begins with a comprehensive brainstorming session on words that could be relevant to your products or services. Keep in mind that “unaware users” may not use the same technical terms that you do internally within your business.

Once you have brainstormed, you should end up with a long list of words that could potentially be the starting point for your ongoing SEO efforts. There are several free tools available where you can enter a word and receive a list of related keywords. This is a great place to start. Additionally, you can simply perform a standard Google search for the given word and see which terms Google suggests (Google Suggest).

Once you have finished your detective work and created a list of potential keywords, you cannot just sit back and relax. Now it is time to analyse and prioritise. Even if you are happy with the keywords you have written down, there is no guarantee that they are the right ones. You need some help to figure this out, and this is where Google Keyword Planner comes into play.

Find the right keywords with Keyword Planner

Google Keyword Planner is Google’s own tool, so you can be fairly certain that the data is reliable. You have access to Keyword Planner if you have an AdWords account. Keyword Planner is an indispensable tool when it comes to conducting a thorough and precise keyword analysis. Simply take the words from your original list and enter them into the Keyword Planner.

You will then be presented with the average number of monthly searches for each keyword. At the same time, you can see whether there is high, medium or low competition for your selected keywords. Both of these are essential parameters if you want to end up with the most effective keyword plan.

Do not always go for volume

“So should I not just choose the keywords with the highest number of monthly searches?” It might seem logical, as you could potentially reach a larger audience, but this is not necessarily the strategy that will deliver the best results. Firstly, broad keywords with a high search volume are often accompanied by very tough competition. You will likely be up against some strong players in your industry, and it could easily be a battle lost before it even begins.

Furthermore, broad keywords with a large number of searches do not necessarily bring you qualified traffic, and there is naturally a longer journey from search to purchase than if you focus on niche phrases or longtail keywords. Today, users are more specific in their searches, so it is well worth considering whether you should ignore the high search volumes in favour of keywords with fewer searches, but much higher relevance.

Good and bad keywords – an example

Let us take an example. You have an online shop selling bicycles. You notice that there are over 27,000 searches for the term “bicycles” every month. You might be seeing pound signs at the thought of getting 27,000 visitors to your site every month. Unfortunately, this is not how it works. The competition is intense, and if you are a smaller shop, it will be very difficult to outpace your competitors in the search results.

The keyword “bicycles” is also very broad. Does the user mean men’s bikes, women’s bikes, racing bikes, or something else entirely? Here, it is beneficial to dig a little deeper and find keywords with less competition, but where you can be sure of delivering the desired result. For example, you could use “men’s bikes” with 1,600 searches, “cheap racing bikes” with 720 searches, or even more niche phrases such as “cheapest bike with ultegra di2” with 50 monthly searches. It is a fine balance between finding keywords with sufficient volume but low competition, so you can stand out in the search results.

Of course, it is also essential that your products and services match the chosen keywords, so customers are not disappointed. Otherwise, it could do more harm than good.

Find longtail keywords and phrases with StoryBase

Another very useful tool for keyword analysis is StoryBase. With StoryBase, you can find longtail phrases that are less competitive, but highly specific. StoryBase is useful when optimising landing pages with, for example, categories, but it is especially effective if your site has a blog.

Through StoryBase, you can find various keyword variations by selecting either Questions, Phrases or Related. The Questions tab is particularly valuable for blogging, as it documents the questions your potential customers are asking, allowing you to provide a comprehensive answer in a blog post, which can then guide the customer further into your site.

Check your competitors – what are they doing?

In addition to using various tools to find potential keywords, it is also beneficial to see what your competitors are doing. You probably already know who your competitors are, and there must be a reason they perform better in the search results. It could well be because they are focusing on the right keywords in your sector.

Investigate where your competitors’ focus lies, and then assess whether it makes sense for your business to adopt a similar approach. After that, you simply need to deliver better content than your competitors and, of course, create a detailed plan for your ongoing SEO work.

Structure and execution

You now have a useful list of keywords, but there is still work to be done to create structure and select the right keywords. In fact, filtering out irrelevant keywords is a demanding task, so you are left with a prioritised list of strong and relevant keywords. Once that is done, and you have identified your potential customers’ online behaviour, you can hit the mark and secure highly qualified traffic.

The next step is to create perfect landing pages, so your content matches the user’s search. Want to know more about how to optimise your landing pages? Read more here.

And let’s not forget the importance of link building. That is, creating inbound links to your site, which Google sees as a recommendation and rewards your website accordingly.

However, carrying out a keyword analysis is fundamental before you continue with your SEO efforts. This is especially true if you are planning a new website. In that case, you MUST have your keywords in place beforehand, so you can establish the right structure for your site from day one. It will definitely pay off in the long run.