by Carrying out keyword research is a daunting process, but it’s one of the most important aspects of SEO. But there is no need to spend a lot of greenbacks and subscribe to research tools or hire professionals for this task. There are several ways in which you can get around the obstacles and simplify your job. Here, I’m going to talk about the best five keyword research methods that can improve overall SEO and SERP of your website/blog.
1. Use different variations of keywords
Use your keyword with quotation marks, because some people search like that thinking it will fetch them the best results. Use grammatical variations; many people spell the same word differently. For example: If you’re dealing in say HD TVs, you could use, HDTV HD TV HD television HD-TV, hi def TV and so on. You get the picture. Use UK and US versions; if you sell car tires, you could also use ‘tyres’. Not everyone is Professor Higgins. Include incorrect spellings and typos. Include long tail keywords (3 words or more) which are more significant and not as competitive. It gives you a better shot at higher page ranking.
2. Leverage your location
If you operate a business in Chicago, include that in the keyword. ‘Appliance Repairs Chicago’ is sure to catch the eyes of people needing that service in that city. Such keywords often translate into more business eventually.
3. Scout out the competition
In your city, and outside, check their rankings, see what you’re up against, and you can better what they have. Knowing what they don’t rank for may in fact give you the added edge you need to go one up on them in the page rankings of search engines like Google.
4. How many and how much!
Decide how many keywords you actually need: if you’re selling just one or two products, 5 to 10 keywords will be plenty. But if you have a large website and a truckload of different products to offer, you can have more websites so that traffic can be appropriately directed to your website. Allot keywords, search volumes, so you will know what keywords are most sought after.
5. Choose most relevant keywords
From your list of possible keywords, take a good long look at each one and decide the ones that are the most relevant to your site and products or services. Finalize your list, and be sure to include some keywords that are not searched for a lot, but still relevant to your business. This is because you have a pretty good chance that your page will be ranked higher owing to the absence of competition.
In spite of this you need to remember that this is not a one time job; you need to monitor the traffic to your site regularly, and may have to update your keywords if there is any decrease in traffic.
