As a digital marketer, keyword research should be at the top of your priority list this year. This foundational research drives content strategy, improves SEO, and inches you closer to conversion. At 10x digital, we like to focus on niche keyword research—because we know not every search term works for every company.
This research should be more than sourcing high-performing phrases or strings of words. Instead, look at these initiatives as part of a comprehensive marketing deep-dive. Your findings will offer valuable insight into customer behaviors: what they’re searching for, how, and when. Keyword research done right allows you to curate your marketing efforts, bringing the right information to ready customers.
Covering the Basics
Keyword research finds all possible searches that current and potential customers would use to find your product. It’s an essential part of SEO strategy, and according to SEMRush experts, it can help your business:
- Understand and reach your audience
- Find new topics to cover
- Increase leads and sales
- Improve campaigns, clicks, and impressions
- Build brand awareness
But remember, not every keyword will work for your audience. In fact, according to research from Ahrefs, 92.42 percent of keywords get ten monthly searches or fewer. Use your findings wisely, and make sure there’s a clear line between what your audience is searching for and what your brand offers.
The Impact of Keywords on Business
If you’re only using keyword research to find a couple of common phrases and build them into a blog post, you’re not tapping into the potential of what this information has to offer. Here are four ways these initiatives can impact your business:
Impact #1: Getting to Know Your Consumer in Real-Time
When you know your customer, you can cater to their needs. The experts at Search Engine Land outlined how they see keyword research impacting consumer connections:
- Refining target audience: Your target audience’s searches show who they are. Think of it this way: could someone piece together your personality from your Google search history? They can likely learn what pets you have or movies you like with a quick scroll. The more you drill down into the specifics of what they are searching and when will help you build a more accurate target audience profile.
- Identifying areas of interest: users have a variety of interests. A strong understanding of a user’s complexity allows you to expand your marketing approach. You never know what “crossover” interests can drive a new marketing campaign.
Impact #2: Uncovering New Content Topics
Your website is an essential tool in your SEO arsenal. It is also a critical customer interface and, in most cases, the first impression your potential customer or client gets of your business. At 10x digital, we conduct keyword research for all of our clients quarterly to help inform our web optimization strategies. These insights help us keep our content fresh and relevant to ensure that we rank high on search engines and produce engaging content.
Impact #3: A Stronger Competitor Analysis
Competitor analysis is a beneficial byproduct of keyword research. You should analyze your competitor’s search rankings to help fill the gaps in your strategy. From a fact-finding perspective, it’s valuable to see competitors’ marketing styles (without distracting from your own goals).
Impact #4: Driving Leads and Sales
Keyword research functions in two separate ways: it drives more customers to your website and keeps customers there, increasing high-quality leads and sales. Don’t believe us? Just look at the statistics. Research from Bright Edge found that SEO drives 1000 percent more traffic than organic social media.
Your Brand’s Keyword Strategy
Are you interested in boosting your business’ strategy with niche keyword research? At 10x digital, our experts have years of experience creating and refining SEO strategies (and adjusting content to match). For more information, get in touch today.