With over 40,000 Google searches every second, the battle for top of page 1 ranking is fierce. Good luck trying to rank on broad terms and product categories, like “dishwasher”. On the other hand, there isn’t much point in ranking high on keywords no one searches for either.
Your keywords must be highly relevant to your particular target group, and hit them right where their needs are.
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Define personas
Have a look at your existing customers: What are their needs and challenges? What are they searching for when they are looking for your product or service. You might also check industry forums, social media and online FAQs to find out about different personas, their problems and objectives, how to answer their questions, and what terms and language to use when communicating with them.
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List relevant themes
Find recurrent themes that would be relevant in searches for each of your products or services. This list of themes can be used to brainstorm for keywords that specify each theme.
There are lots of tools to help you come up with common terms and niche words to expand the list of keywords. For starters Google automatically list a number of related searches which is great for keyword inspiration. Other great tools for finding long-tailed keywords are http://answerthepublic.com/, http://soovle.com/ and https://ubersuggest.io/
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Use long-tailed keywords
The shorter the keyword, the harder to rank high. Long-tailed keywords of 2-3 words will narrow the field. There’ll be fewer searches, but the targeted keywords will be much more relevant to this smaller, but better defined and more qualified audience.
With a list of focused keywords and a clear understanding of your personas, it’s time to start producing relevant content.
Addressing needs, interests and challenges, a steady flow of content must be produced to engage (potential) customers in each phase of the customer journey. This will attract hot new leads to your site and keep them coming back.
