Sam enters into a supermarket which consists of every product item that he can imagine. He is specifically looking for a red colored bottle. He asks one of the supermarket representatives, Sara, to help him find that. Sara takes him to the lane where he could find each and every red-colored bottle in different shapes, brand, sizes etc.
Now in context of SEO,
- Sam is the customer/user/target audience,
- the supermarket is the internet,
- Sara is the web browser; and
- the red-colored bottle is the search item.
If you want Sam to find your brand in the market, the two most important things you would need to do –
- Keep your brand available in the supermarket in the red colored bottle section – i.e. when someone asks for the product, she/he can find your brand
- Ensure that your brand is clearly visible, so your user doesn’t have to look too far and too deep or end up buying something else before she/he reaches you
That’s exactly what SEO does. It ensures that your website or webpage is discoverable for the user; so when the user gives the keywords associated with your brand, your page shows up on the top. The more effective your SEO strategy, the better your website’s ranking.
SEO is Search Engine Optimisastion – that refers to the process of getting your audience to your website/webpage organically. Keywords include short terms /phrases/ long-tail keywords.
Keywords play a very important role in SEO. If you sell sports socks and your user is asking the website for just socks, do you show up? You need to know what all your user may search for, to reach you, and you have to be available there.
So, how do we find the best SEO keywords for our website –
1. Think like the user.
Answer these questions-
- What am I selling?
- Who is my target audience?
- What categories does my product or service fall into?
- What are the terms / keywords that a user may use to look for my brand, for each of those categories?
The best keyword strategy is to understand the user’s intent from all perspectives, so you don’t lose out on any opportunity. You need to strategize a smart mix of head terms (short keywords) and long-tail keywords.
2. How are people reaching you right now? Use Google Analytics to see how people are finding you if your page is already up.
3. Use online tools. There are a lot of tools available online, including Google Ads Keyword Planner, Keyword Tool, Answer the Public and Keyword Shitter, to identify relevant keywords. These tools will also help you narrow down your search. If you put your product all over the marketplace, your existence will be redundant and irrelevant. You have to optimise your results.
4. Know your competitors and how they rank. Tools like BuzzSumo, SEM Rush,WordStream help you research on what keywords your competitors are using and where they are ranking. Use tools like Seed Keywords to create scenarios, that will help you identify what your user may ask the internet, when looking for a particular product / service in a certain environment. It will help you prioritise keywords.
Here are a couple of important points that you need to keep in mind –
- Keep on updating your keywords. As your product/service, user and market evolves, you need to re-evaluate your keywords and update them.
- Include unique, specific to your site keywords. When you use generic keywords, you will find a whole lot of competition around you. Using a unique keyword that has less competitors will help you.
It’s a continuous, ever-evolving practice. Just keep at it. All the best.
P.S. – Do share your experience and insights.
The Flawed One 