Optimization is all about attracting your audience — the right audience — based on the keywords they use in a search engine. Let’s say you’re selling cables and you want to show up for the right type of cable. Are you selling cable TV? HDMI cables? Security cables? Fiber optic cables? Shielded cables? Jumper cables? You get the idea. You will need to look at all of these terms by doing some keyword research to determine which generates the most leads.
1. Connect with your audience by using the same language
There are a few tools out there that assist with keyword research, but the important thing to look at is the search volume and competition of each keyword.
Search volume is the total number of searches for a particular keyword over the course of a month, typically across the nation. The competition of a keyword is rated on a competition score of 1-100. You will want to find keywords that have a high search volume and low competition score. With organic search, the higher the competition is, the more difficult it will be to optimize for that term and to rank on the first page of search results.
If we simply look at the term “cable” we’ll see that it has 42,000+ monthly searches, but a really high competition score of 82. Let’s narrow the term to a specific type of cable, such as “jumper cables.” We’ll find that just for “jumper cables,” there is a monthly search volume of 30,800+ searches and a competition score of 15. If you sell jumper cables, it would be more valuable to optimize for “jumper cables” than just “cables” since the competition is low with a high search volume. The high search volume indicates that it’s a term, and language, people are regularly using.
2. Learn what people are actually searching for
The next thing to consider is something called “search intent.” When you search for something through a search engine, you typically have an intent when searching for that term.
If someone simply searches for “jumper cables,” is that person looking to buy them? Are they looking for the best brand? Or are they looking for information about them and how to use them?
Google’s algorithm is already geared toward search intent and automatically tries to serve the best content based on the terms entered. So let’s look at what “jumper cables” brings up in Google’s search results.
The search results currently bring up a blend of jumper cables for purchase, how to use jumper cables, and what the top 5 jumper cables are. However, the most predominant search result is about how to use jumper cables. If you’re selling jumper cables, there’s a good chance that you’ll appear for that term since Google returns results for purchase as well, but it would be beneficial to also develop content that addresses how to use jumper cables to further increase your odds of showing up in the top search results. On top of that, you could lead the user from your “how to” article to purchase jumper cables by linking to a product that’s on your website.
3. Optimize your content to drive traffic to your website
We learned that optimization is about attracting your audience through search engines which involves using the right keywords and producing relevant content on your website. Once published on your website, search engines will be able to connect how your content is related to the search terms you’re optimizing for and to the user’s search intent. When you’re able to attract the right audience and match their search intent, there’s a greater chance that they’ll convert, or submit their information, on your website… and turn into a lead.
Corine Smith
Corine designs print projects like brochures, posters, and signage; however, she spends most of her time planning and building websites. She loves the challenge of organizing a really complex website and making it more user friendly. Learn more about Corine or contact the keyword research experts at Revel. We create websites that generate more leads.
