No matter what business you are in, you won’t be in business for long if no one can find your company.
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Search engines help would-be customers find your business by scanning your website for relevant keywords. But that doesn’t mean you get to sit idly by: In fact, it’s your job to make sure you use the right keywords on your website so your company comes up in people’s search engine results.
Related: These 9 SEO Tips Are All You’ll Ever Need to Rank in Google
The name for this process is search engine optimization, or SEO.
It sounds easy enough — and it can be — as long as you identify the right keywords to optimize your website.
While there is no one right answer to how you determine which keywords to use, there are keyword search strategies that can help you figure it out. At My SEO Sucks, we’ve learned that comprehensive keyword research is the backbone of every campaign. Here are four of my favorite methods. Try one, or all four.
1. Focus on your niche
Find out what interests your current audience, then go further. Look at your brand and the products or services you sell to identify some of the keywords your customers use to locate your company or its offerings. Search for the most common terms in your niche (or what you believe are the most common). Tools like Moz make it easy to research and find derivative keywords around these terms. You can also see which has the most traffic and how competitive each keyword is.
From there, consider the value of each one. Many business owners are fixated on one or two of the high-value keywords, whereas there could be 10 to 20 derivative ones that do more volume per month and are of a lower keyword difficulty. The latter gives you the opportunity to stand out from the pack.
Why play in the sandbox with your competitors when you can carve your own path?
2. Content gap analysis
Keeping an eye on the competition helps, too. Your rivals may have stumbled upon some keywords that work well for your target audience, so do your research. Compare what your competitors…
