In this blog we dig into the sense and nonsense of keyword research. To lift a corner of the veil: we embrace search intent, but keyword research and "how the target audience searches"? We're rather sceptical. Curious? Read on.
Our considerations when doing keyword research
Nine times out of ten, keyword research today is done with a tool. The tool gives you input, and you base decisions on it. We use keyword research mainly to build the structure of the website, taking the most important keywords and long-tail keywords into account. A site structure looks like this: example.com/important-keyword/sub-keyword. The URL structure matters for hierarchy and for prioritising content.
Some keyword tools also show the top-ranking websites right away. Visit those and you instantly see which content (in the eyes of the search engine) fits the search term. That gives you a direct picture of surrounding terms, interesting topics, new products and other services that can feed into the content marketing strategy.
Why we don't lean on keyword tools
The aspects above are, for us, the only reasons to use a keyword tool. Why don't we go by search volumes, keyword difficulty and CPC? And why don't we draw hard conclusions from tool data? Because there are several problems:
- Everyone (with budget) has access to these tools. When everyone uses a tool, sees the same data and (probably) draws the same conclusions, there's little unique about it. Focus only on the top keyword and you create a situation with maximum competition, making a good position all the harder to claim.
- No unique content strategy: everyone copies everyone. Because tools generally show the same keyword data and prompt the same conclusions, everyone writes about the same topics. In short: your content strategy isn't unique. We prefer the opposite angle: what does the visitor (possibly) need, and how can you, as a website, be of value to that visitor? Besides, data doesn't say everything. If a tool says there's no search volume, is that the truth? No. A potential customer may well search for a topic that doesn't appear in the keyword tool at all. So we'd rather think for ourselves about what is logical and link-worthy.
- You get back what you put in. Search for a keyword in a tool and you'll mostly get surrounding terms that contain that exact keyword. Keyword tools think in keywords, not in search intent or in the phase a visitor is in. They're too narrow-minded to hang real conclusions on.
- Data science is fun; covering the intent fully is better. Make decisions purely on data from (external) tools and you may miss many chances to reach people. You'd be deciding up front which keywords are interesting without any real data to fact-check it. You don't know what a visitor does on your site until you try. That's why our focus is always on covering the search intent completely, so that people who search end up on your site because you satisfy their intent. If you fully satisfy the search intent, do you still need keyword research? We think not. Also, the data may simply not apply to you. If you operate at a small scale, say in a B2B market with a specialist, strategic service, you don't need to rank for the generic term describing what you do; you want to be found by people searching for a specific part of your service, however they phrase it. Done right, that kind of research is far more likely to produce a new lead than an (open source) keyword tool.
- It's only advice. A keyword research usually ends in a recommendation, after which you're left to execute. Content (marketing) is a genuine craft. It's not "write something around keywords and done". It's a continuous battle to be the best, to satisfy every search intent and to stay ahead in your field. We gladly put our money where our mouth is and take on the execution ourselves.
Keyword research done right
What really matters in keyword research is knowing what drives your visitors. How do you find out? A few ways:
- Interview your current customers. Find out why they ended up at your company or site in the first place, and you uncover the search intent. Highlight pain points, issues, specific topics, questions and solutions on your site, and you'll serve similar customers better in the future. Good interviews with several customers paint a clear picture of what people actually search for and need.
- Look at your analytics. Far more reliable than third-party estimates is your own (Google) analytics. Measure what visitors do on your site and map your funnels, and you have valuable input for your SEO strategy.
- Do a content audit. Does your content suffice? Does it cover everything your company can do and does? Or can you go deeper? Beyond coverage, a content audit shows how to make your content (even) more valuable.
- Do a link marketing audit. Content is linkable the moment it truly adds value for a visitor. When other websites are willing to reference your content, that's the sign your content matters. You want that. You should chase that. You should breathe that. A link audit shows how competitors earn links, and which topics produce them.
- Brainstorm about content. Chances are your team consists of specialists who deal with the questions, problems and solutions of your field every single day. Map all of those topics and you end up with a range of content ideas straight from practice, not from a generic SEO tool.
It's in human nature to be attracted to the best. So be the best in what you do.Blaz Kos