Start by brainstorming an initial list of 3-5 seed keywords that directly describe your main products, services, or content focus. These should be short, core phrases with high search volume potential like "keyword research" or "SEO guide." Use your knowledge of your business and industry to compile relevant seed terms.
Aiming for 10-20 diverse seed keywords provides a solid base to begin your research. These phrases directly relate to your business goals and interests. Use the seed list as a starting point for further research and keyword expansion.
Find Long-Tail Keywords
When researching long-tail variations, aim to find keywords with under 10,000 monthly searches and low keyword difficulty scores according to tools like Ahrefs. This will give you the best chance to rank on page 1. Expand your list by mining related keywords and filtering by search volume and difficulty.
Analyze Keywords
Once you have generated a comprehensive list of potential keywords, the next step is to analyze and filter them to identify the best options to target. There are several factors to consider when analyzing keywords:
● Search Volume - What are the monthly search volumes for the keywords? Focus on keywords with adequate search volume for your goals.
● Competition - How competitive is each keyword? Assess difficulty based on metrics like paid ad cost and SEO difficulty scores.
● Relevancy - How relevant is the keyword to your business, products, services, and target audience? Prioritize more relevant terms.
● Optimization Opportunity - Does the keyword present an opportunity to rank for important SERP features like featured snippets and local packs?
Use keyword research tools like Ahrefs, Semrush, and Keyword Explorer to gather data on these factors. Filter out low-potential keywords and prioritize ones that align with your business goals and have sufficient search volume vs. competitive difficulty.
Organize your finalized keywords into groups or tiers based on priorities like head terms, long-tail, commercial intent, informational, etc. This allows you to develop targeted optimization plans for each keyword type.
Choose Target Keywords
Once you have a comprehensive list of relevant keywords, the next step is to narrow them down and select the best targets to focus on. The keywords you ultimately choose should align with your goals and key business metrics. Here are some tips for choosing the right target keywords:
● Balance search volume and competitiveness - Look for keywords with sufficient search volume for your needs that also have reasonable SEO difficulty scores according to tools like SEMrush or Ahrefs. As an SEO best practice, aim for a mix of higher volume head terms and more niche long tail keywords.
● Consider relevance - Ensure your target keywords are highly relevant to your content, products, and services. Irrelevant high-volume keywords will not convert well. Per JB Media Group, choose keywords with strong conversion value.
● Evaluate cost per click (CPC) - Look at CPC data to get a sense of potential costs if you want to run paid ads on your target keywords.
● Review historical keyword performance - If you already have existing content ranking for certain keywords, factor in their past search traffic and rankings performance.
Set targets by priority. Organize your keywords into groups based on priority. For example, tier 1 targets, tier 2 targets, and so on. This allows you to focus your optimization efforts accordingly.
Integrate Keywords Naturally
When integrating keywords into your content, the focus should be on using them in a natural, intuitive way tailored to searcher intent. Avoid awkwardly over-optimizing or "keyword stuffing", as this can result in a negative user experience and penalties from search engines.
Some best practices for naturally optimizing content include:
● Use keywords in titles, meta descriptions, headers, image alt text, etc. But don't force keywords - keep it natural. According to Semrush, including keywords in titles, headers and metadata are good optimization practices, but be wary of over-optimization.
● Focus on topics and intent first, not just keywords. Write for users by providing useful information that matches their search intent.
● Include keywords throughout the content in a natural, conversational tone. Mention them multiple times where appropriate without going overboard.
● Don't just sprinkle keywords - weave them into the narrative and provide context. Present them in related variations and synonyms.
● Optimize pages for different informational goals and intents, using different keyword groupings and content.
The key is finding the right balance - optimizing for keywords and search without compromising quality, readability or user experience. When done right, visitors get a page highly relevant to their query while still feeling satisfying to read.
Featured Snippets
A great way to optimize for featured snippets in 2024 is to focus on FAQ and 'How To' formatted content. Google's featured snippets highlight key text and information from web pages in response to user searches, typically pulling from paragraph-style content. According to Search Engine Journal, over 50% of featured snippets come from 'How To' guides and FAQ pages.
Here are some tips for optimizing your content:
● Use relevant headers like "What is [keyword]?" or "How to [keyword]" to introduce FAQs and how-tos.
● Format content in a numbered list or paragraph format rather than bullet points.
● Include images and tables where relevant to illustrate the steps/answers.
● Answer the user's query fully and accurately within the snippet.
● Optimize on-page elements like title tags, meta descriptions, and URL.
Crafting comprehensive, detailed instructions and answers in paragraph format allows search engines to better understand and highlight the most relevant content. Focusing optimization efforts around these FAQ and 'How To' formats can help increase your chances of ranking featured snippets in 2024.
Conclusion
Now that you have a solid keyword research framework, it's time to start optimizing your pages and implementing target keywords. Measure your progress by regularly tracking keyword rankings. Done right, your hard work will pay off with increased organic traffic and visibility. So start conducting effective keyword research today to build a foundation for long-term SEO success.
