Get to Know the Topics Crucial to Addiction Treatment Centers
Many people assume keyword research isn’t a vital portion of SEO any longer, considering the importance of content quality and the new smart algorithms at Google. This couldn’t be further from the truth. When it comes to ranking high, SEO keyword research is still the bread and butter of organic marketing.
And while several things HAVE changed, one thing that remains steadfast in the world of search engine optimization is the keyword strategy we use to come up with the most appropriate terms to use for blogs and website content. Using certain keyword research tools helps us to find the best terms to propel any given page to the top of the search engines.
In this article, we’ll discuss the best ways of conducting keyword research, breaking down the process, and discussing things like search volume, search intent, and keyword research services cost to give you a better understanding of how to further boost your SEO strategy.
The Keyword Research Process
What exactly is the keyword research process? This is a specific set of steps outlined to help an individual or organization arrive at the best options to use for blog or website content – generally based on keyword data used from a keyword research service.
When someone enters a term into a search engine, the majority of users only take advantage of the content they see on Page 1 of their search results. This means that there is incredible value in any situation that allows you to compete for a spot on this page, especially between the first and third positions.
Setting the Stage for SEO Keyword Research
Depending on several factors, moving your way up the ranks of these search engine results pages can be a painstaking process – and is often one that many novice website owners or marketers have difficulty obtaining. While there are multiple tips and methods used to shift the results in your favor marginally, there’s no magic wand to wave that lands you on Page 1 of the search results. With that said, knowing how to analyze keywords is crucial.
The most important dynamics involved in keyword research are time, consistency, and quality. Let’s break these vital terms of the keyword research process down even further.
Time
Keyword research takes an incredible amount of time. Each piece of content must be written using a meticulous process and vetted for the highest quality to remain relevant among the most intense online competition.
Consistency
Remaining consistent is probably the most important part of keyword research. Regardless of what you decide is the most appropriate number for updating your blog – whether it be once per week, twice per week, once per day, or any other schedule you select, it’s vital that you remain consistent in this pattern.
All About the Algorithms?
The Google algorithm, in essence, is a pattern itself, so it’s only natural that this algorithm recognizes and grades much of its results on consistent patterns. In addition, when your readers are used to receiving updated blog posts on a certain date or day of the week, it’s important to keep them satisfied. Your search rankings will thank you as well!
Quality
Have you ever heard the phrase, “content is king?” This is probably the most famous saying that goes with SEO keyword research and couldn’t be more accurate.
What does this mean though?
Content is king was coined to describe the importance of creating valuable, high-quality content for your readers. This quote is based on a vital part of the keyword research process, a phrase known as search intent.
In the next section, we break down search intent and explain what it means and why it’s important.
What Is Search Intent?
When it comes to keyword research services or conducting your SEO keyword research, one of the most important elements to remember is matching the intent of those using any given engine.
So what does this term mean? Explaining the meaning of this term is simple – nailing it during your keyword research is a little more complicated.
Search intent is simply the intent of a reader when they use the right keywords on Google or Bing. What do they hope to accomplish? What type of answers are they looking for?
Commercial Keywords: Hunting for Conversions
This is best explained using an example.
Let’s say, for instance, that someone is searching for the most appropriate ways of avoiding the painful withdrawal symptoms of opioid detox. They probably wouldn’t type the following:
“the best ways to avoid withdrawal symptoms during opioid detox”
While it’s true that maybe certain people WOULD type the statement above, the chances are higher that they would type something like this:
“home remedies for withdrawal”
This ultimately means the following for our SEO keyword research process:
A wide variety of keywords and keyword variations will be included in our SEO keyword research. Optimizing for one single keyword is no longer viable because of the intelligence of the Google algorithm. Instead, we base our keyword strategy on the intent of the user.
This means that using a keyword research service, we’re able to create clusters, or large groups of the “right keywords,” to include in our content. This means using long-tail keywords, keyword variations, and other similar terms that may not be the exact keyword – but they match the user intent.
Prioritizing Keywords for Organic Search Success
This ultimately means Google recognizes our content serves its purpose regarding the intent and would rank our content high for not just one keyword but a certain number of keywords if, and only if, our content serves the intent of the user.
Let’s use one more example. This may be an even better example than the previous one. Many people use the medication Imodium as an at-home remedy to combat the painful symptoms of opioid withdrawal.
We’ll assume you’ve written an article on home remedies for withdrawal symptoms. Someone may search for the term:
“how much Imodium to take to eliminate hot and cold sweats”
Even if you don’t include keywords that directly address this issue, if you’ve done an excellent job of matching the intent of a user, it’s highly probable that Google looks upon your article favorably and ranks it high for this term because the algorithm is smart enough to know that your article likely serves the intent and answers the questions this user is looking for in a more efficient way than other websites.
Turning to Outside Sources for Keyword Help
Proprietary analytical processes can also help an SEO agency arrive at actionable data to help drive your campaign to the next level, but it doesn’t have to be cost-prohibitive.
This is why many people assume that your keyword research isn’t as important as it once was. The intelligence of the algorithm is smart, but not smart enough to neglect search engine optimization altogether.
You still must use an efficient SEO strategy to give the algorithm guidance, and this starts with using the right keyword research services to find the best long-tail keywords and associated keywords that will place our post on the search engine results pages (SERPS) that we desire.
Breaking Down the Keyword Research Process
This brings us to the steps of the actual keyword research process and how to efficiently use keyword research services. This is the bread and butter of your SEO strategy and the foundation of your success among the SERPs.
The keyword research process you use is heavily influenced by what your end goal is. Are you attempting to implement an SEO and content strategy that involves a pillar page and multiple supporting blog posts?
For the sake of simplicity, we’ll keep our example limited to a single blog post. We could write a whole book if we got into pillar pages, topic clusters, and supporting posts. Let’s stick with the same example and assume we’re looking to cover the topic of detoxing from opioids at home.
What Keyword Research Services are the Best?
This is probably one of the most frequently asked questions regarding keyword research. “What keyword research services should I use?” “Which keyword research services are the best?”
The truth is there is an overabundance of keyword research services. Many of them are top-tier tools, giving you a plethora of options for finding the most efficient terms with the most search volume.
What to Look for in Keyword Research Tools
When you research keywords, you want to use keyword tools that provide the following:
- Proper keyword analysis. Keyword analysis should include search volume (monthly search volume). This includes how many times this word is entered into a search engine each month. It should include how many different results appear for this keyword – or how many options a user has when they search for any given term. There should be a section that gives you other relevant keywords. This usually includes a collection of keywords that are found throughout other high-ranking articles WITH the keyword you’re researching.
- There should also be information regarding the competition. This includes how your competition ranks for the term you’re researching, along with other keywords they use and how they rank for them in the content that they’ve produced, along with how they rank for the term.
- Keyword difficulty is one of the most important metrics of all keyword research services. Different keyword research services use varying rating systems, but generally, it’s a number between 1 and 100, along with a color that places it within a certain range.
The First Stages of Keyword Research
Using your preferred keyword research services or tools, you’ll begin forming a list of similar keywords.
- Enter your primary keyword
- Select the function of your keyword research tools that locates similar keywords. It may even say “People Also Use,” “People Are Also Asking,” or something similar.
- Start listing groups of keywords that you believe match the intent of a user who would search for the keyword you’ve selected.
- Research the most frequently asked questions regarding your selected keyword. You don’t even need a research tool to help you come up with these questions. Using Google, you can find a section that reads, “People are also searching for…” or “People also ask….” This is vital for nailing down user intent.
Metrics to Look For
So what metrics are you looking for to satisfy your targeted keywords? The following list highlights the most important metrics when you’re looking for relevant keywords during your digital addiction treatment marketing strategy.
It’s worth noting the following list is written assuming that your website has a medium level of authority and ranks around pages 5 and 10 on Google and needs a push in certain areas to boost specific keywords to Page 1.
- You want a keyword difficulty somewhere ideally between 0 and 50. If the authority score of your website falls somewhere between 20 and 30, you can go after medium-difficulty keywords, but it would be best to avoid extremely difficult options until you receive a boost in authority.
- Ideally, you’d like the monthly search volume to be above 500. This isn’t concrete, and certainly, if you can snag words with a volume above 250 that have an extremely low difficulty rating, you should use them as well.
- In addition, you’d like to find keywords that have a large gap between you and the competition. What does this mean? Keyword research tells us about gap analysis, which is the difference between keywords you are ranking for and your competition isn’t (or vice versa). Look for keywords that maybe your competition has missed out on, or that they rank for but pay very little attention to.
What Comes Next?
After finding your primary keywords and similar variations you want to find your supporting search terms. These aren’t irrelevant keywords but instead phrases or words that support the topic or primary subject of your article.
These supporting keywords alert the algorithm to the structure and flow of your article, giving Google a better idea of exactly what your article is about and how to best serve those searching for specific terms.
The more robust and relevant your supporting keywords are, the higher the odds that you snag the traffic of the target demographic you’re after.
Using Your Seed Keywords to Plan Strategy
After choosing specific keywords it’s time to start implementing your strategy and place your search terms into your post or other content. It’s never a bad idea to use a program like Surfer, if for no other reason than the sole purpose of receiving some great supporting keywords.
These terms should be scattered throughout your article – how and when you use them isn’t as relevant as your primary keywords, so use your best judgment.
Your primary keyword(s) should be:
- Used in the H1 tag of your article
- Used in the Meta title and description of your article
- Used in at least one alt-description of your photos
- Used in AT LEAST one H2 of your article
- Used once in the opening paragraph, between 2 and 3 times throughout the body of the article, and once in the closing paragraph.
- Never use your primary keyword to link to other pages (especially outbound links)
Ads Up Marketing: Your Go-To Keyword Research Service
At Ads Up Marketing, one of our specialties is SEO and working with keyword strategies. We have a dedicated team in addition to a small army of partners we work with that we trust to handle your most important SEO and keyword requirements.
We’ll help you optimize your current content and create new website pages and blog posts to help propel you to the top of the SERPS. For more information, contact us, and let’s set up a call and schedule an audit of your current content.