What Is Keyword Research And How Does This Help your SEO Strategy?

Keyword research is a procedure that includes the analysis and finding of the actual search terms that a user uses in the search engines to look for relevant information. The insights obtained with the actual search terminologies helps to make an updated content strategy along with a well-defined marketing strategy.

The evolving paradigm of SEO

SEO has evolved considerably during the past ten years, and with the right technique, keywords can be ranked for the searches with well-directed efforts. Ever since SEO has been established, keyword research is a major part of it. Strategies for keyword research have changed and advanced with the passage of time. As Google Algorithm keeps updating, so do the trends of SEO. However, the importance they possess hasn’t changed and isn’t likely to change in the near future.

What is a keyword?

A keyword is a word or any phrase that is a part of the content, used primarily for its optimization during the search process. The goal of using a keyword is to increase traffic and rank higher on the search engine pages.

What is a keyword search?

It is the procedure to find the best possible and most relevant keywords for including in the content. The creation of the right keyword plan with appropriate keyword research and its positioning is vital for improving the search engine ranking to make the content visible for the right audience.

Various online and offline, paid and free tools are available for keyword research. They use varied criterion for coming up with the best keywords; for instance, search volume, competition, length, etc.

Why is keyword research important for SEO?

Keywords are the questions, terms, and phrases that users enter in the search engine bar. The type of keywords added inside the content and the way they are added help Google understand the type of queries to rank that content for. This is the major purpose of keyword research and analysis because it lets you target the actual audience for the content.

How to use keywords for better SEO strategy?

Search Engine Optimization Keywords are the phrases and keywords of a website content, which makes it easy for users to reach a website while using search engines. A well-optimized site for the search engine works in the same way for the possible visitors to the website. Search engines and users both need to find your content useful for the keyword that you are aiming to rank for.

You also need to see how users look for the kind of products or services you offer and search for this kind of information. This could help you to make it easy for your target market to route to your website. There is a chance that they might land on any other page existing among the thousands just like yours on Google. With keywords SEO implementation on your site, there are higher chances of ranking above the competitors.

A list of well-researched keywords can be a very helpful step for your SEO initiative. Search Engine Optimization and keywords are closely linked when the task is to organize a successful search marketing drive. Keywords serve as the foundation for all forms of SEO efforts. Invest time and effort for ascertaining that the SEO keywords are related to the audience and effectually organized for every action. To pick the right SEO keywords is a complicated procedure that involves error as well as trial. You should experiment with various keywords and be ready to change your keyword strategy, as needed. You need to research what customers are looking for to rank yourself on search engine results.

 

How do keywords help SEO strategy?

Keywords help the SEO strategy to see what are their competitors ranking for. Because chances are the competitors might have already performed a keyword research work. This way, you can research the keywords that they have already ranked for you and choose the best ones. If you don’t have any idea about the competitors, you can put the seed keywords in Google to see who ranks at the front page.

Helps to understand the keyword metrics

While performing the strategies mentioned above, you can find thousands of ideas for keywords and try to decide which one should be shortlisted. This will help you in separating relevant keywords from unimportant ones with some cool keywords metrics for consideration.

Search volume

The search volume shows the overall search demand for a specific keyword. For instance, how many times people from around the world or any particular country have used this key term in Google search. Most of the keywords search tools pull the number of their search volume from Google AdWords that was regarded for a long time as a trusted source of data.

Keywords according to competitors

You will most probably compile different keywords, but you will be confused about which one to tackle first? It could be a fantastic idea to rank high volume keywords that competitors might not be targeting for now. With thorough research, you would also come to know which keywords from the list your competitors have already ranked for and prioritized.

It is a great time to take advantage of the previous opportunities that competitors have missed. Alternately, you can opt for an aggressive strategy that differentiates you and helps you to compete for keywords that competitors have not worked upon, giving you higher chances of performing better.

Keywords categorized by season

Keep the seasonal trends to reap the maximum benefits of the SEO strategy for your content. For instance, you are well aware that Christmas related keywords are most prevalent from October till December. accordingly, you can research your keywords in advance and create the content months early and promote it during these months.

Region-wise assorted keywords

With keywords by region, you can usefully target a particular location while picking relevant keyword searches for specific areas, states, and regions in the google keyword planner. This will help you to evaluate interest in Google trends according to sub-region.

The geographical research could help in making the content more applicable for the targeted audience. Such as, you may find that the terms used for a large truck in Texas is “big rig” whereas the preferred terminology for the same word is “tractor trailer” in New York.

How do keywords help in search volume?

When you have the related search terms for your website and their matching search volumes, you can be more strategic while looking at the competitors to figure out how the search results will differ according to location and region.

Use your keyword research to take your SEO strategy to the new level. Be ready to adapt and change the strategy as needed.

Contact us now for a free SEO audit.

What is SEO for Images and How can I Rank Higher on Google Images?

In today’s digitized world, everything seems just a click away. Do you want to start ranking higher for your IT service businesses? Just head on to your computer and let the internet-driven market help you out. However, the real challenges come when you are expecting them the least.

Manging the digital marketing for an IT service businesses may sound simple and easy, but running it is definitely not everyone’s cup of tea. The first thing you need for that is the right content and then, the right kind of audience for your content. Now, let’s say you hired some content creators, and the first problem is solved, but then again, what about the audience? You can’t bring traffic to your site or content by investing a sum of money. To solve your problem and to give you a little heads up on SEO of images for IT service businesses, we have prepared a list of our suggestions. Using these actionable tips, you can make sure your pictures rank higher in Google images, which ultimately means more traffic to your website.

How to improve the ranking of images on Google?

Here are six ways of escalating your ranking that you might find helpful for your IT service business:

1. Name Your Image Files Specifically:

Many times, people don’t customize their image file names according to the product description, and that is where they make the biggest mistake. Images are named “IMG_1234” by default. If you post them as they are, they will not attract any traffic towards them. In a nutshell, there is no point in displaying an image for an IT business if you don’t get specific while naming the image file.

For instance, if you are posting a picture of software that you want to sell, and you simply name it “app04_334.1”, it is most likely to get lost in a sea of billions of images. That is why it is best to be as precise as possible. On the other hand, if you name your software as “invoicing_software”, Google search engines, as well as your audience will know the exact description of your product.

It will also help the search engine to categorize it correctly and display it for other related searches too. Believe it or not, but file names are one of the main factors considered while ranking an image. It was clearly stated in the 2018 update regarding image guidelines.  

2. State your image dimensions:

Defining dimensions has a lot of benefits and is therefore, highly recommended for SEO of pictures. According to experts, stating dimensions for your image gives a sense of professionalism which really enhances your impression.

Secondly, mentioning the width and height of your image also results in a better user experience. It even helps the browsers in sizing up the image. In addition to that, if you are an AMP or PWAs user, you are required to mention image dimensions for whatever you post in the source code.

3. Create responsive images:

This might sound a little vague but it is definitely one of the most important things that you need to consider and do your research. Creating responsive images means that you make your images mobile SEO friendly. Now, you might be thinking how are you supposed to do that? Well, it’s no rocket science to be honest.

All you need to do is make the image scale adjustable so that it changes its size according to the users’ device, whether they are using a laptop, mobile phone, or any other device.

4. Make sure your alt text is SEO friendly:

Alt text is a small piece of description that you give for your Google image. It helps search engines in identifying what category of content your image belongs to. These small descriptions also help the visually impaired audience who use screen readers.

 

Also, when your picture doesn’t load, the alt text appears in the image box, which lets the user know what the picture is about, and hence, it is considered user friendly. Apart from its other benefits, alt tags are also advantageous for your overall on-page SEO strategy. Even if all your other optimization areas are on-point, but you don’t have an appropriate alt tag, you might be in trouble!

5. Give your best when creating content:

Have you ever heard the famous phrase ‘quality over quantity’?  Well, we believe it was made for this internet-driven world since quality and authenticity definitely comes first. Search engines highly discourage plagiarism.

In the ‘image best practices’ help file, Google stated: “pages, where neither the images or the text are original content”, are not considered very valuable. Therefore, make it your first and foremost priority to take your own pictures and write your own content before uploading it; otherwise, be ready to not get noticed.

 However, if, for some reason, you are unable to capture your own shots and have no other option but to use someone else’s images, do not forget to give them their credits. You cannot take away someone’s well-deserved credits; you must respect copyrights to avoid any penalty from the search engine.

6. Don’t forget your keywords:

It’s always the little things that count. And in this case, the ‘little things’ are keywords. You want to make sure you choose the right kind of keywords and then create written content along with images around it. These keywords play a major role in search engine optimization and can actually increase your site traffic by up to 50% if used properly. When you are writing your image descriptions, alt texts, image file names, make sure you adjust a keyword there to make your content pop up on the top and bring as much traffic to it as possible.

Ranking on top of Google images is not easy and you probably know that very well by now. However, it is not impossible either, and if everyone else can do it, you can do it too. Hopefully, our tips helped you out, and now you know where to start and what things to consider before uploading an image. Use the e-world wisely, and you’ll be surprised by the opportunities that await you!

Contact us now for a free SEO audit.