Small businesses need to do keyword research for a number of reasons:
Keywords are the cornerstone of your SEO strategy
If you want your business to have any chance of being found in search engines on the internet, you need an SEO strategy, meaning knowledge of keywords. Keywords are literally the keys people use to pave the way to your business on the web. Through proper keyword research, you will know what your potential customers are searching for. Then, you can create content that will rank for those keywords and get in front of your customers in search engines.
Keywords highlight customer concerns
When you understand what your customers are looking for, you can better understand what they want and how to help them. This is where short-tail and long-tail keywords come into play. Short-tail keywords tend to have broader search results and higher search volume, which means a lot of people are searching for these terms. In SEO, that volume means there's a lot of competition to rank for these terms.
Long-tail keywords have lower search volume, but that means there's less competition to rank for these terms in search engines. Your SEO strategy should combine efforts to rank for both short and long-tail keywords, keeping in mind that long-tail keywords are more likely to be successful.
Continuing with the example, if you run a dog training company in Los Angeles, you'd assume users would type in keywords like “dog training in Los Angeles.” However, through research, you might find that users are also searching for “dog trainers specializing in Alaskan Malamutes in Los Angeles.” Users type in longer keywords because shorter keywords might not show results that best fit their needs. Knowing that potential customers are looking for Alaskan Malamute training experts allows you to tailor your content to them and make you stand out in search.
Keywords influence your entire marketing efforts
Once you know what kind of help your customers need, keywords start to guide you beyond your SEO strategy. Let's say your research tells you that your business could get a lot of attention if you could rank on page one of Google for the keyword “Alaskan Malamute dog trainer in Los Angeles.” You want to target that keyword heavily, so your marketing plan might look something like this:
- Execute a content creation plan to publish a blog about training Alaskan Malamutes using both that keyword and related keywords.
- Create a social media campaign to promote these blogs and your company’s expertise in training Alaskan Malamutes.
- Create a page on your website that explains how your company professionally trains Alaskan Malamutes.
- Collect and publish testimonials from clients whose Alaskan Malamutes have been trained by your staff.
- We will be publishing case studies of successful Alaskan Malamute clients.
There are many options for such plans, but it is clear that the right keywords will impact your marketing campaign and your overall investment.