SEO Articles

Search Engine Optimization Success by Developing a Master Keyword List For Your Industry

Target the right keywords for your business and see your traffic increase and your conversions improve. How big is your keyword list and where do you rank for those keywords on the major search engines? If you're unable to answer that question you are leaving money on the table.

One of the things a business can do to grow in stagnant times is take full advantage of your Internet presence. People are continuing to use the search engines to find products and services in very high numbers. Every business should know what keywords describe their business and where they rank on the major search engines.

The first step in developing a master keyword list for your business is to understand your target market or ideal audience. Instead of guessing what people are searching for, like most companies, you need to let the search data tell you what they’re typing in the search engines. There are many ways to uncover this data and it’s a step that must be performed if your business is to thrive against the competition.

First, start by asking:

• What exactly do you want to achieve through your website?
• Who is it you’re targeting?
• What it is they want?
• What do you want them to do when they get to your specific web pages?
• What are the core problems your product and service solves?

Depending upon the number of products and services you offer this will vary from page to page.

Take the time to develop a master list of possible search terms that your target audience may be using. You can calculate the approximate number of actual searches that are being carried out on the major search engines for each keyword term using keyword tools. You will want to choose the keyword phrases with the highest search volume but with the lowest competition. This is where data mining using keyword tools is the most helpful. Finding and optimizing for the long tail keywords (phrases with more than 3 words) in your industry tend to be more targeted, convert better and easier to rank for than general keywords.

• What is your location and does this play a role in your keyword targeting?
• List out your geographic target areas as you build your keyword list to get the most out of local search.
• You’ll want to use variations of the keywords along with both the singular and plural forms when developing your master keyword list.
• Research industry media, online forums, blogs and news sites for words you may have missed.
• Examine top search result listings and their metadata for additional words.
• You will also want to review your current website statistics to see what terms your audience is currently using to find you.

Check your keyword rankings on a monthly basis and make tweaks to your website and link building campaigns to improve the keywords not ranking in the top 10 result listings. If you happen to be spending money on PPC (pay per click), having better organic rankings can also lead to lower PPC costs. You can have hundreds, even thousands of keywords in your master list. The time invested in achieving top search engine rankings in the free result listings for your master keyword list will be well worth it when business starts coming directly to you without any further effort on your part.

Target the right keywords for your business and see your traffic increase and your conversions improve. How big is your keyword list and where do you rank for those keywords on the major search engines? If you're unable to answer that question you are leaving money on the table.

For more information on keyword research tactics and professional SEO services please feel free to call us at (610) 768-0357. Get your website reviewed for SEO and get your in-depth keyword analysis today.