Tip 1: Define the purpose and target audience of your website
First, determine exactly what you want to achieve with your website and who you want to reach. Do you want to sell products? Do you want to provide visitors with more information? Or do you mainly want to improve communication with your existing customers? Your site’s purpose and target audience play a role in finding the right keywords. So make sure you have a clear picture of these before you dive into keyword research.
There are various search intentions, for example.
- Buy
The website visitor’s goal or intention is to actually purchase a product or service. In this case, you’ll use transactional keywords such as “buy black shoes size 39.” Capitalize on this by immediately showcasing your products on a landing page so the visitor can make a purchase with a single click.
- Knowledge
Website visitors sometimes look for additional information about a specific topic, product, or service. Consider “cold symptoms,” for example. It’s a good idea to write a blog post on your website using such informative keywords related to your industry. This way, visitors will find their way to your site through that blog post.
- Navigation
Consumers use navigational keywords to find their way to a specific site online. For example, they type in “Instagram” or “Facebook” to visit those sites. When they type in your company name, they should find (one of the pages on) your website.
Tip 2: Focus on long-tail keywords
You sell swimming pools and want your website to help people enjoy water fun. You check the keyword “buy a swimming pool” in a tool. This term is searched more than 20,000 times a month. Perfect! Your swimming pools will fly off the shelves like hotcakes.
But that’s not how it works. Because the search volume is so high, competition for this keyword is fierce. The chance that you’ll appear on the first page of Google is virtually zero. Avoid short-tail keywords: terms with high search volume and intense competition. Focus on so-called long-tail keywords: search terms consisting of multiple words. Think of “buy round swimming pool” or “buy inflatable swimming pool.”
This way, the user knows exactly what they’re looking for, making it much more likely that they’ll actually add a pool to their shopping cart. Because long-tail keywords are the rule rather than the exception. The
Search Demand Curve A study by SeoMoz and Experian shows that over 70% of all search queries consist of long-tail keywords.
Make sure to include your long-tail keyword throughout your website. Incorporate it into titles, body text, and your meta titles and descriptions. But be careful: don’t overdo it. We’ll explain more about that later.
Tip 3: Take a look at the competition
Take a look behind the scenes at your competitors’ SEO. Using various tools, you can analyze your rival’s website and find out which keywords are driving traffic to it. This can serve as inspiration for your own keyword research. It also helps you identify which keywords face intense competition, so you know to look for alternatives. Otherwise, it takes a lot of time and effort to rank well for that particular keyword.
Tip 4: Use tools
Google can go a long way in helping you find the right keywords. When you type in a keyword, the search engine itself suggests a whole list of related keywords. But to determine the exact search volume and competition for keywords, it’s a good idea to use a tool. Consider
Google Ads,
Ubersuggest or
SERanking. In addition, these tools allow you to track the growth of your online visibility based on your keywords.
Some of these tools are free to use, while others require a fee. However, strong keywords are essential for your website’s discoverability. That’s why investing in one of these tools is definitely a smart move.
Tip 5: Don't stuff your content with keywords
Do you have a list of strong keywords written down? Then it’s time to incorporate them into your web content—by repeating them as often as possible. Wrong. That’s not how it works. If you repeat the keyword in every sentence, Google will quickly see through your intentions. And the search engine will penalize you by banishing your website to page fifty. Incorporate the keyword regularly into your headings, body text, and alt tags, but don’t overdo it.
Leave finding those keywords to us
Are you feeling a bit lost in the world of keywords and search engines? We’d be happy to take care of that for you. Hire us for a comprehensive keyword analysis. Is your entire website in need of a refresh? We’ll develop the keyword strategy and incorporate it into your brand-new website. And tips on what you should definitely avoid doing with your SEO? Those
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