Comprehensive Key Phrase and Topic Research Can Make You More Competitive
Key phrases are the search strings people type into search engines, like Google, when they’re looking for something on the Internet.
In the early days of the web, search was simpler and people more often searched using single words.
Over time, however, linguistic patterns related to search have changed. Today, people are much more likely to search the web using key phrases, sentences, and questions!
ComScore says:
“By 2020, 50 percent of all searches will be voice searches”
If you want to be found, you need help managing your keyword phrase choices and placement in a way that aligns with current search patterns.
Is your website only optimized for the high-value bottom of the funnel phrases like these?
“your service + your location” Or “Your product names and variations”
If so, you miss out when customers search using long tail key phrases, but also when they ask a question by speaking to a phone or voice assistant, like Amazon Alexa or Google Home.
“Keywords are dead” – long live keywords, but add topic optimization
Keywords are not dead, rather, they have evolved with artificial intelligence / big data. Google Rankbrain can sort out what your site should rank for in ways we never dreamed of in the 1990s.
In order to be fully optimized, you need to build topical authority through volumes of content on your most important topical areas.
We use a variety of tools to get the cold hard facts on not just the keywords but concepts you need to write about. That is, if you want to be top five in Google, where 67% of searches are.
Here is just one example of a topic research mindmap.
Search engines use crazy stuff like topic analysis and advanced keywords analysis — not just how many times your keyboard is on a page (keyword density).
If you want to really dig deep, check out the idea of TF-IDF and you will see just how sophisticated search engines have become at looking at your page in relation to the other pages on the web.
TF-IDF illustration from MOZ
And just for fun, here is the type of thing you might see on the whiteboards at Google, in regard to TF-IDF:
Now back to planet earth. On a more practical level, we also look at your site versus competitors to see what they rank for that you do not, and how they are doing for the top keywords by most expensive in Google ads.
So what can all this do for your visibility?
Choosing the right key phrases is vital when it comes to search engine visibility, and it can’t be done on instinct alone.
The wrong keyword phrases — those that don’t match up with what people are searching for or are overly competitive — will do nothing to help your site’s rank.
The team at McDougall Interactive spends hours researching the exact key phrases and topics that will increase our clients’ visibility using several of the best tools available.
We will break key phrases and content out by stages of the “buyer’s journey”. This means we will get you ranking when customers are searching for information, looking for comparisons of the best options, and finally for when they are at the bottom of the funnel and are searching to buy or hire someone.
The Results of Key Phrase Analysis and Key Phrase Research
The lists of keywords and topics we create are used to assess what opportunities exist for generating traffic and to create a content development plan.
In the on-page adjustment phase, we make an exact map of the terms we will be targeting (phrases per page map).
In this document, we list the pages where the terms will go as well as a list of suggested file names, title and meta tags, code adjustments, and new page suggestions (made into a topic cluster map).
What to do next if you want help with key phrase and topic research
Fill out of FREE strategy session form or contact us now at 978-750-8000. We will get you up to speed quickly and do it right.
Our Search Services
SEO | Tech SEO | On Page SEO | Keyphrase & Topic Research | Branding for SEO | UX & User Signals | Local SEO | Link Building | Bad Link Removal | Paid Search
Google Adwords
Certified Partner
IAC Award
Winner
Market Motive
Certified Partner
HubSpot
Certified Partner
