While keyword research is a vital component of any good SEO campaign, it is easy to get tripped up and snared in the trap of time-wasting search and evaluation techniques that take something challenging and fun and turn it into something that’s just this side of terribly dull.
Keyword research supports just about every aspect of a brand’s online activity in one way or another. It offers insight, produces lots of data to play with, and there are many ways of going about it making the research process itself very flexible and rewarding for those who know how to go about it.
Making Your Keyword Research More Efficient
There are ways to make your keyword research more efficient, thereby giving you more time to work with the resulting data and get more accomplished in less time than it would have taken with more inefficient methods. Working smarter versus working harder…I can definitely see which option I prefer!
Make your keyword research more efficient by:
- Identifying the type of device being used – Knowing what type of device users are viewing your website through can help you target different audiences more accurately and waste less time performing more broad-spectrum research.
- Use your research tool’s options or filters (if available) – For example, Google’s keyword research tool allows users to customize their search criteria through the use of customizable filter settings. Utilizing these options when available can save you from having to muddle through results you don’t really need just to get to the ones that you’re looking for.
- Avoid broad match type searches – Broad match searches will show you everything related to the keyword you have used to begin the search. This type of search can be problematic because it will return a broad range of data, some of which you might not need. Instead, opt for phrase match or exact match searches to gauge a particular keyword’s influence and impact.
- See what keywords other brands in your niche are using – One way to cut your research time down to size is to analyze what keywords other brands in your niche are using and align this data with your own research. Who knows, you might be able to target more efficiently just by weeding out the keywords that just don’t suit your niche after all.
What Do You Think?
What type of action does your brand prefer to take when performing keyword research? Do you go from broad to specific, specific to broad, or do you attack this sometimes tricky process from a totally different angle?