Having the right keywords is the base of any effective search engine optimization effort. While great content is just as important as quality keywords, you can’t create quality content until you have the right keywords in place. What makes a good keyword? You want search phrases that will attract visitors to your site. In short, the best keywords have a high search volume and low competition. If you plan to use content to promote your website, you need to begin by researching the right keywords. This key step will help you bring much more relevant traffic to your site.
How to Get Started
Keyword research not only reveals which keywords are likely to attract visitors to your webpage, but it also highlights which ones are most likely to turn those visitors into new customers for your business. Understanding how to group keywords based on their conversion potential will enable you to create focused content that serves a purpose rather than just filling up space on the page.
Start by writing down a list of generic search terms—words or phrases that directly relate to your business. These will be your baseline keywords and will be a great place to build off of. You are going to use keyword research tools, either through your favorite online media manager, or through a target service, to expand your list. Then, you will narrow your list by competition.
In order to create your seed list, first think about your ideal patient. Is she a busy mother? A young professional? Children? Who your audience is will seriously affect what search terms you are going to use. Next, take a look at your website using Google Webmaster tools, to see what keywords your website already uses (even if they are only used unintentionally).
Websites like Soovie can provide you with some suggestions of other keywords to include, and it’s fairly easy to use. All you have to do is type in a keyword and it provides you with the “autocompletes” for that keyword. Utilize this a few times to make sure that you have a comprehensive list of keywords, and then use SpyFu and/or SEM Rush to see what keywords your competitors are using. Don’t spend too much time here or on Soovie, but do spend a little time.
The Best Terms
Finding the best terms for your website should not be difficult and the research itself should not take you months or even days. We have a few tips to help rein in your research and make sure that you are getting the best possible terms, not just a list of some keywords that you can use.
- Opt for branded terms. Don’t go generic. Pretend for a second, that you are a dentist. When people are looking for a dentist, they are looking for one in their area that has the services that they need. That means that search terms like “emergency root canal in Philadelphia” should not be passed up (if your office is based in Philadelphia). These terms are specific to your brand and the users that are searching for them are looking for a dentist right now. If your website is near the top of relevant results, you are far more likely to nab them as a patient.
- Organize your list. Start with the keywords that are most likely to convert a page view into a patient. Words like “emergency” and “new dentist” usually indicate that someone is looking for a dentist immediately. Carefully examine the keywords you’ve compiled and researched and sort them by topic, and then by conversion likelihood.
- Using the Google AdWords research tools, find how many people have searched for exactly those terms. There is nothing worse than using a keyword, one that you believed would draw in patients, and finding out that, after you’ve already designed content around it, no one is searching for that term. You can use AdWords’ tools to find out if anyone is even looking for your terms, before you implement them.
- Start with the keywords that seem most interesting to you. You are a consumer, just as much as a provider of services. The best (read: most useful) content will stem out of something you are truly interested in. Most people believe that they can write any content and stick the keywords in and it will draw site visitors. While this may be true (you may be able to get people to click on your link), you will not convert them into patients, which should always be the ultimate goal.
Why Bother with Keyword Research?
It seems much easier just to create a list of keywords (the keywords that you would use if you were searching for something dentistry related), and build content around those topics. And while this may work in a town where your office is the only one and the only point of having a webpage is so that online users can find you, keyword research is vitally important to dentists who have any kind of competition. You want to find the keywords that will not just get you at the top of the list, but will bring more focused users to your webpage.
Gone are the days were keywords cast a wide net, pulling in visitors from all over the internet. As a small business, you do not want all and sundry. You want visitors in your area who need your services. Keyword research helps you tailor the content of your webpage to that end.