Did you know that 95% of Internet users will not search past the first page of Google results? If your website doesn’t rank among the top 10 results for the target keywords, it likely won’t be visited by many people.
So how can you increase your search ranking and traffic to your website? Search engine optimization (SEO).
SEO is a process that optimizes your website for all of the Google-recommended qualities, thus promoting it higher in search results rankings. Keyword implementation is the core of SEO and is crucial to getting your site ranked at the top of search results pages.
Process for Creating & Checking Keywords for Rank
Begin with keyword research
First, it’s time for you to search for keywords that you want to use. You can do this in several ways. You can start by choosing a term relevant to your industry and then type it into Google’s search bar. Next, check out the Google Autocomplete results. These results will give you an idea of the keywords and phrases people search for related to your industry. You can then use these results to build your target keywords. Each keyword may lead to additional suggestions depending on the initial words or phrases.
Reduce your keyword list
After you have collected enough results from keyword research, begin to narrow your keyword search. You want to rank for keywords by choosing phrases relevant to your business, high in search volume and low in competition. For example, you might start your search by searching for terms related to the products you sell. If you’re a cafe owner, you might search for keywords related to what you sell, like “coffee.” But you don’t want to use all the related keywords you find.
Broader, shorter-tail keywords are more competitive, making ranking high in search results difficult. To reach the top, you need to be the expert in your field. Instead of searching for generic keywords, consider using long-tail keywords such as “buy Colombian coffee near me.” Not only are they more common, but they take into account search intent to find more specific phrases.
Consider search intent for keywords
To truly understand keyword rankings, you must understand search intent. Why are people searching for this keyword? When you’ve decided which keywords you’re targeting, think about why people search for them.
If you want to target “Colombian coffee connoisseurs,” don’t focus on your iced frappe drinks. Instead, they want to know where they can purchase Colombian coffee, so your call to action (CTA) should direct customers to your products page.
Find out the keywords and content of your competitors
You might come up with some great content after doing your keyword research. But, it’s not enough to just have good content. You must have more content than your competitors or better-optimized material. You can check out the current ranking of your keywords to ensure your content is on top.
Implement good on-page SEO strategies
Although this post focuses on keywords, it doesn’t mean that you should ignore the other aspects of SEO. SEO is a broad concept that includes understanding how keywords rank. Use as many SEO best practices when writing your content. Meta descriptions and title tags should be catchy and keyword-optimized. Use lists and headings to organize your content. Ensure that your content is relevant to search intent and valuable for users.
Develop a solid web design
Your website is the most important place for keyword integration. Make sure you have SEO optimized. Even if you have the best keyword integration, it won’t matter if your site is poorly designed. Good web design is a lot of work. However, it’s essential to make sure that everything is designed in a way that attracts users and makes them want to stay.
Additionally, you must ensure that your page loads quickly so users don’t leave before it finishes loading. Also, ensure that the page is as attractive as possible. The elements necessary to create a clean web design can make a big difference in the overall appearance of your website.
Create high-authority backlinks for your content
You don’t just need to do on-page SEO to ensure you rank for keywords. Off-page SEO is equally important and involves establishing connections with other websites and getting them to link back to your content. You can also promote content through social media. For example, Google trusts sites with more links to their content and will rank them higher for keywords.
Analyze keyword rankings
Your job is not done once your content has been published and ranked in search results; you need to measure the results to see your content’s success and which elements work well for you.
This task is possible with the help of many tools. For example, use Google Keyword Planner for keyword research and Google Analytics to determine their impact on your website. Analytics allows you to track the user traffic to your pages and see their effectiveness.
Turn to Merrimack Digital!
Understanding the importance of keywords and how to rank for them in search results is integral to your digital marketing efforts. However, there are plenty of nuances to keywords, and SEO as a whole, beyond this list.
The good news is that the experienced digital marketing team at Merrimack Digital has your back! Don’t miss out on the variety of digital marketing opportunities for your brand! Contact Merrimack Digital today to help do your marketing the right way.
Sources:
https://moz.com/how-to-rank
