Keyword research is an integral component of any well-planned SEM strategy.
What Is Keyword Research?
Keyword research is conducted to gain insight into the search engine volume, ranking difficulty, and CPC for particular queries into search engines.
For example, you may want to know the keyword volume for “steak dinner” if you were a local steakhouse considering an online advertising or SEO campaign. In fact, you would probably want to know the search volume for every item on your menu. This type of data can then be cross-referenced with the profit margins on those menu items to make informed marketing decisions.
Competitor Keyword Analysis
Competitor keyword analysis is used to gain insight into the keywords that your competition is attempting to rank for both organically (using SEO) and with advertisement (using paid search). This is essentially conducting all types of keyword research on your competition.
Types of Keyword Research
Keyword Search Volume
Keyword search volume is a measure of the number of queries for a particular keyword over a particular period of time, usually a month.
Keyword Difficulty
Keyword difficulty is a measure of how difficult it will be to rank organically for a particular keyword in a particular market.
Keyword CPC
Keyword CPC is a measure of how much it will cost to be ranked in paid search results for a particular keyword in a particular market.
Applications of Keyword Research
Digital Marketing Investment Analysis
Example: CPC + Keyword Difficulty
Comparing keyword CPC to expected keyword difficulty (and your site’s current organic rankings) is an excellent way to discern which is a more appropriate tactic to invest in, between SEO and paid search efforts, for your digital marketing strategy.
SEO Content Planning
Example: Keyword Difficulty + Keyword Search Volume
Cross-referencing your site’s current rankings with keyword difficulty and keyword search volume can help you produce informed decisions about the keywords you should be incorporating into your content.
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