Keywords play an extraordinarily big part in every SEO campaign. Bad keyword selection can cause an entire plan to fail. Good keyword placement can be the source of success. Keyword research comes at the beginning of most search engine optimization campaigns, but it also comes into play in later stages.
The difficult thing about keywords is that they seem so small. The temptation with search engine optimization is often to look at the big picture. The aim is to get your pages to a decent place in the search engine results pages. Certainly, there are a lot of little tasks required along the way, but once these are completed, the focus can be expanded to encompass the entire campaign.
It’s very easy to forget that the search engine game essentially involves every page for itself. That means that even after the initial optimization, every keyword is drawing in results on its own. For effective analysis, it’s important to stay focused on the effect of individual keywords, and to remain aware of the importance of every word chosen.
Selecting the right keywords and keeping track of them throughout your campaign takes up a large portion of optimisation resources. As well as tracking individual keywords after implementation, it’s important to:
- Take time in the keyword research stages. Very few companies use their full resources when researching keywords for their SEO campaign. Companies tend to either work on their own list, or use the resources of their search engine optimisation company. Although your SEO firm will be able to provide a thorough list, it’s a good idea to consult your staff and other internal resources for possible terms. Customer feedback can also provide a valuable clue. A company that is in the position of whittling down its keyword list is in a better place than a company still searching for the right keywords.
- Don’t ignore your minor keywords. Just because a keyword is in a low-competition area doesn’t mean that it isn’t worth pursuing. Concentrating your efforts only on your main, high-competition keywords could mean you’re missing out on the major traffic sources you could have easily. A high-competition keyword might be the source of 500,000 searches each day, but if competition is so tough you only appear on the sixth page, your efforts are being wasted. Being top in a keyword with 10,000 searches might net you more traffic in the end. Talk to our team at SEO Consult Australia about choosing your keywords competitively.
- Be flexible. Your main keywords might not be what you expect. If you’re using the services of a professional SEO company, it’s important to listen to their experience.
- Don’t be afraid to change. Keyword research isn’t fail-safe. Sometimes, the words chosen for a campaign just aren’t the right ones. Holding onto this part of an optimisation campaign is not going to get you anywhere. If the results coming in a few weeks after the campaign has been implemented aren’t what were expected, it could be time to try something else.
