Keyword Research for Your Business

Why is keyword research so important for your small business?  Nearly every single business owner I speak to regardless of the size of their business or their industry will always tell me they have the same goal.  To get their business discovered at the top of Google search results.  This is because Google search results are known to produce high quality traffic to a business website that has a higher chance of converting into a client.  This is because that user was literally searching for the product or service that you offer.

Though most business owners tell me this is a goal of their business, very few understand the many moving parts of search engine optimization and how a business gains the rankings on Google.  And fewer still understand the concept of keywords or how they relate to SEO or search results for their own business.

(Did you know Google uses over 200 known factors to rank a website??)

For sure as a business owner, you want to see your business name at the top of Google when you search for your business name.  However did you know that very few potential clients are actually searching for your business name?

Instead the search results are going to be for a product, service, or answer to a question.  This is where keyword research can really help you optimize your website (and social media) to gain more traffic from Google.  And remember more Google traffic will result in more leads, more clients more sales and ultimately more revenue and profit.

What is a Keyword

A Keyword is a word or a group of words that an internet user would type in to search for results.  Generally this would be in a search engine such as Google.  However it is important to note that keywords are also used in searches on social media platforms and can be relevant for hashtags also.  The important concept for a business owner to understand is what THEY think should be a keyword for their business is often NOT what a potential client would be searching for.  This is where keyword research becomes so important.

As an example I did quick research in one of the services that Dufferin Media provides - which is Logo Design.  I naturally assumed that "Logo Designer" would be a good keyword to include on my list, - but after researching this on Google Keyword Planner I discovered that the keyword "Logo Maker" actually has significantly more search volume.  In this case I would use both keywords - but now start including the word "maker" in my content plan.

What is Keyword Research

Keyword research in digital marketing is the exercise of creating a list of keywords that make sense for your business to be ranking for, usually on Google.  This task includes exploring what keywords you believe your business should be found for, vs what keywords your competition is ranking for, vs what keywords in your industry are getting more searches.  A keyword list might start off with 10 main words or phrases, and be expanded over time to include hundreds of search terms that you are trying to be ranked for.

How Do I Do Keyword Research for my Business

The best place to start off with keyword research is to

1. Find out what keywords your website is already ranked for.  Not sure - contact me I'd be happy to do a free SEO Audit
2. Make a short list of the keywords you believe your business should be ranked for.  So for example - the primary product or service you offer.  I suggest starting with 10 words or phrases.  For example a pet groomer may start with
   1. Pet groomer
   2. Dog groomer
   3. Cat groomer
   4. Pet grooming
   5. Dog nail trimming
   6. Dog nail clipping
3. Then use a keyword planning tool, I use Google Keyword Planner but there are many others.

When I type in "pet groomer" to the keyword planner it will show me results based on geographic location on what the average monthly searches are in my area for that keyword.  Even more exciting it will brainstorm a list of related keywords, which I can sort by "avg monthly searches" to find what other terms might be popular.  This allows me to find new keywords I might not have used yet to add to my list.  In my example I thought it was interested that "dog haircut" was a keyword I might consider.

What's Next - How to Make Use of Keywords

Now that you have a short list of keywords to start for your business you can strategically use these in your website content.  In your page structure, heading and title tags and in the content (text) of your pages.  Don't forget adding ALT text to all images.

Another quick win business strategy is to create blog posts with the keywords as the topic.  This allows you multiple opportunities to embed your keyword in your website content, plus Google loves blog posts - they are fresh unique content and get ranked quickly if structured correctly.

Another quick win is to use the top 5 in your social media profiles, bios and Google My Business.  Social Media Profiles are indexed by Google - giving you an additional way to have your business show up on search result pages.

Here is an example of a blog post we created for Dufferin Media to work on ranking for "Social Media Strategy"

So in closing, if you are a small business owner, and you have the goal to have your business ranking on the first page of Google, please take the time to educate yourself on what exactly that means, what SEO is, what Keyword Research is, what is technical SEO, what are backlinks, etc.  And of course I am always here to help and as I said would be happy to perform a FREE SEO AUDIT for you at anytime, just email [email protected] or contact me