Whatever you do in life, it is critical to have a good plan. The same applies to search engine optimization. Keyword planning is a vital factor in your website’s SEO success.
If you want to learn more about how to conduct proper keyword planning, you’ve come to the right place. Here is what you need to know about this process!
What You Should Know About Keyword Planning
Keyword planning relies on researching your keywords and choosing them based on your website’s industry and other specifics. Everything comes down to analyzing what people search for on Google and other platforms, and how it can be related to your website and niche.
Researching keywords helps you to pick the right terms to target, but it can also provide more info about the popularity of those queries. It will also reveal how hard it is to rank for particular keywords, and whether it would be easy to rank your website on the first page of Google.
Why do you even need a keyword planner for SEO? Here are several quick reasons why keyword planning is imperative:
- Increase engagement – picking the right keywords will ensure that more people head to your website. That also has the odds of increasing conversion.
- Follow marketing trends – check out the metrics and see what keywords/products/services are trending. You can tailor your strategy to accommodate the industry trends and take your website forward.
- Focus on the right keywords – you won’t waste time ranking for keywords that might not be relevant to your business.
- Learn about the competition – analyze your competitors and tailor your strategy based on what they are doing.
How to Conduct Keyword Planning for Your Business
If you could appreciate some guidance for keyword planning, we tried to explain the entire process in separate steps. Here is how to conduct the planning process tailored to your business.
Step 1: Prepare Relevant Topics Tailored to Your Website
The first thing you should do is to prepare topics related to your business. For example, let’s say that you want to open a bakery.
Here are some categories related to your bakery business:
- Fresh bread
- Pastries
- Sweets and desserts
- Healthy food
- Beverages
- Catering
These are only suggestions, which is why you should feel free to change them. While designing categories, put yourself in the role of a potential website visitor. Why would they come to your website, and what terms would they search for your site to be relevant?
You can also use SEO tools when gathering ideas about potential topic categories. The statistics that talk about monthly search volume can show you which topics are more important. For example, more customers might have searched for “catering for parties” than “beverages,” which means the former deserves more attention.
Step 2: Find Suitable Keywords
It is now time to look for suitable keywords. That is also where you want to rely on keyword research tools. They all use the same working process – you enter the topic category and wait for keyword suggestions.
Here are some examples:
- Fresh bread – “bread in CITY,” “fresh bread 24/7,” “where to buy bread on Sunday,” etc.
- Catering – “pastry catering for business events,” “birthday pastry catering,” “catering for large events,” etc.
- Sweets and desserts – “cake in CITY,” “fruit pies near me,” “sweet pastries,” etc.
Step 3: Identify the Search Intent
You want to rank for the terms that people search for, but it is critical to consider relevance. That is why considering search intent becomes imperative. The intent is why users are searching for a particular term. For example, they are searching “birthday pastry catering” because they want to surprise coworkers for their birthdays.
While the bakery is focused on selling, you might be launching an informative website focused on providing useful content. That is why it is crucial to tailor the keywords to the user’s intent.
Here are some common search intents:
- The user wants to buy something in a store nearby.
- The searches are aimed at finding out if a store exists in a specific area.
- The user has a specific question, and they want an accurate answer to it.
Based on this, you can start creating long-tail keywords. You can search for the basic keywords and then check Google’s suggestions based on those. For example, “cake in CITY” is more general than “fruit cake in NEIGHBORHOOD.” The second one will ensure a more relevant audience sees your website.
You shouldn’t forget the competitor analysis. It tells you more about the competitor’s websites, which should reveal how hard it is to rank for a particular term. The statistical information on your competition will help you find your way to the top faster.
Why You Should Use Google Keyword Planning Tool
Google recently launched a new keyword planner, which offers even more useful features to its users. The idea was to ensure easier navigation, especially for newbies who don’t have much experience with these tools.
It is now possible to access the desired statistics in a couple of clicks. You can see mobile searches to focus on what people look for when using mobile devices. The tool will also give you estimations on the performance of your CPC ad campaigns.
Google Keyword Planning tool has two essential functions with numerous options available:
- Find keywords
- Receive search volume and prognosis
You want to start by identifying suitable keywords for your website. This tool is simple to use as all you need to do is enter a phrase or term related to your site or industry. Based on the provided information, Google will provide the suggested keywords.
For example, if you enter “bakery,” you might get “healthy bread near me,” “hot pastries,” “bakery open 24/7,” etc. Apart from the actual keywords, you will also receive an average quantity of monthly searches for that term and how fierce the competition for ranking that term is.
Once you finish your keyword planner search for new keywords, you can head to forecasts and estimated search volumes. These statistics will show you the impressions and clicks you can expect, as well as the estimated cost for the success of that campaign. It helps if you check out the historical metrics since you can see how popular that term was in the last year.
Overall, Google Keyword Planner is an easy and accessible tool that you can rely on during the SEO process and preparing advertising campaigns. You can pick from a range of other tools and apps, which means it all comes down to your preference. The best advice we can give you is to take things slowly and come up with an SEO strategy based on facts and verified data. It is the best way to ensure your campaigns will give the best possible results!