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Abstract

d tools analyze and present search volume per month.</p><p id="0daa">If you are just starting, you also want a keyword that is not too difficult or competitive. The competitiveness of a keyword or measurement of how competitive it is to rank for a keyword is called the search difficulty. Keyword tools often rank search difficulty with a number and a label such as low, medium, high or easy, medium, difficult.</p><p id="c0d3">So the right keyword is one that accurately reflects the information in your post but is balanced between high search volume and low or easy search difficulty.</p><h2 id="bd6f">Next, analyze the search engine results page (SERP)</h2><p id="0f6d">Once you choose your focus, this is your initial keyword — type it in your Google search bar and look at the search results on the page that comes up.</p><p id="7a0f">If you’ve never really analyzed a SERP before now, take a moment to review the <a href="https://readmedium.com/seo-basics-what-you-must-understand-to-get-your-content-seen-even-if-you-know-nothing-about-it-b10c7f950ddf">SEO Basics: What You Must Understand to Get Your Content Seen Even if You Know Nothing About It</a>. You need to know what you’re looking at before you go any further.</p><p id="7e1c">When you analyze the Google SERP for your keyword, make note of the following things:</p><ul><li>How many search results are there?</li><li>Are there any sponsored links (ads)? Which companies or brands?</li><li>What link is first? Which keyword phrase is in the URL? The title? Which website or company holds that first spot?</li><li>Is there a featured snippet or a People Ask box on the page? Which keywords are in those titles or URLs?</li><li>Are there other rich snippets? Which ones?</li><li>Peruse the links “above the fold” typically the first three to five you can see without having to scroll down at all.</li><li>Is there a “related to” rich snippet box? What brands or companies are listed there?</li><li>Which words or phrases are at the bottom in the “searches related to” section?</li></ul><p id="05d3">Doing this initial analysis gives you a pretty good list of words and phrases related to that initial focus word. It also tells you which keywords and content Google finds most relevant. You may need to use this info later to adjust your initial keyword.</p><h2 id="cd88">Evaluate keyword competitiveness</h2><p id="5510">Next, evaluate the search volume and the competitiveness or difficulty for your keyword phrase.</p><p id="76ef">I can tell you that if that top link is Microsoft, Hubspot, or another big name company or guru, odds are against you getting that top spot. If there’s a sponsored ad, you won’t get that 1st spot — because that company or individual paid to be there for that keyword.</p><p id="eb05">The good news is you can adjust your initial keyword to something less competitive. You can make adjustments before you write your post or even once it’s complete as long as the keyword still accurately reflects the content of your post. Sometimes just a little tweak can improve the odds of getting your content seen by the right audience.</p><h2 id="d02c">Keyword Adjustment</h2><p id="189f">If your initial keyword is not popular or is too competitive, review the list of words, phrases, and titles you made during your SERP analysis. Choose a new keywo

Options

rd phrase, it can include related words or be a combination of words that still fits the core focus of your post.</p><p id="cea8">Put your new tweaked keyword into a Google search and analyze that page. Is it any better?</p><ul><li>Are there fewer search results?</li><li>Is that number 1 spot still taken by a sponsored ad?</li><li>Are the first 3 to 5 links still big-name companies or industry gurus?</li></ul><p id="e9c6">If so, you can repeat the process with a newly adjusted keyword after analyzing the 2nd page.</p><p id="f4ef">Or you can take advantage of technology to get a little more technical in this next step.</p><h2 id="987a">Use a keyword search tool</h2><p id="c95d">There are free and paid keyword search tools you can use to gain insight into keyword volume and competition. Using a paid keyword search tool like SemRush, Ahref, or BuzzSumo is not always the best route, especially for small sites that aren’t yet making a profit.</p><p id="9e98">So, if you’re on a tight budget, or you have a site that isn’t earning a lot of money yet, there are plenty of really good free keyword search tools available to you.</p><p id="bf3a">I don’t have affiliate relationships with any of these companies, I simply find these useful for me.</p><p id="c747"><a href="https://ads.google.com/intl/en_ca/home/tools/keyword-planner/">Google’s keyword planner</a> tool requires a Google Adwords account but you do not have to run an active paid campaign to use it. Brian Dean has a phenomenal <a href="https://backlinko.com/google-keyword-planner#access-gkp">guide to using Google’s keyword planner</a>.</p><p id="4941"><a href="https://app.neilpatel.com/en/ubersuggest/keyword_ideas">Ubersuggest</a> is a great tool to use to get monthly search volume for keywords and it’s also a good place to find additional keyword ideas. It’s a free tool which is always nice when you’re on a limited budget. Another helpful free keyword tool is <a href="https://moz.com/explorer">Moz Keyword Explorer</a>.</p><h2 id="b181">Finally, make the user experience high-quality</h2><p id="7f35">Once you’ve identified the right keyword to reflect your content and for search volume and competitiveness, it’s time for the final step.</p><p id="c3a5" type="7">Quality of user experience is the golden ticket when it comes to SERP ranking.</p><p id="3bd4">Read the top couple of articles or posts for that keyword. Take notes on questions you have when reading. The goal is to identify questions that aren’t answered in the post or aren’t answered thoroughly.</p><p id="e94b">As you read, make notes on examples you could add and any visual organization such as tables, charts, or an infographic that could make information more readable or enjoyable.</p><p id="442e">Focus on providing content that is helpful, accurate, and thorough. Choosing the right keyword the foundation when it comes to providing the best user experience.</p><p id="f26c">If you found this post helpful, follow <a href="https://medium.com/freelancefilter">Freelance Filter</a> for more information on how to create content that gives your readers the best experience and keeps them coming back for more. Better yet, <a href="https://wondrous-artist-8894.ck.page/6937775ba5">join the email list</a> so I can keep you posted on what’s coming in the year ahead.</p></article></body>

How to Choose the Right Keywords When You Know Nothing About Digital Marketing

A step by step guide for writers, bloggers, and other content creators.

You’ve heard about keywords if you’re a writer or other content creator. You know that keywords are related to SEO.

But did you know that keywords are only one of the factors that Google uses to measure the quality of your post, article, or website page? There are in fact, over 200 items that factor into search engine ranking.

But why are keywords are important?

The right keywords help search engines satisfy the user’s query or “user intent” by accurately identifying content. Search engines crawl your post for information in response to a user search. Google presents the highest quality results on the search engine results page (SERP) in ranked order.

In the past, gaming the system to get higher ranking from Google was the focus of many SEO techniques.

In reality, there’s no way to artificially trick the system for all two-hundred factors. And trying to do that just for a higher ranking results in a negative user experience.

Because of this, algorithm updates and changes to search engines increasingly focus on content that provides the best user experience. Filtering out content that provides a poor user experience is the primary goal of search engines. Google has even begun using humans to more accurately evaluate the quality of the user experience.

Trust and authenticity are becoming more important to marketing effectiveness because of the increasing millennial population. Providing users with the best possible answer or results to their query is more important to Google than ever before.

This means above all else, quality user experience is the golden ticket when it comes to SERP ranking.

Choosing the right keywords that identify the correct focus of your post helps Google and other search engines improve user experience. As writers we want readers to enjoy their experience. It’s a win-win.

First, choose a focus for your post

The focus of your post is not the same as your topic. A topic is a broad category. For this post, the topic is SEO but the focus is on how to choose keywords. I could do another post on SEO focused on where to find keyword ideas or how to learn basic SEO, or why user intent matters, etc.

So, first, figure out what the focus of your post or target keyword is for your audience. You can provide the best user experience by choosing an accurate focus or keyword.

But if no one sees your post, you can’t provide quality information.

So, you also want to choose a keyword that is popular and gets your content seen. The measurement of popularity for keywords is called search volume. Most keyword tools analyze and present search volume per month.

If you are just starting, you also want a keyword that is not too difficult or competitive. The competitiveness of a keyword or measurement of how competitive it is to rank for a keyword is called the search difficulty. Keyword tools often rank search difficulty with a number and a label such as low, medium, high or easy, medium, difficult.

So the right keyword is one that accurately reflects the information in your post but is balanced between high search volume and low or easy search difficulty.

Next, analyze the search engine results page (SERP)

Once you choose your focus, this is your initial keyword — type it in your Google search bar and look at the search results on the page that comes up.

If you’ve never really analyzed a SERP before now, take a moment to review the SEO Basics: What You Must Understand to Get Your Content Seen Even if You Know Nothing About It. You need to know what you’re looking at before you go any further.

When you analyze the Google SERP for your keyword, make note of the following things:

How many search results are there?
Are there any sponsored links (ads)? Which companies or brands?
What link is first? Which keyword phrase is in the URL? The title? Which website or company holds that first spot?
Is there a featured snippet or a People Ask box on the page? Which keywords are in those titles or URLs?
Are there other rich snippets? Which ones?
Peruse the links “above the fold” typically the first three to five you can see without having to scroll down at all.
Is there a “related to” rich snippet box? What brands or companies are listed there?
Which words or phrases are at the bottom in the “searches related to” section?

Doing this initial analysis gives you a pretty good list of words and phrases related to that initial focus word. It also tells you which keywords and content Google finds most relevant. You may need to use this info later to adjust your initial keyword.

Evaluate keyword competitiveness

Next, evaluate the search volume and the competitiveness or difficulty for your keyword phrase.

I can tell you that if that top link is Microsoft, Hubspot, or another big name company or guru, odds are against you getting that top spot. If there’s a sponsored ad, you won’t get that 1st spot — because that company or individual paid to be there for that keyword.

The good news is you can adjust your initial keyword to something less competitive. You can make adjustments before you write your post or even once it’s complete as long as the keyword still accurately reflects the content of your post. Sometimes just a little tweak can improve the odds of getting your content seen by the right audience.

Keyword Adjustment

If your initial keyword is not popular or is too competitive, review the list of words, phrases, and titles you made during your SERP analysis. Choose a new keyword phrase, it can include related words or be a combination of words that still fits the core focus of your post.

Put your new tweaked keyword into a Google search and analyze that page. Is it any better?

Are there fewer search results?
Is that number 1 spot still taken by a sponsored ad?
Are the first 3 to 5 links still big-name companies or industry gurus?

If so, you can repeat the process with a newly adjusted keyword after analyzing the 2nd page.

Or you can take advantage of technology to get a little more technical in this next step.

Use a keyword search tool

There are free and paid keyword search tools you can use to gain insight into keyword volume and competition. Using a paid keyword search tool like SemRush, Ahref, or BuzzSumo is not always the best route, especially for small sites that aren’t yet making a profit.

So, if you’re on a tight budget, or you have a site that isn’t earning a lot of money yet, there are plenty of really good free keyword search tools available to you.

I don’t have affiliate relationships with any of these companies, I simply find these useful for me.

Google’s keyword planner tool requires a Google Adwords account but you do not have to run an active paid campaign to use it. Brian Dean has a phenomenal guide to using Google’s keyword planner.

Ubersuggest is a great tool to use to get monthly search volume for keywords and it’s also a good place to find additional keyword ideas. It’s a free tool which is always nice when you’re on a limited budget. Another helpful free keyword tool is Moz Keyword Explorer.

Finally, make the user experience high-quality

Once you’ve identified the right keyword to reflect your content and for search volume and competitiveness, it’s time for the final step.

Quality of user experience is the golden ticket when it comes to SERP ranking.

Read the top couple of articles or posts for that keyword. Take notes on questions you have when reading. The goal is to identify questions that aren’t answered in the post or aren’t answered thoroughly.

As you read, make notes on examples you could add and any visual organization such as tables, charts, or an infographic that could make information more readable or enjoyable.

Focus on providing content that is helpful, accurate, and thorough. Choosing the right keyword the foundation when it comes to providing the best user experience.

If you found this post helpful, follow Freelance Filter for more information on how to create content that gives your readers the best experience and keeps them coming back for more. Better yet, join the email list so I can keep you posted on what’s coming in the year ahead.