Mastering SEO — From Traffic to Revenue: Part 1
Part 1 of 5: How to Identify Focus Keywords
You breathe a sigh of relief. Your SEO efforts are starting to generate results. Your content’s ranking is climbing and so is your website’s traffic. Everything seems good.
Until you consider that traffic does not always equate to revenue.
SEO often gets talked about as a way to garner more traffic through higher ranking, but that narrative negates from the real goal of SEO — to drive revenue growth for your business. There are many pieces to the puzzle to ensure revenue growth through SEO, and there is much confusion as well.
Fret not, our Adcetera media teams are here to help. In this insights series, we’ll break down the process for executing a successful SEO strategy that can ensure revenue growth.
We start this journey by identifying the right SEO strategy and keyword focus for your content.
Determining the right keywords
Thorough research is crucial for identifying the right keywords to help your site rank higher and give your content more visibility.
Conducting keyword research provides insights into what people are searching for, how many people are searching for it, and the delivery format they want. These insights can help you determine your audience and create the most relevant content.
To know what the focus keywords are, you need to consider the intent, volume, and competition of the terms you are researching.
Intent
Knowing the intention behind a search for a given keyword is helpful in deciding whether your content is relevant to the term.
In general, there are four types of search intent:
- Informational: The user is trying to learn new information or conducting a general search.
Example searches: what is SEO, what are keywords, keywords for SEO - Commercial: The user is researching a product or brand before making a purchase.
Example searches: Houston agency, SEO agency, top digital agencies - Transactional: The user wants to do something specific, like make a purchase or subscribe to a blog.
Example searches: best agencies near me, online website design services - Navigational: The user is looking for a specific page, as they know what they want.
Example searches: Adcetera marketing planning, Adcetera contact.
No matter what stage of the buyer’s journey you are aiming for, you always want to align the keywords in your content with the right search intent.
Volume
When conducting keyword research, it’s crucial to consider the search volume. SEMrush, a keyword research tool, provides an estimated monthly search volume for each keyword. It’s important, however, not to target high-volume keywords exclusively without taking into account their intent and the difficulty of ranking for them. A niche keyword with low search volume but high intent can bring in less traffic compared to ranking at the top for a high-volume keyword, but the traffic it does attract will be highly relevant to your website, potentially resulting in more conversions.
In general, broader terms tend to have higher search volumes and greater competition for ranking. If a keyword aligns closely with your content, it’s more likely to generate substantial traffic. In such cases, it makes sense to pursue even low-volume keywords. While they may only receive a few monthly searches, those searches will be extremely specific to your page’s content.
Competition
Another aspect to consider is how difficult it is for a keyword to rank. Different keyword-researching tools will have their own proprietary metrics to measure this variable. In general, they are all meant to gauge the level of challenge a website might face when aiming to secure organic ranking within the top ten results on Google (or any search engine). The choice of whether to target high- or low-competition keywords hinges on your objectives and content strategy.
Your initial inclination might be to steer clear of highly competitive keywords due to the substantial time and effort required for ranking. Achieving success is not impossible, however. When your business targets a high-competition keyword, it’s imperative to promptly start content optimization to initiate the process. Given the presence of formidable high-authority sites, early efforts to accumulate backlinks will facilitate optimization for that keyword.
It’s worth emphasizing that ranking anywhere on the first page of SERPs can be sufficient, contrary to the belief that securing the number one spot is the primary goal of SEO. The significance of your position on the first page varies depending on factors such as your brand, industry, and strategy. Consider this scenario: If you operate a local burger establishment competing against well-known franchises like McDonald’s or Shake Shack, achieving the top spot locally may require extensive time, or you may never attain it. In such cases, appearing on the first page of results just below these industry giants is already a highly effective strategy. Individuals searching for “burgers near me” are likely aware of the franchise restaurants; if they crave a well-known fast-food option, they will choose it regardless of the search results. If they seek a local alternative, however, they will bypass the giants and discover your business. This situation underscores the importance of comprehending your competition and formulating strategies to outperform them.
Of course, you can also opt to target low-competition keywords to expedite the ranking process for your content. With these keywords, you can succeed with fewer backlinks while concentrating on crafting high-quality content. Pursuing such keywords can enhance your page’s credibility, subsequently contributing to the overall authority of your main website — particularly when targeting high-intent keywords.
Remember that, when evaluating keyword competition, you should also consider factors like intent and search volume. These three elements, when assessed together, will guide you in selecting the most suitable keywords for your content strategy.
Get expert help on keyword research
Still wondering how you can strategically approach keyword research to maximize your marketing ROI?
Contact Adcetera today for enterprise SEO services. We would be happy to help you create a customized SEO plan. As a full-service integrated marketing agency with deep digital experience, we are poised to offer our extensive SEO expertise and digital marketing insights to deliver sustained, measurable growth for your company.