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If you’re new to SEO, you may be vaguely familiar with what keywords are, but not how to find them or what they mean. Keywords are essentially search terms that help consumers identify your business. In terms of search engines, keywords are what help the algorithm match your website to search terms.
For example, if a consumer searches for “local shoe repair,” they expect to see search results for shoe repair shops near them. If you use the right keyword strategy and work with an SEO expert, then your shoe repair business should show up in those results.
When you’re creating an SEO strategy, you need to sit down and think about the terms you’d use to describe your business. For the example above, that could be luxury shoe repair, leather repair, cobbler, (location) shoe store, and so on.
Once you have this general list, you plug it into an SEO tool and find out how difficult each keyword is to rank for. Keywords with lower difficulty scores are easier (cheaper) to rank for and vice versa.
Depending on what you’re focusing on, you may be more willing to invest in some keywords than others. But how do you know which are worth it and which aren’t? We’re going over expert keyword strategy advice to answer that question below.
The host of In Search SEO Podcast, Mordy Oberstein feels like keywords, themselves, are dead. In his opinion, the way people search and the way the algorithm works have gotten smarter since the SEO-basics handbook was written.
In his opinion, people search more for topics than specific keywords. For example, someone in this viewpoint would probably search “what to look for in a shoe repair shop” before searching for local options.
In that scenario, your job would be to create a blog post or other content that informs the client on what a good shoe repair business does, which positions you as an expert in the field and delivers value. If your keywords are right, hopefully, they click through and read the article, notice that you’re nearby, and give you their business in return for your educative content.
Should you listen to Mordy? As the Chief Marketing Operator of Rank Ranger, he seems to know what he’s talking about. However, this advice doesn’t work for every business, so if it doesn’t resonate, move on to the next expert tip.
It seems that SEO experts are heading in more of an intuitive direction than ever before. This expert, who has worked in SEO since 2008, believes that you should use analytics but trust your own insights as well.
He’s not saying that you shouldn’t use SEO tools or have a keyword strategy. Instead, he’s advocating that you decide what is worth it to you in terms of SEO investment.
For example, if the keyword “hospital medical supplies” is going to rank you at the top of Google, but the cost is too high for it to be worth it to you, then you should reevaluate. According to Horst, you should use keyword analytics as a guideline, not the end-all-be-all.
Should you listen to him? Again, he has a very successful business and is often quoted as an SEO expert. But you’ll need to meet with your strategist to decide if this viewpoint will benefit your business or not.
If you’re in a business space with a lot of competition, especially if they have a bigger budget than you, Nathan Gotch encourages you to benefit from their strategies.
Instead of slaving over the internet and finding all the keywords yourself, work with your strategist to figure out what keywords your competition is using successfully. Then, he encourages you to build your strategy around that.
Is it cheating? No, not really. It’s more like using your energy and your SEO budget efficiently. However, if your competition is spending millions on SEO every month and your budget is in the thousands, this may not be the right strategy for you.
Nathan’s expertise comes from his SEO company which has its own academy that teaches marketers how to use keywords to their advantage. And while his credentials are impressive, his strategy is just like the ones above: not a perfect fit for everyone.
We could list tens of expert opinions on SEO strategies, but only one or two of them may feel relevant to your business. SEO strategies aren’t cut and paste, which is why it’s so important to work with an expert to find the right one for you.
In the end, you and a professional will have to create a personalized plan of action for your business. Get a free consultation to learn what that looks like, today!
