Keyword research supports multiple goals, from enhancing SEO visibility to guiding your content marketing efforts.
A successful content marketing plan needs to address the goals and search intents of the users. It should also incorporate search engine optimization elements to improve visibility. Omitting either one can hurt the overall program.
Find out how a sound keyword planning strategy can support your content marketing efforts while enhancing visibility.
How to choose the right keywords
Selecting the keywords for a content marketing campaign is more accessible than most companies realize. First, you need to understand your company type and how your prospective customers are searching for solutions like yours.
For example, if you own a tax and accounting firm, keywords that describe your company (at a high level) would include:
- Tax preparation.
- Bookkeeping service.
- Accounting service.
After identifying these high-level keyword phrases, you can use Google’s keyword planner to develop a more detailed keyword list.
This tool provides the estimated number of search queries for each focus keyword phrase and the price advertisers pay to display paid ads for each. The higher the bid price, the more competitive the keyword phrase is.
With this data, you can identify keyword phrases with significant search volume but little competition. While this approach doesn’t consider the competitors creating content explicitly targeting the keyword phrase, it is a good start.
You can go further by leveraging the power of AI. Tools like ChatGPT are valuable for generating lists of related keywords linked to a topic or turning keywords into content creation ideas.
Search trends for 2024
Google processes a staggering 105,000 searches per second. As the global search volume continues to increase, we’re seeing some defining trends emerge.
Increased complexity
Over the years, searches have become increasingly complex and varied. Users are becoming more comfortable with search tools and turning to the internet to complete a broader range of advanced activities as part of the buying journey.
Users are refining their search experience by asking specific questions, formulating unique queries, and increasing the length of their queries.
Conversational search
Last year, more than 142 million Americans used voice assistants. The rise of voice assistants is contributing to an increase in conversational queries.
Your SEO strategy must incorporate conversational search terms to target featured snippets, voice responses, and other interactive formats.
Local search
More than half of all global internet traffic comes from mobile devices. For businesses with a brick-and-mortar location, there is an opportunity to connect with these users by targeting local searches.
Optimization by platform
Google remains the top search engine, but other platforms are emerging as popular search tools.
Social media platforms like Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), or LinkedIn have search features. Optimizing your content for search on these platforms can drive organic traffic.
You should also look into optimizing content across different Google products, including Maps, image search, video search on and off YouTube, and shopping results.
What is an SEO content strategy, and why do you need one?
Gaining visibility for the keywords your target audience is using is crucial. Adopting an SEO content strategy will help you understand what users hope to achieve and identify the best methods for addressing their needs.
Enhancing visibility
One of the first benefits of developing a keyword planning strategy is improving visibility in search results.
You can create a series of touchpoints by developing content that ranks first for several popular search terms in your niche. This approach increases awareness and keeps users engaged.
Connecting content and search intent
Users issue keywords to seek information or perform specific tasks. Conducting keyword research helps you gain a deep understanding of what these goals are.
You can then develop content that supports these goals. Visiting a webpage that immediately delivers the exact information a user wants or allows them to perform a specific task is an ideal experience.
Using your keyword research to guide your content creation efforts will help you deliver consistent experiences and meet users’ needs at every stage of the buying journey.
Content discovery and the buying journey
The buying journey includes a series of tasks from the initial pain point to the purchase. Many of these tasks are online searches that help the user gather information. Once a user has the information they need, they can move on to the next stage.
Combining your keyword and content strategies can facilitate this journey:
- Map the typical search journey and identify common keywords issued at each stage.
- Develop content that matches the intent and sophistication level of each search task.
- Incorporate a logical next step, whether consuming more content or connecting with your sales team.
Using keyword research to understand where a user is in their journey will help you implement effective content marketing strategies:
- The topic cluster model is a common way of organizing websites. This approach immediately makes information about an entry-level topic available while fostering content discovery by linking to pages covering different subtopics.
- A broad entry-level search can be a point of entry for a content series. Once you get a user to subscribe, you can deliver additional content that progressively increases their level of sophistication.
- Gated content is an effective lead-generation strategy. Identify searches that signify a user is at an advanced stage in their journey and offer a valuable white paper or study in exchange for their contact information.
- Some search terms have a strong buying intent. You can enhance your SEO and content marketing ROI by targeting these searches and sharing specific offers with these users.
How to develop an SEO content strategy
You should include focus keyword phrases in each piece of content that you create. More specifically, you should identify at least one keyword phrase optimized for SEO within each piece of content.
The most effective way to increase visibility is to create an SEO strategy based on your keyword research:
- Use keyword research and data from other sources to map the user journey.
- Segmenting your audience into different buyer personas can refine your approach and deliver a more personalized experience.
- Identify key search activities that help users progress along this journey.
- Create a list of keywords that reflect different search intents along this journey.
- Aim to create at least one piece of content for each keyword.
- Develop an editorial calendar to stay on track and publish new content regularly, extending your outreach.
- Review and update content regularly as search trends change.
- Monitor the latest search trends to identify new content creation opportunities.
Take your SEO efforts to the next level
When creating a content marketing plan, you must consider your audience and the search engines. If you don’t incorporate a focus keyword phrase as part of your editorial calendar and content, you’re losing out on a valuable opportunity to optimize that content for SEO and drive organic traffic to your site.
Keyword optimization is just one piece of the content marketing puzzle. At Tempesta Media, our goal is to simplify managing the multiple aspects of your digital marketing strategy with our Bullseye Effect approach.
Bullseye Effect allows you to combine over 30 modules, including a Managed SEO tool. And thanks to our managed services model, you’ll work with a dedicated account manager who can help you create an effective SEO strategy for your business.
From identifying keywords to streamlining content creation for these searches, our model drives results by creating meaningful connections with your target audience and leveraging data for continuous improvement. Learn more about our Bullseye Effect solution!
