Keyword Research Process & Strategies

with

&

SalesCycle:Pieter Verasdonck

10+ years of experience in Digital Marketing

Industries: Gambling, Education, FMCG, Telco, Travel & Tourism, Government, eCommerce & Retail, Real Estate, Fashion, B2B and even Adult Entertainment.

Featured in:

• Smart Startups Magazine, Backlinks.com.au & Avanser’s Blog, SEMRush Webinar

• Spoke at: Numerous Meetups, SMX Sydney 2014 –Bootcamp & Advanced Online Marketing Conferences in Sydney

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Agenda

1) Foundation of Search

2) Keyword Research Process

3) Keyword Selection Process

4) Worst Keyword Research Mistakes

5) Change in Research Behaviour

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Foundation of Search

Searching & Looking = Action

• Random surfing, browsing and accidental discoveries

• Craving entertainment, information, social connection

• Looking to go somewhere…Brand / Topic destinations

• Researching for a specific solution, reviews or comparison

• Looking to execute a task or a transaction

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Psychology of Purchasing

http://buyer.sellerinsights.com/2013/05/14/understanding-buyer-psychology/

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Psychology of Decision Making & Purchasing Behaviour

http://www.womma.org/posts/2013/01/how-marketers-can-neuro-map-consumer-decision-making

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Psychology of Decision Making & Purchasing Behaviour

Thinking Feeling

HighInvolvement

Informative (thinker):e-bankingBooksFinancial servicesComputer equipmentHouseAutomobilesHouse Furnishings

Affective (feeler):JewelleryCosmeticsFashion ApparelLuxury WatchCDs

Low Involvement Habit formation (doer):FoodFast FoodHousehold ItemsShampoos

Self-satisfaction (reactor):Flowers

The FCB Planning Model adapted from Belch & Belch. 2004. Advertising andPromotion. An Integrated Marketing Communication Perspective. 6th Edition. Singapore

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Modern B2B Customers Buying Journey

Indentify a Need

Purchase Criteria

Initial Research Commercial Investigation

Comparison

Justification

ProductSelection

Trail/Purchase

Evaluation/Evangelism

Sales Rep InvolvedCustomers Research

Awareness Stage Consideration Stage Decision Stage

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B2B Procurement Process

http://buyer.sellerinsights.com/files/2013/05/buying-process.png

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Matching Content With Customers Buying Decision

Customer isAsking

CustomerWants

What to Provide

What is myproblem?

How do I fix my problem?

Are you theright partner?

Education & Benchmarks

Solution Options & Product Suitability

Proof Points & Decision Support

Awareness Stage Consideration Stage Decision Stage

• Trend Reports• Benchmarks• Analyst Reports• 101 Education• How to Guides• How other people

are solving this

• What is the solution& How it works

• SolutionComparisons

• Pitfall Analysis• Readiness &

Suitability Assessment

• How to choose a vendor

• Pricing• Strength

Demonstration• Case Studies• ROI/TCO• Partnering

Benefits• How to Buy/Pay

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Keyword Research Process =

The Backbone of SEO

Keyword Research Preparation

• Identify your Main Competitors

• Create a Buyer Personas & Audience Segments

• Map out Users Search Objectives to the Buying Journey

• Map out the Content to Users Buying Journey & Business Objectives

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http://www.seobook.com/keyword-research-strategy-flowchart

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• Webmaster Tools

Keyword Research:Relevant Keywords

BingGoogle

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• Webmaster Tools: Search Analytics (beta)

Keyword Research:Relevant Keywords

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Keyword Research:Customer Typed Keywords

• Internal Site Search:

http://blog.crazyegg.com/2013/01/17/set-up-internal-site-search-analytics/

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Keyword Research:Best Keyword Information

• Adwords Campaigns - PPC Search Query Reports

http://www.searchenginejournal.com/search-query-data-adwords-isnt-dead-heres-actually-changed/100805/

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• Historic Keyword Data:

Keyword Research:Old Keywords

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Keyword Research:Deciphering (Not Provided):

http://searchengineland.com/replacing-googles-not-provided-seo-gold-220045

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Keyword Research:Unknown Keywords

Get the Right Intelligence Tools:

• SEMRush: Your Website

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http://refugeeks.com/semrush/

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Keyword ideas

http://www.seobook.com/keyword-research-strategy-flowchart

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Keyword Research:Smart Keywords

• Competitors Online Visibility: SEMRush

http://www.semrush.com/webinars/competitor-keyword-research-for-seo/

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Keyword Research:Smart Keywords

• Competitors Online Visibility: SEMRush

http://www.semrush.com/webinars/competitor-keyword-research-for-seo/

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Keyword Research:Money Keywords

• SEMRush: Adwords Keywords

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Keyword Research:Topic Related Keywords

• Wikipedia & SEMRush:

http://www.searchenginejournal.com/use-wikipedia-keyword-research/110071/

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Keyword Research:Keyword Planner: URL

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Keyword Research:Keyword Planner: Keywords

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Keyword Research:Topic Related Keywords

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Keyword Research:Long-Tail Keywords

• Related Searched & Google Suggest:

• Google Suggest Scraper Tools:

• Ubersuggest, keywordtool.io, Soovle, Scrapebox, etc

http://ipullrank.com/how-to-uncover-100s-of-new-longtail-keywords-in-minutes/

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Keyword Research:Topic & LSI Keywords

• “Table of Contents” & Google Books

• Ask your Customers with Audience Surveys

http://www.iacquire.com/blog/the-persona-driven-keyword-research-process

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Keyword Research:Seasonality Keywords

• Google Keyword Planner:

• Google Trends:

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Keyword Research:Old School Keywords – SEO Quake

• HTML Code: <meta keywords>

• YouTube: Video Tags

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Keyword Research:Old School Keywords

• Niche Topic Forums: Sub-Categorisation

Google Search:

• Your Keyword "visitors found this page by searching for“ -seo

• site:com.au “Your Keyword” forum -seo

• “Incoming search terms” “Your Keyword” -seo

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OK, I found 10,000 Keywords …Now What?

Selection Criteria

Cutting 10,000 Keywords to 1,000

Relevant Keywords

http://www.seobook.com/keyword-research-strategy-flowchart

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Keyword Selection:PPC vs. SEO

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Keyword Mapping to Purchase Funnel

Purchase Funnel Stage

Type of Search Type of Keyword

Search Volume & SERP

Competition Example

A Awareness Informational Head Terms High mens suits

I Interest Navigational Keyword + Brand TBD hugo boss suits

D Desire ResearchBody Terms

(Head + modifier)Medium tailor made wedding suits

A Action TransactionalLong-Tail

(4-5+ words)Low

tailor made wedding suits online click & collect

S Satisfaction Expression Emotional Low

Positive: Glad, Great, :) , Fun, Fabulous, Thanks, etcNegative: S**t, F**k, WTF, :( , bloody, crap, etc

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Keyword Selection:Relevancy

• Niche Topic Silos:

https://www.keywordstudio.com/

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Keyword Selection:Seasonality Trends

• Query Deserves Freshness:

Holidays, Seasonal Sales Dates, Special Events

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Keyword Selection:Search Volume

• Effort vs. Reward: Larry (wordstream) Formula: (Searches * CPC)/Difficulty score

(1000 * $3)0.85

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Keyword Selection:CPC Cost

Profitability & Money Words

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Keyword Selection:Competitiveness

• Keyword Difficulty: SEMRush, Moz, etc

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Keyword Selection:Competitiveness

• Keyword Difficulty: SEMRush, Moz, etc

http://backlinko.com/keyword-competition

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Keyword Selection:Competitiveness

• SERP Difficulty: Market Samurai

http://backlinko.com/keyword-competition

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Keyword Selection:Low Hanging Fruit

Questions: Quora, Yahoo Answers, etc

• Where, What, Why, How, etc

• Best, [Product A] vs [Product B], Reviews

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Keyword Usage in Purchase Funnel Stages Example

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Keyword Research Process Resources

• Moz: moz.com/beginners-guide-to-seo/keyword-research

• SEMRush: semrush.com/webinars/competitor-keyword-research-for-seo/

• Larry Kim and Will Critchlow: wordstream.com/blog/ws/2014/08/06/keyword-research-tips

• Backlinko: backlinko.com/keyword-research

• Nick Eubanks: seonick.net/master-keyword-research/

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OK, I got it down to 100 search phrases…What’s

Next?

Cutting 10,000 Keywords to 1,000

High Potential Keywords

http://www.seobook.com/keyword-research-strategy-flowchart

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Using Your Keywords:A Great Topic for Another Webinar

• Important SEO Areas for Keywords:

• “Domain”, URL, <title>, Meta Data, Internal Links, <hx>, Body Text, Digital Assets (Images, PDF. Video, Audio), etc

• Keyword Mapping IA & URLs

• Research Intent Phrases (2-4 words) for Category Pages

• Transactional Search Phrases (4+ words) for Product Pages

• Creating Topic Silo’s & “Evergreen” Long form pages

• Assigning Longtail Keywords to Blog Topics, FAQ, Forum Topics, etc

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What are the pitfalls & what should you

watchout for?

most common keyword research mistakes.

What not to do!

• Only targeting head & single word terms: “Suits”

• Competitor Brand Terms: “Asos mens suits”

• Going for irrelevant Geographic terms: “Suits New York”

• Words that are way out of your league: Super High Competition

• Phrases that are irrelevant to your business: “Sports Cars”

• Failing to monitor search trends and adjust strategies over time

http://www.searchenginejournal.com/7-lessons-keyword-stupidity-mess-keyword-research/104127/

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SEMRush Webinar : Q & A

Pieter S Verasdonck

• Twitter: @psverasdonck

• SlideShare:www.slideshare.net/psverasdonck

• eMail: psv@salescycle.agency

• Tel: 1300 88 54 28

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