Every month there are hundreds of online searches for words and phrases that relate to your product or service. But if those people do not see your website on the front page of the results they are given, then it is your competitors who are getting their business.

I have lost count of the number of times business owners have told me that they are already on the front page of Google but this is where keyword research is vital because it’s all very well being on the first page for a specific search term but it’s of absolutely no value if no-one else is actually looking for that word or phrase.

So being top of Google for your own name doesn’t count – only people who already know the name of your business will be able to find you.

And being on the front page for words and phrases that you have picked out of your head because that’s what you think people will type into Google is no good either. Invariably, you will be using technical jargon related to your industry – but not all your potential clients will have that same technical knowledge.

How To Use Google Keyword Research

As part of an effective marketing strategy using Local SEO Services, we work with our clients to identify the search terms that their potential customers are using and for which ranking is also achievable.

Which sounds far too geeky!

Take the cosmetic surgeon in California who used search engine optimization to get his site to position number one at the top of the organic search engine results pages (SERPs) for the keyword ‘rhinoplasty’. Sadly, he didn’t do his Google Keyword Research and his real life client base were all typing ‘nose jobs’ into the search engines.

This meant that all his competitors who had websites with ‘nose jobs’ as their main keyword took up the top ten places on the front page of Google. So all those searchers never saw his listing, which was down at the bottom of page two for ‘nose jobs’.

But it’s more than that. You also have to ask three more questions:

• Are enough people using the keywords you have chosen when they are searching for your product or service?
• And how strongly optimised are the sites that currently hold the top ten places on the search results page for those same words?
• Has your website got what it takes to compete for the first page of Google on those search terms?

Ranking on the search engines is a lot harder than it actually sounds, especially if your site is relatively new. Once the key words and phrases that give you a chance to get onto that elusive front page have been identified, these should form the basis of your entire campaign. They need to be built into the infrastructure of your website right from the start. So you need to decide in advance what area or product it is that you want to rank for.

But I can work out my own keywords

The Google Keyword Tool can give you a rough idea of what’s going on but should not be relied upon because it can give very different readings depending on whether you’re logged in or not and there are also implications due to the encryption of personal search – Google doesn’t want you to have access to all the data it collects for free so that you can rank organically when you can pay to advertise.

Our keyword research and analysis involves a variety of tools that allow us to work out exactly how many searches are being made on a particular word or phrase and how competitive it is in terms of other websites also working with it.

Call us today to find out how to research and establish effective Google keywords for your business – Get Your Business Found Online

Lollipop Local – We Direct Traffic!

Call 01702 476517 or 0121 249 1306 to find out more about Google Keyword Research