There are lots of articles regarding Keyword Research and how Google evaluates the search terms that you enter. Some of them are very helpful while others are slightly misleading. At least, for a beginner who is starting his career as a Digital Marketer or just started learning SEO should not be influenced by articles that say – Keyword Research is Dead. We all are aware of the fact that Google has gone through tons of changes over its modules. Their level of sophistication is now way beyond our imagination. But still, there are some things you just cannot ignore. Keyword Research is one of them. This article describes why Keyword Research Strategy is still an important thing in 2020. Also, you can read this article to have a better understanding of Google Search and how it works for Local Business.
Is It Really Dead?
The answer is- No. Actually, it is not the same as it was in 2012 or 2015. Changes have been made, but that doesn’t mean we should exclude it from our task list. From a local business owner to a large scale giant company, no one should ignore keyword research while working on the SEO of his website.
It is true that things are not the same. Google’s intelligence can find out the actual meaning and motive behind your search and work on giving you the best result you are looking for. But doing keyword research will enable you to become aware of the facts and targets you will be trying to rank your website for. You own a photo tourism website, go ahead, and prepare a sheet of keywords that are relevant to your business and location. That way, you will be aware of the things you need to consider while promoting your website.
How To Start?
It is not that complicated. Suppose, you are starting your own website. Now, you want your website to be visible on Google if people search for it. These search terms are keywords that you will target for your website.
You can determine the keywords you are targeting by using some tools. A bunch of free tools is out there while my suggestion is to use some paid tools. Keyword Revealer is a great one to start with. It has a free plan along with other exciting paid plans.
Too heavy? Why don’t you start with something lighter, like Ubersuggest? This tool comes in handy when you want to do keyword research initially on a daily basis. However, there are tons of other tools that will make your research easier.
Things To Keep In Mind
There are some factors that you must know before targeting a keyword. First of all, you must see what the Search Volume of the keyword is. While it totally depends on the type of your website, don’t target keywords that have an almost zero search volume. Try to keep it high but not too much.
Moreover, look for the keyword difficulty. You can find the difficulty of a keyword by using the tools discussed above. If you are a beginner, 30 is a decent difficulty score for you to work on. Keywords having a difficulty score above 30 are considered moderate and tough.
Now you have a list of keywords. Is that all? Unfortunately, it is still NO. Because the good keywords that you have found are also targetted by others. They are your competitors who have either just started with you or have been working for years. So, it is nice to go on Google, type those keywords, and have a look at your competitors. You may want to ignore those for which there are many powerful and strong authority sites already on the first page. But, then again, if you are ranking your website as a product review portal and reviewing Amazon products, then Amazon would definitely not be your competitor, even if it is ranked No.1 for the same keyword. Your competitors are those who are also reviewing the same product or relevant ones.
When To Stop?
So this was all about Keyword Research Strategy in 2020. What about the year after that? Should you stop? No, Never. You can never stop doing keyword research. Even if you have stopped uploading content for a while, it is a good thing to have a follow up on your previously published content and updating some of those. This way, you can improve the On-Page SEO score as well as the page authority of your site. So, keep up the good work and never stop doing keyword research.