e9digital’s Top SEO Tips: How To Choose Keywords For SEO

Keywords: The Invite to Your Website Party

If you think of your website as a party, keywords are the invitation. 

Every marketing strategy needs a list of keywords that people will type into Google when looking for a business like yours. These keywords make it possible for interested people to find your website.

But not all keywords are created equal. You need to select the keywords that your target audience (the ideal customers for your business) are most likely to type in when looking for a business like yours.

So, to make sure your keyword invitations bring the right people to your website party, follow these four tips.

1. Don’t Just Pick What’s Popular: Identify the Correct Keywords

To start, use a keyword tool to find which keywords would work best for your business.

When picking keywords, you need to think like your customer. Just like when you searched for the best Chinese food in NYC, your potential customers are searching for various keyphrases that could link to your site.

But here’s the catch with keywords: all your competitors are trying to get them too.

So you can’t just pick the keywords with the highest volume. You have to mix up your keyword list. Sure, try to get some of those high-volume keywords but also aim for some more specific keyword phrases that don’t have as many matches.

Something like “best divorce lawyer in Cleveland Ohio” sets you apart.

It matches you with people looking for a divorce lawyer and anyone located in Cleveland, Ohio. 

For more about how to match your SEO with customers who live near you, be sure to read up on local SEO.

2. Be a Problem Solver: Building Keyword Authority

To win over customers, you need to solve their problems. Think about your unique selling proposition, which is the one thing about your business that sets you apart from your competition. This one thing solves your customers’ problems in a way they didn’t know before.

You need to build your authority on keywords that best match the problems your business solves so that the Google searches you rank on convert customers.

A great way to start this is to think of a “how to” question related to your business. If you’re a divorce lawyer, your clients need to know “how to file divorce papers.” This phrase is something that someone going through a divorce would likely type into Google. 

If you’re trying to build your authority as a divorce lawyer on the internet, showing your clients how to solve this problem tells Google you’re an expert on the subject. 

When you provide fresh, insightful content on your website, Google will rank it higher on the SERP (search engine results page).

3. Specificity Shines: Include Long-Tail Keyword Phrases

There are two types of keywords: regular keywords and long-tail keyword phrases. Regular keywords are usually one or two words in length, and most people don’t type these into Google. These are the salt at the end of the dish you sprinkle in to help boost your SEO.

The main dishes of your SEO meal are long-tail keyword phrases, which are typically three to five words in length. 91.8% of all search queries are long-tail keywords. Long-tail keywords lead to higher conversions because 

• People searching for long-tail keywords are typically ready to purchase
• Long-tail keywords better capture a searcher’s intent

• Long-tail keywords are easier to rank for 

Keyword research is a time-consuming process, so use Google Keyword Planner or partner with a digital marketing agency to build a strategy faster.

4. Don’t Get Google Lost: Include Keywords in URLs

Your website URLs are not just a place to write your company name. URLS help Google understand what your page is about because they include keywords.

Google indexes the URL to figure out what the page is about. So, you need to include some of those keywords that you want to rank for on each web page. 

Write your URLs like this:

• Step 1: Keep your URL structure the same for every page
• Step 2: Make your URL short and easy to understand
• Step 3: Use the target keyword for the page when building the URL

This target keyword needs to be relevant to the searches people complete on Google. So if someone types in “cheap hairdresser,” a page of yours that could rank for that would include a version of the keyword “cheap hairdresser” in the URL.