Keyword research has almost become an art form within the SEO industry. Market saturation has seen to that. From individual research experts to SEO services that employ keyword specialists, more time and effort is put into keyword research than ever before. And everyone is searching for the same holy grail: keen words that resonate most with internet users.
It is often said that the holy grail of keyword research is high-volume, low-competition keywords. This is true, but only to a point. The only thing that really matters at the end of any SEO campaign is whether the chosen keywords delivered optimal results. If they did, it does not matter how competitive they were. If not, the fact that they were high-volume is meaningless.
Short vs. Longtail Keywords
One of the first things an SEO expert needs to decide is how he will utilize both short- and longtail keywords. It is the difference between using one or two words in an internet search versus using a phrase or an entire sentence. Both short- and longtail keywords have their advantages. However, shorter keywords tend to be more competitive.
There is a tendency to focus on highly competitive keywords based on the misunderstanding that they are also the most productive. Competition is good. And if you can win the war for the most competitive keywords, you stand to benefit. The question is, can you win the war? More importantly, is fighting the war even worth it?
High vs. Low-Volume Keywords
Next up is the question of high versus low-volume keywords. Again, there is a tendency to search for high-volume, low-competition keywords in hopes of finding the perfect balance. But do such keywords really exist? By its definition, competition encourages more players to get into the game. And the more players you have, the higher the volume is likely to be.
Finding the coveted keywords is like searching for the proverbial needle in a haystack. High-volume, low-competition keywords are out there, but they are as rare as the Burma ruby. Spend too much time searching for them and you could wind up missing low-volume keywords that could ultimately produce more traffic.
Keywords and Traffic Quality
Salt Lake City-based Webtek Digital Marketing makes the case for low-volume keywords as a means of improving traffic quality. In other words, low-volume keywords tend to be more effective for companies serving a niche market. The keywords are low-volume because the market itself is low-volume. Focusing on them allows SEO services to more easily target qualified traffic.
What is qualified traffic? Consider an attorney’s website. Attorneys are not interested in generating a ton of traffic consisting mainly of visitors who are not prepared to hire attorneys. They want traffic from customers who are pretty much ready to go; visitors who just have to find the right lawyer. That type of visitor is a qualified visitor.
Despite the main point of SEO being increased traffic, there is little benefit to boosting the numbers if traffic is not converting. And the best way to combine keyword research with high conversion rates is to focus on generating more qualified traffic.
Every Situation Is Unique
SEO services all have their own ways of conducting keyword research. That’s okay. Every situation is unique; every situation calls for both short and longtail keywords properly combined and distributed in order to drive traffic.
If you are an SEO developer looking for the holy grail, don’t obsess over hi-volume, low-competition keywords. Concentrate on finding the keywords that will most resonate with the target audience. You might be surprised by how much better they work.
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