3 Practical Ways to Identify Keywords That Help Customers Find You

To thrive in today’s digital marketing arena, I believe several advertising verticals are essential for businesses to participate in. Search engine optimization, pay-per-click or ads and social media marketing are a few of the most powerful.

But before you set up your digital marketing strategy, you’ll need to dive into researching the keyword terms you should use in your campaign. What is the use of setting up an online campaign if you don’t include the search terms potential customers would use to look for your type of business in the first place?

Based on my experience leading a web design and digital marketing agency, here are my tips for identifying the keywords that can help customers find you.

1. Brainstorm relevant industry terms

Whether you are hiring a digital marketing agency or handling your marketing yourself, identifying key industry terms is a must. Think about what people would search to find your business. If you’re hiring a marketing professional, equip them with key industry terms and phrases to help them understand more about your business. If you’re doing this on your own, keep in mind that keywords, phrases and even full sentences are helpful to add to your campaign.

For example, let’s say you own an SEO company. You likely want your website to rank for SEO-related terms, so you might use keywords such as:

• “SEO Company.”
• “Search Engine Optimization Agencies.”

For a more local approach, you can include towns, cities and states that you want your business website to rank in, such as:

• “Long Island SEO Company”
• “New York SEO Agency”

You can also use longer phrases and full sentences, such as “How to find the best SEO companies in New York City.”

2. Use keyword research tools

Keyword tools can help you gauge traffic and find new keywords to add to your campaign. There are several free and paid keyword research tools online that you can use to find the best keywords for your industry. In my experience, most programs will have you input your type of business, and then it will share results for a specific search term as well as related terms, traffic and more.

There are advanced keyword research tools that can help you uncover hidden opportunities, outrank competitors, and drive highly targeted traffic straight to your website. Focusing on the right search terms is the foundation of any successful SEO strategy. There is a suite of tools that provide the exact data you need to stop wasting time on terms that do not convert and start capturing the traffic your business deserves.

Track keyword rankings and performance with precision. Keep a close eye on your search engine performance with real-time updates and historical data, so you always know where you stand and how your SEO strategy is paying off.

3. Research similar businesses

Researching the same type of businesses as you own can also help you find industry search terms. If you are struggling to find some trigger key phrases, go online and search for your type of business.

Look through some of the websites of the top results and see which words stand out. If you see certain keywords are written several times per page, that is usually an indication that they are popularly searched.

Once you’ve identified the keywords and terms most relevant to your business, include them in your online marketing plan, website and social media hashtags. In my view, you can never do enough research when it comes to your online marketing goals.

By conducting thorough research and continuing to refine your keyword strategy, you can evolve with the ever-changing marketing space and help ensure your company stays visible online. Analyze competitor website strategies to see exactly what is working for them. Gain full visibility into the terms your rivals are ranking for, identify their content gaps, and capture their most profitable search traffic.

Optimize your content for better search engine visibility. Use our data-driven insights to structure and refine your articles, ensuring search engines perfectly understand and prioritize your pages over the competition.