What is Keyword Research?
Simply put, it is the process of identifying keyword phrases that you think your potential customers are using to search for a service or product and adding these words and phrases into all of your communication points strategically to increase your ranking.
Defining the keywords that will give you the most bang for the buck takes a little time but is simple, free and is a critical element in guiding your digital marketing strategy to reach highly qualified customers who will convert.
To begin the process, do a thorough brainstorm of the key phrases you would use if you were searching for your product or service – for example, if you are a local winery in Woodinville, WA, you might list out these Primary or Secondary keywords that are a logical description of your offering and the location:
- Wineries in Woodinville
- Best Winery near me
- New Woodinville Wineries
Then add in some long-tail keywords (these are key as they are very specific which shows deeper customer engagement):
- Top winemakers with a tasting room in Woodinville
- Best Sav Blanc winery in Woodinville
- Top rose wine vintners in Washington State
- Wineries that offer picnic food
- Wineries with free tastings who also sell gifts
- Are there any wineries connected to a restaurant in Woodinville
- Top 5 wine tasting experiences near me
Next, list all these words and phrases in a spreadsheet and pick a keyword analysis tool to build out your list.
We suggest you start with one of the free SEO keyword tools like SEMrush www.semrush.com or Moz Keyword Explorer www.moz.com – both free versions provide everything you need with thousands of keyword combinations, search volume and competitive usage.
Once you have made your selection, simply type in your keywords and in seconds you will have thousands of results for you to review and add to your list – along with the volume of each and competitive usage to measure how easy or difficult it will be to organically outrank your competitors with these keywords.
Words with high volume are coveted and are being used by the big guys making it harder to rank with these keywords, so we recommend you opt for words with good volume (100+) and a competitive ranking score of 30-50 is about in the middle.
If you are just getting started, consider keyword even lower (20-30) to ensure you are able to stand out from the competition with your words.
OK….I am getting thirsty and this sounds like a fun way to spend my afternoon, now that this post is complete, think I am going to pop over to Woodinville! If you happen to be in the Seattle area & enjoy wine, be sure to swing into JM Cellars for an amazing experience – gorgeous atmosphere, beautiful wines, gardens to inspire & even a bocce ball court!
And please share your favorite wineries with me – I am always looking for great spots to check out. And don’t limit to Washington, we are heading to California in May for our wedding anniversary & I would love your favorites to our must visit list!