How to Choose What Keyword Phrases to Target

Anyone who knows what SEO stands for understands the importance of keywords in search engine ranking systems.  However, it’s also well known that the SEO world is constantly evolving and becoming more complex over time. 

There was an era where creating a high ranking page consisted of simply choosing a keyword, plugging it into some content and posting it on a webpage featuring a few links.  Unfortunately (or fortunately for those whose livelihoods depend on helping people get their websites seen), creating a webpage that shows up on the first page of the search engine results page is no longer that simple.

There are plenty of technical tools, both free and paid for, available to help experts and beginners alike to choose the proper keywords for rankability.  However, there are also some very simple methods that can be used to help create a keyword strategy that doesn’t require fancy tools or expensive software solutions. 

As an SEO company, here is a simple and free method which can be used to determine if you should target a keyword phrase. Just follow the steps below.

Test How Google Responds

Observing how search engines respond to simple tests can sometimes provide greater insight than all the latest SEO gadgets.

By simply plugging the keywords you’re thinking of using into Google, you’ll be given a quick overview of the possibility of making it to the first page results.  Because Google is algorithm based and not an actual person determining what you’re searching for, there is some guesswork involved in understanding the user’s intent with a specific search. 

Therefore, how Google interprets the search query should play a major role in your choice of keywords.

Will My Business Rank for This Phrase?

To illustrate this, let’s use an example that’s related to the pay-per-call field of business.  Although some people may not really understand what exactly this business entails, don’t worry, it still provides a clear example.

Basically, this industry deals with high volumes of phone calls.  They use all sorts of software and hardware to sort these phone calls and direct them to the appropriate parties.  A major part of pay-per-call business deals with unique phone number tracking.  So in this example, we’re going to assume that “phone number tracking” is the keyword we’re considering.

Now if you enter “phone number tracking” into the Google search bar, it becomes immediately apparent that the phone number tracking Google thinks you’re looking for has nothing to do with the type of business pay-per-call is involved in.  Every single result pertains to locating a mobile phone, tracking it using GPS and the legalities of doing so.  The phone number tracking pay-per-call businesses are interested in has more to do with where the caller found the number which they called. However, knowing which of the advertising campaigns provided the number they called is what’s important to this industry.

So, it becomes immediately apparent when someone searches for “phone number tracking” Google thinks they’re looking to track a mobile phone and trace its location using GPS.  Unfortunately, according to Google, the pay-per-call business is irrelevant to the keyword being tested.

Therefore, it becomes obvious that choosing a keyword that reflects Google’s idea of the user’s intent has to play a larger role than just assuming a certain keyword is relevant to your own needs.  And this can be ascertained without paying for fancy keyword research software. 

To Sum It Up

The bottom line is, researching the search engine itself can prevent you from wasting time competing against keywords that are irrelevant to your goals.

In conclusion, to demonstrate being able to work around the not-so-relevant keyword “phone number tracking,” if you tried entering a similar keyword, “call tracking,” you would see results in the entire first page being populated by webpage links of the most  significant pay-per-call competitors.  And this method is how you can find your community and get ready for SEO battle!

For more information on how you can maximize the number of keywords your business ranks for, schedule a free SEO analysis.