Thriving in today’s competitive online landscape requires having a firm grasp on keyword research and optimisation. For bloggers and content marketers, targeting strategic keywords can mean the difference between mediocre content and high-performing blog posts that attract organic traffic, leads, and sales. This comprehensive guide will teach you how to perform in-depth keyword research tailored specifically to optimise your blog content. The tips apply whether you hope to build a successful lifestyle blog or promote your company blog.
Identify Seed Keywords and Phrases
Start by brainstorming a list of keywords and key phrases relevant to your niche and the content you publish on your blog. These will serve as your “seed keywords” to feed into your keyword research tools and expand your ideas further.
To begin, analyse the themes and topics you typically cover in your industry, as well as existing high-performing posts. Target phrases your ideal readers will likely use to find related information online. Be sure to include common long-tail variations, too (keywords over 2-3 words).
For example, if you manage a travel blog for a small UK travel agency and you are promoting winter skiing holidays, your seed keywords could be “ski holidays” and “winter skiing breaks”.
Leverage Keyword Research Tools
Next, leverage keyword research tools to discover more refined, data-driven keywords within your niche. Google’s free Keyword Planner allows you to input seed keywords and get suggestions along with monthly UK search volumes. Other recommended tools include SEMrush, Moz, Ahrefs and Ubersuggest.
Analyse metrics like search volume, competition levels, suggested bid prices, and trend history. Look for promising mid- to long-tail keywords with enough search volume and value for your efforts – generally at least 100 monthly searches. Download keyword lists to reference later.
Evaluate Your Competition
For your prioritised keyword opportunities, evaluate who currently ranks well for those terms through Google search. Analyse a few of the top-ranking pages and domain authorities competing for each.
This competitive analysis achieved two key things: 1) it spots content gaps where you can create something more useful, and 2) it shows on-page and off-page optimisation tactics working for rivals you can model. Your aim isn’t to copy exactly what they do. It’s more about learning what works and what doesn’t.
Understand Searcher Intent and Questions
A crucial step is digging into the actual search questions and underlying intent for your target keywords. Google autocomplete, and platforms, like Answer the Public, are helpful for this. You want to create content that is tailored to what information searchers need.
If the intent is navigational or commercial, informational content may not convert. Always optimise your blog content based on searcher priorities rather than your own assumptions. Align content to their goals. For example, consider what your customers are searching for if they fancy a skiing holiday. Phrases like “last-minute ski break in Italy” or “cheap skiing holiday” might indicate people are searching for a holiday in a specific destination or budget skiing breaks are in demand.
Incorporate Relevant LSI Keywords
Latent Semantic Indexing or LSI keywords are other semantically related terms and phrases search engines associate with your targets. These might be synonyms, acronyms, subtopics, or other relevant variations.
Finding LSIs is built into most keyword tools. Work them naturally into your posts for optimal density and to reinforce topics. But don’t over-optimise or force them in unnaturally! Nothing ruins SEO like keyword stuffing so the content looks unnatural. Google is huge on content that offers value. The days of filling a 500-word blog post with 100 keyword phrases are long gone.
Categorise and Prioritise Keyword Opportunities
With a robust master keyword list identified, start categorising keywords into buckets like main themes, subtopics, blog post types (lists, how-tos), difficulty level, priority to tackle, etc.
This organisation helps strategically shape future content. Identify which keywords you should create content pillars and clusters around first based on opportunity, competitiveness and commercial value.
If you do a good job, you should end up with a list of keywords that will spark content ideas for months.
Launch New Optimised Blog Content
Armed with insight from researching the most valuable keyword targets for your audience, it’s time to start building blog content around them. Incorporate terms in titles, introductions, headers, image names, URLs, metadata and naturally throughout.
Always ensure your content answers searchers’ needs and provides real value beyond keyword targeting. Use LSI keywords to support topics without over-optimising. Create comprehensive, helpful resources aligned to conversions over quick wins. Add useful extras like data to your blog content, link to pages that offer value, and ensure you don’t just regurgitate existing content.
If writing is not your forte, contact us for a quote. We’re experts at writing engaging blog posts on a range of topics!
Monitor and Refine Over Time
Keyword research for blogs is an ongoing process as searcher interests evolve, new tools emerge, and competitors change. Revisit your research every 2-3 months to identify fresh opportunities. Double down on what converts by monitoring blog traffic sources and analytics.
Savvy keyword research takes dedication but is incredibly worthwhile. By truly understanding your audience and how to optimise your blog content, you can continually grow your blog’s organic visibility and loyal readership.
Get in touch today if you need help to optimise your blog content. The Ink Elves team is here to assist you.
