A Keyword Centric Approach

There are three kinds of keywords out there. And it takes quite a bit of research to figure out what the important ones are when it comes to your business.

Knowing how to divide keywords into these categories is crucial — not only to save money and make sure your campaign is using every last dollar in the smartest way possible, but to find chinks in your competitors’ armor, to figure out ways you can capitalize that might not always be so clear.

Here Are The 3 Types of Keywords.

Let us give you an ultra-simple explanation of how we figure out what keywords your business needs to target, and how to divide them into their categories. Why all this sorting? It’s easy — knowing whether a keyword is worth pursuing (and thus choosing to take out ads or optimize your site for it) can make or break your campaign:

Keyword Type #1 is the “Big Category” (This One is Tough.)

These are the big ones. The single-word categories — things like “shoes”. Or “monitors”. Or try “accountants”. Should your campaign target these keywords? Well, here’s what you get:

• High Volume. Millions of people search for these keywords every day. Theoretically, that’s millions of potential visitors who might stumble upon your little corner of the internet. People search for these keywords in massive volume, so the odds of your website at least showing up in the search results isn’t bad. Except…

• Deadly Competition. The big names have been ranking with these keywords for years, and no matter how good your campaign, it’s exceedingly hard to convert here. You can try, but the odds are tremendously stacked against you.

  And that “showing up in the search results” we mentioned above? That doesn’t mean you’re going to be on page 1. Or even page 2. For the “big category” terms, you’re looking well into the double digits.

Keyword Type #2? It’s A More Specific “Research” Word (A Little Bit Easier.)

Now we’re talking — say “24 inch lcd displays” instead of just “lcd monitors”. These keywords move beyond the big category and into something that requires a little bit of research, a little bit of knowledge beforehand. So what are the positives & negatives?

• Medium Volume. You can at least hope to compete with some of these terms. This goes beyond just ranking in the search results — if you’re paying for ads on these keywords, you at least stand a chance of getting an impression or two without breaking the bank.

  You can convert when you target these keywords.

• Conversion Still Isn’t Easy. Your offering — what you present to your visitors in order to get them to convert — has to be note perfect to compete in this category. And while we aim for “the perfect conversion machine” every time we design a page, it takes significant trial & error to get it right.

And Keyword Type #3 — This is the “Buy/Action” Word (The Sweet Spot.)

This is where your visitors will come to you via a specific product name, or a very particular search. These are the keywords you want to target. Why?

• Conversion Chances are Exponentially Greater. When your visitors have entered a very specific term into a search engine — whether they’re following an organic or paid result — it might still be to do research, but their searching behavior has moved beyond passive, casual interest, and into a potential purchasing mode.

  You want to capture visitors who are actively browsing with these intentions.

• Organic & Paid Competition Isn’t As Tough. When we help you find a keyword that you can really compete on, your chances of meaningful impressions and higher rankings are all the better. Sure, volume isn’t astronomical like it is with the “category” or “research”-style keywords, but competition is less cut-throat, giving you a crucial chance to capture the niche, and your conversion chances are much higher, thanks to the specific word entered by your visitor.

  That means your bottom line is better, too.

Why is Keyword Research Fundamental?

Because you can’t figure out what those Buy/Action keywords are without a lot of studying. Every single one of our campaigns starts with hours of focused research — looking over past data, comparing terms and search volume over time, and trying to spot two crucial things:

• Keywords That Seem Too Good to be True: competition appears to be non-existent and search volume isn’t anything to scoff at. But you need more than that for a successfully-converting term, and it takes experience to spot (and avoid) those keywords that promise big but deliver little.
• The Diamonds in the Rough: these are fundamental long-tail keywords your competitors have missed, or that just aren’t being paid enough attention to. There are hundreds of these gems in every single niche, and we’re pros at puzzling them out.