What is the best way to do keyword research and get to page one? If you don't do this your search position will never be discovered
Estimated reading time: 7 minutes
Do Keywords matter anymore?
Keywords have always been the best way to search results. You type a query into Google or Bing and you are delivered to a conclusion. Therefore using that query as your Keyword should reward you.
But no. When a hundred heavy hitters are also using that phrase and have done for some time there is no way of knocking them down.
Or perhaps there is.
The ever-changing Google gives us small fish an opportunity to rank higher if we choose smarter.
Enter the world of Information Gain
With so many bloggers on the market, often chasing the same words we need to be different.
In high-traffic words, the same information is repeated over and over. Google takes a dislike to repetition so they must make other choices.
Remember these are highly trained Robots doing the work and they do understand what is going on, you can't fool them with plagiarism or copycat material.
However, so many articles still repeat the same information even when written in a different style.
The good news is that this opens the door wide for you to compete with those that traditionally owned a page one position.
What new information am I bringing to the discussion?
Write this down and pin it to your computer so that you never forget it.
When you are competing with high-profile companies using advanced SEO and a trillion backlinks all on page one it is hard to take them on. Or should I say it was hard to beat them?
I have recently covered that Google now uses search intent and does not use exact match Keywords. (Bing still does).
That in itself is a challenge to us small fry but one that does benefit us.
Now a new concept to radically change your Google results
First of all, we stop rehashing blogs that simply repeat what so many others are saying.
I know you can put your twist on it and be somewhat different but you can not pull the wool over the Google robot's eyes. Sorry but true.
I have written countless articles on Keywords and writing and am often guilty of repeating information. I reasoned that different keywords would attract a different reader and to a point that is indeed true.
I am now approaching my blogs in a very different way and taking steps to be different from the flock.
What I have discovered is to think about your writing and consider one of three options to get you to the front of the market.
Google knows the best fallacy
Write content to expand on what others have written.
- This may be to expand on a subject with more ideas to present
- Add another step to the process. If you understand Bing well Google is different.
- Go a lot deeper into the subject with more detail and ideas
This gives you a chance to offer a different approach but with lots of scope to expand.
The same subject and not just said differently but introducing fresh material that will enlighten your readers in some small way. Google will shower you with gratitude and move you up the pages.
What is the best way to do keyword research and get to page one by thinking out of the square?
Move outside the square and dare to be different.
- Add information missed in the general content.
- Expand on underserved explanations
- Take them on and challenge what they say
Be contentious, challenge the status quo to go out on a limb, and take a completely different road to the one oft traveled. Take an opposing view on the subject and provide reasons for your stance. Readers will love it and stay on your page for much longer. Google will see this, Time on the page is a huge ranking factor, and reward you with a push up the ranks.
Frame your content
When customer testimonials work in a Funnel they do the same in a blog.
Use your business experience and that of known customers
Gather quotes from authority figures and add them.
The readers love local opinion that backs up your statements. I sometimes think they are made up but hey that's just me. If they didn't work they wouldn't be used and they are big time. Adding relevance to your words builds your authority and helps your position.
What is the best way to do keyword research and get to page one when you are the underdog?
Take advantage of your underdog position
“Information gain” is Google’s attempt to curtail this problem and create a reward mechanism for articles that add new information to the discussion — and aspire to be different instead of just better. The future it presents is good, creating a path to more helpful, interesting search results but also unlocking new ways for smaller, underdog companies to benefit from search simply by answering the single question:
Animaz
The above quote explains it better than I could and opens the way for us little guys to rank in the search engines.
In my niche, I fight against the best in the business. They know about site ranking and in fact, teach it. Some even have a product that is represented worldwide. I need an edge to get them out of the way and If I can be the underdog so be it. The fight is in the dog.
Bing and exact match Keywords
Fortunately, Bing and Yahoo have stayed in the past and use exact match Keywords for search results. This is important because Bing delivers me greater results than Google so I rate them quite highly. Therefore your keywords are still vitally relevant.
If this is getting difficult to understand it is just satisfying all parties. What the readers want, how Google sees it, and proper keyword use. Easy really.
Using keywords throughout your article
Many roads lead to Rome, or so they say, but many Keywords indeed lead to results.
The use of appropriate headings will bring additional readers so use them wisely and with good intent.
It is recommended to use your main keyword at least once in a heading to draw even more
traffic.
How to blog using the Skyscraper technique
Conclusion
If you are a little confused join the ranks of us all. Things are changing so quickly that keeping up requires dedication to the subject and particularly one as important as Keywords.
Information gain may be the most important thing you read today so treat it with reverence
and act on the contents to improve your rank position.
What is the best way to do keyword research and get to page one by Peter Hanley?
Finding keywords that will rank you high is only one part of the whole process although a very important one. Writing the article that will contain these keywords is the other and both of them are equally important. Google ranks articles that give people the information that they need but there is so much more behind this that that. Website authority, information provided, way of writing etc are only a few elements that Google looks for.
Thanks, Stratos.
while I do agree with you and in part accept your comments my point is if you get the Keyword wrong nothing else matters because it will rarely get read. Well except for a few Social Media connections.
Page one of a search term is the only place to be anything else is a wasteland.
Peter H