Hello all welcome back. In today’s update I am going to explore the work that I have been carrying out on my digital marketing agency website. I am also going to provide some updates on my progress towards the goals I laid out in a previous post.
Keyword Research – The Free Method
Recently my SEMRush subscription has expired and I wanted to see whether we can achieve the same results using the old fashion methods of SEO and serach analysis. These include:
Google Trends
By using google trends we can look for search terms within different niche markets and see what is currently trending. Why do I use this tool? Well, once I have found a search term that I am looking to target Trends can provide me with an indication on search volume. As a rule of thumb I follow this guide:
| Visible Google Trends Analytics | Total Monthly Search Volume (Estimate) |
| Complete Analytics | 10,000 + |
| Most Analytics Present | 5000 + |
| Some Analytics Present | 1000 + |
| No Analytics Present | Below 1000 |
SEMRush provides a handy indication on the search volume for a specific keyword. This is pulled from the Google Search API and as such we can use the tools provided by google to get an estimate of the search volume. At the end of the day, the vast majority of search analysis tools are estimated values anyway.
By combining this information with Google Adwords (now integrated into Google Ads) we can form a good understanding on whether targeting a keyword is worth our time. Well written content should aim to get at least 1000 unique views every month. For this reason targeting serach terms that have low search volume can yield little to no results even if we rank at the top of Google.
Google AdWords (Ads)
Google Ads has a handy built in keywords tools that can provide us further information when carrying out our search volume analysis. It takes far more time to do this analysis than it would paying for a AHREFs or SEMRush subscripton – but this is why they can charge the monthly fees that they do.
By using this tool we can look into the total search volumes directly from the source – Google.
For example – let’s say we wanted to target “how to make my candle burn for longer”. We get a list of 2172 search queries. Not half bad for a free tool. The best part is you can extract these search terms into an csv file allowing you manipulate the data during your analysis. By filtering on low competition and the highest search volume we gain the following potential search queries to target.
Handy tool I know.
Google Search
The next method you can use that I regulary implement is a simple search into the Google Search bar. First you want to ensure that you are in a new incognito window. The go to the search bar and type in the start of a search query.
We will continue with the candle example. You can use query terms to start you search such as “What”, “How”, “When”, “Are”. These should be then followed by the keyword you are targeting in our case this is for a candle. This yeilds the following results:
And there you have it more keywords to target. The next step in the process is to work out what the competition is looking like. You can either conduct this research in the Google Ads tool or better yet check it yourself. If you are seeing a lot of article that are answering the question – you guessed it the competition is high. If you see big brands and government websites – it is best to steer clear unless you have the domain authority to back up you article.
The golden ticket? Finding a search term that has very little articles that address the user intent and in most cases where you can see a forum or two at the top of the results.
Let’s use the candle example again.
When typing the search term “how many candles to heat a room”. We see two forums and one article in the top three spots – for this reason as long as the search volume is high enough this would be a great article to write. You should check out the articles to see how many words they have and the quality of the article this will give you an indication of the competition that you need to beat. Creating a better more informative article for the user.
People Also Ask Section for Search Analysis
While we are on this topic in the image above you will see the “People Also Asked” section. This is another great resource for finding additional search terms that you can target. Some of these questions may not need a complete article.
For example “Can 1 candle heat a room” – does not need a 1000 plus word article souly for this search term. The search volume will be limtied and you will be wasting your time. However, what you can do it include these as sub headings in your “How many candles to heat a room article”.
By doing this you are capturing multiple search queries in one article. This will allow you to increase the potential search volume coming to your site from complimentry serach queries.
Handy right?
Putting The Search Analysis Into Action
So now you have all of these different search queries and keywords what do we do with them…
Well we write high quality well written content for the users of those search queries. In most cases we need to write a large amount of consentrate content (content clustering) on a specific topic before the Gods of Google determine that we are clued up enough on the topic (EAT).
Avoiding Keyword Stuffing
Now when I say add these keywords and phrases to your content does this mean your content should be littered with the keyword. No.
This is a blackhat SEO technique that is throwned upon by Google and can lead to your website being penalised for your backhand techniques – naughty you. So don’t do it.
So how many keywords is enough?
The Google Algorithm – although annoying when it changes half a dozen times a year often get’s it right (not all the time but most of the time). As such it has become incredibly good at selecting the best answer to a user search intent.
For this reason as long as you asnwer the search query better than everyone else (and you have created enough cluster content to support your domain authority and EAT rankings) you will find yourself sitting somewhere on the first page of Google. All you need to do is keep the content train going and wait 6 months to 1 year (this is a guide and it can take up to 2 years with some highly competitive search queries).
Delving into The Content of EruptSEO
So my friends, why have I chosen this topic this week. Well because I have been on this content train for my digital marketing agency brand – EruptSEO.
This week I have written four articles that have targeting several keywords that I have conducted with these methods. I plan to use these four articles to update you on the progress of:
- When they become indexed?
- When they start to bring in impressions?
- When they start to bring in clicks?
- When they reach the top 50 results on Google?
- When they reach the top 10 results on Google?
- When they reach the top 3 results on Google?
I think this will provide some great insight for both myself and you the reader over the coming months. I will update this article to include the results of these article over the next couple of months. So check the article for updates now and in the future. I will of course write a more in depth article once the above results are complete.
Making Sure Your Article Rank
To ensure that in this experiment we get the results we are looking for there are several elements that I will include in these articles. I would suggest that you incorporate these methods into your own content writing as it has worked for me over the last several years.
| Content Element | Reason |
| Correct Article Structure | – Ensure that you are using the correct headings for your articles H1 through H6. – Ensure that you have proper grammar, spelling and that you can write in the first place. If you can’t practice makes perfect. – Ensure that your articles flow and are in-depth on the topic of your choice. – Ensure that at a minimum your content is over 1000 words. For more in depth pillar posts (those articles that are targeting high competition high volume keywords) you are shooting for over 3000 words. – In contrast to my last point – ensure that you produce quality of quantity. Skip the fluff. |
| Interlinking & Referencing | – Ensure that you include at least one internal link in your article. – Ensure that you include several external links that lead to resources that back up your points (referencing is not just for academic paper you know). – Ensure that for links that you want the user to follow you tell them why it is important for them to click the link and where the link will take them. – For external links (pushing traffic away from your site) a simple link will suffice over a word within the point you are making. |
| Get to The Point | – If the search query is a question, ensure you asnwer the question in a short paragraph at the top of the article. – Encourage the reader to explore further with added value. – Avoid answering the question at the bottom (I as well as others hate this – so don’t do it to your users). |
| Featured Snippets | – As part of the getting to the point we want to ensure that the paragraph that answers the question does so in under 300 characters. – Google has a handy tool that provides the best answer to the user displayed on the SERP. – If you write the best answer in under 300 character and put it in bold – you guessed it – you win the snippet. – By winning these snippets, your article is instantly brought to the top of Google. Not bad for 300 characters worth of work. |
| Add Tables | – Tables make your content stand out and allow users to easily digest the information that you are trying to provide. – Tables also break up content so they are not bombarded with a wall of text the second they land on your site. This is a big no no if you are looking to retain there eye balls on the article and furture content on your site. |
| Writing Style | – Ensure that your writing style fits the audience. – If you are creating a crafts website ensure that the writing is engaging and brings across your playful side. – If you are a manufacturer or a corporation opt for professional but engaging language. Just because it is topical doesn’t mean you want to put your readers to sleep. |
| Lists Are Your Friend | – Again to avoid the wall of texts that you often see on a lot of sites add bullet points. – In the case of steps or guides, ensure that you add numbered lists. – For numbered lists also make sure that you are placing a short snippet of what the step is in as few words as you can and place it in bold. Why? Well you have the potential to gain a featured snippet but this time as a list. |
| Images & More | – Just because you are a writer does not mean you can get away with a wall of text. – Include at least one high quality image in each article – and ensure that you set it as a featured image allowing it to be dsiplayed on search engines and your site. – Ensure that you include ALT text for each image. – Add inforgraphics to your article if there is a particular piece of information that is hard to digest. – Add a video to your article. Not only does this boost the quality of the content but if you made the video yourself you can start building a following on social media such as YouTube. – If you prefer audio add this to your article and start a site podcast that delves deep into your chosen field. |
| Unique Content | – If you can for your chosen topic do your own work. – Add in an analysis you have conducted yourself. – Add in data that you have collected from a survey. – Add in your expertise that you have gained over the years you have been in the industry. – Ensure that your content is not the same as other articles present on Google – you want to stand out and these types of unique content can lead to backlinks to your website – in turn boosting your sites authority. |
| Quality is King | – Above all else make sure the article is high quality. – If you read it and you think it is shit – others will probably think the same. – Get your friends and family to read some of your work and give you feedback. – Even better get your reader to feedback on the topic you have just wrote about – how could you improve? – ENSURE THAT YOU ARE NOT A BROAD CHURCH. NICHE DOWN SHOW YOU KNOW WHAT YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT AND BECOME A THOUGHT LEADER WITHIN THAT FIELD. CORNER ONE NICHE AND THEN EXPAND IF YOU WISH. |
Conclusion & Final Thoughts
So that is it for today dear readers. I hope you have gained something from this article. Instead of the update on where I am with the content train myself – I wanted this to be more of an informative entry. As an update however, as of today I have finished the four article for the Digital Agency website.
What comes next?
Well I will now be working on my several other sites and I will provide various updates on these over the coming weeks. I am also hoping to provide a potential long awatied updated on my Novel progress. I am hoping to reach chapter 8 by the end of the month – which I am excited to share with you.
Anyway – till next time.
Take Care.
