SEO: How to make a good keyword strategy

SEO is roughly the art of doing what everyone else is doing - just a notch better. And then, of course, there's a lot more to it. To make SEO yield positive results, it's not enough to just analyse your competitors and do the trick. You also need to understand why they do what they do. And not least, you need to learn which disciplines are not worth repeating.

Without a keyword strategy, your SEO texts will not perform well on Google. You can easily write a successful SEO text without a keyword analysis - but not an effective one! This is because keyword analysis provides insight not only into the most commonly used keywords, but also into the phrases and keyword combinations that make the most sense to use. In other words, a thorough keyword analysis will give you a better understanding of potential customer demand and behaviour.

You can compare texts written without a keyword analysis to old dusty books placed in the very back row of a library. They exist, but no one will ever read them. Instead, your texts should be among the first and most visible on Google's golden page 1 - and here a keyword analysis is the first step on the way.

To get to the top of Google, you have to take stock of the situation. Keyword analysis is a guide to the direction you should take and the opportunities you have.

There are a wealth of tools to help with your keyword analysis. However, there are some that stand out.

• Ahrefs is a tool that contains several functions in one. One of them is the "content gap" feature. By entering competitors' domains, specific paths or URLs and holding them up against your own, you get a list of keywords that competitors are found on - but that your own website is not. So you'll have the perfect tool to find new keywords that will make you visible to your target audience.
• Google Search Console is Google's own gold mine of SERP and SEO technical data. You get access to invaluable data about how Google users interact with your website, as well as concrete, data-driven suggestions for improvement.
• SEMrush is an all-in-one tool that can be used for SEM and SEO. The tool can give you insights into your visibility on Google, relevant keywords, inbound links, ad campaigns, social media and competitors - and you also have the possibility to check your content.
• Answer The Public is a free tool where you can find inspiration for questions, queries and more in combination with your entered keyword.

Find out more about the SEO tools we use every day at Webamp.

Of course, good keyword analysis varies by company and industry. However, a common denominator is a healthy mix of broad core keywords and more specific longtail keywords.

Core keywords come from your company's core competencies and the services you offer. For example, a dentist's core keyword could be "dentist" or "book an appointment with a dentist". Both examples are very broad keywords that align with your core services - but so do all your competitors in the same industry.

Therefore, it is also important to have more specific keywords that are specifically related to your business. These are what SEO calls "longtail keywords". For a dentist located in Amager, a longtail keyword could be "Tandlæge Amager". If it is a dentist specializing in root canals, an obvious longtail keyword would be "Tandlæge med speciale i rodbehandling".

The two most significant differences between core and longtail keywords are:

1. Longtail keywords make up the vast majority of searches.
2. Longtail keywords are by definition more specific than core keywords.

Search intent is important in the SEO- and SEM world. Is the user looking for information, a product or a solution that can meet a need? Search intent is about what users are looking for - and where they are in the customer journey. Do they have a new need they don't yet know how to fill? Or do they know exactly what they're looking for?

Google also values search behaviour, as it is also in their interest that the search algorithm can understand the searchers' search behaviour based on a given keyword. This means that they will arrive at a relevant search result faster and more efficiently.

To better understand the search intent behind the billions of searches that take place on Google, search intent is usually divided into 4 categories:

Information search (1)

• The user wants information.
• Will often be formulated as a long tail keyword and a hv question - 'how do I improve the indoor climate in my home?', 'when was the internet invented?', 'what is search intent?', 'how do I get red wine out of my white shirt?' etc.
• The search results will typically be Wikipedia articles and other online encyclopaedias, blog posts, etc. - i.e. informative and disseminative pages.

Navigation search (2)

• The user searches for specific products, offers, services or subpages of a company or website they already know.
• For example, 'offer IKEA', 'apartments in Aarhus DBA', 'website Webamp' etc.
• Search results will be product and service-specific landing pages and domains under the companies the user wants to shop with.

Shopping (3)

• The user's intention is to buy a product, service or something else.
• The search often has associated words such as "buy", "cheap", "offer" or similar words.
• Sometimes the search will also just consist of the general term of the product like "running shoes", and here the search approach is mixed with what is called research search.

Research search (4)

• Research covers the stage before users are ready to buy a product. They therefore seek information about a particular product in the form of specifications, reviews, comparisons, etc.
• The search often overlaps with the other categories, as the aim is to find information about a specific product or service.

Unfortunately, if you want to make sure you're constantly in the running for Google's favourite page 1, there's no such thing as resting on your laurels. Firstly, Google's algorithm is a complex and ever-changing entity. Second, competition for good keywords is fierce.

That's why it's important to continuously evaluate the benefits of your efforts. Is your website generating enough enquiries? Are there keywords on which you rank poorly? Or are your users not interacting with your content as they should?

These are important questions to ask to make sure your website is always performing at its best. If it's not, it's time to optimise! This is where a SEO specialist is worth their weight in gold, as they have their fingers buried deep in the complex world of SEO every day.

At Webamp , our skilled SEO specialists help you find the right keywords and put them in the right places, so you can concentrate on your business's core areas.

Do you need help with a professional keyword analysis to get the foundations of your SEO strategy in place? Webamp is a serious SEO agency in Copenhagen ready to help you get visible in Google's results. Our specialists take care of everything from A to Z - including link building, technical SEO and copywriting.

Contact Webamp on 70 60 50 28 or info@webamp.dk to find out what our SEO specialists can do for your business.

Webamp offers 3 different SEO plans: Premium, Premium Plus and Paramount. Which plan is best for you depends on your needs and budget. Have a chat with us if you want to know more about the benefits of the different plans.

Whatever subscription you take out, our collaboration always starts with a meeting and a good dialogue. This ensures that we take your company's reality as our starting point when creating your SEO marketing.

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