trifecta in keyword research: volume, difficulty and intent

Search Marketing is a constantly changing industry. But even with the advent of generative AI, keywords remain constant.

Finding the best keywords for your company can be the difference between success and failure. It will also help you to gain an edge over your competitors. It’s only effective when properly harnessed.

Learn how to use Keyword Research to optimize your website. This will help you navigate through the noise and clutter of search marketing and lead you to a treasure trove full of targeted traffic, better rankings and more conversions.

But keyword research is more than just finding popular phrases or words. Understanding volume, difficulty and intent is key.

Clarifying the use of these three data points can help you develop a clear keyword strategy for your company.

Understanding keyword volume

Keyword Volume is the number of searches for a particular keyword within a specified time period. This provides valuable insight into user behavior, search trends and the traffic that can be brought to your site by a specific keyword.

Keywords with high volume can be gold mines, attracting organic traffic as well as potential customers.

Low-volume keywords, on the other hand may be less competitive (we’ll discuss that in a moment), which allows you to target a particular audience and carve out your niche.

Keyword research is aimed at finding high-volume keywords that are relevant to your business.

You are looking for those hidden gems that have a high volume of searches and align with your industry, products or services.

Start by brainstorming terms and phrases your target audience may use to search for information or solutions related to your business.

Imagine yourself as your customer and imagine the language that they would use.

Use keyword research tools to identify keywords with high search volumes.

If you are a roofing business that offers a variety of styles and types of roofs but want to increase traffic to your metal option, then you should explore some variations of the key phrases customers may use to find more common terms.

Here are some things to think about:

You can use the Volume to see how often each keyword is searched per month to determine what keywords you should target for your metal roof service page.

Remember, you shouldn’t just chase the keywords with the highest search volume. Consider the competition and relevance of those keywords.

The key to success is finding a balance between a high volume of sales and attainable competition.

Evaluating keyword difficulty

Keyword difficulty is a measure of how difficult it is to rank a keyword. Our trusted tools are used to calculate keyword difficulty.

The SERPs will show you things such as the number of sites that already rank for the keyword in question, their quality and authority, their features, etc.

Finding the sweet spot between low-difficulty and high-volume keywords is an important part of a good keyword strategy.

It’s important to choose keywords that have a decent volume of searches, but don’t have fierce competition. You need to choose your battles carefully and focus on keywords that have a chance.

You can use the all-in one search marketing platforms to measure your domain authority. You will have a better chance to rank with the correct content.

If your domain authority is 30 and you are a metal roofing company, then you should target keywords that have a score of 20-40.

You should be able to rank your site quickly for keywords that have a difficulty below 30. If you have a difficulty level above 30, it will be more difficult to get into the top three spots.

With our current domain authority, we can rank for “types and contractors of metal roofing” as well as “metal roofs”.

SEO is a game of patience. Finding the right balance and adapting to your strategy is key.

As your domain authority grows, you will be able to go after terms that are more competitive.

Matching User Intent

User Intent is the motivation or purpose behind a query. Here, the science of SEO becomes an art that is open to interpretation.

The secret to identifying the keyword intention is to decipher the hidden meaning of someone’s words.

Search engine users have a goal in mind when they type their query. It could be:

Most commonly, user intent can be divided into four types. Let’s take a look at each type.

Informational Intent

When users search for answers to their questions, they are looking for knowledge.

You can meet their search with a a href=”https://searchengineland.com/how-to-write-ablogpost-391760″>blog/a> or a href=”https://searchengineland.com/longform content steps examples-392592″>long form/a> informational landing page on your website. You can meet their search by creating a blog, long form landing page.

Navigational Intent

Navigational users already have in mind a website or brand. They want to go directly to the website.

You can help them by providing information about your company, such as an a href=”https://searchengineland.com/effective-about-us-page examples-390207″>About/a> or a href=”https://searchengineland.com/location specific authority content seo-42869″>Location page/a>. You can help them with About and Location.

Commercial Intent

They are in the research phase, and may be considering a purchase. These users are looking for information on product reviews, comparisons or pricing.

You can search for “top trail shoes” or “best bookkeeping software”.

If your business allows it, you can meet their search by creating a long-form services page or a UX optimized homepage. You could also create a blog post about the “top products”.

Transactional Intent

Users who have a transactional intention are ready to act. They are ready to complete a transaction, make a purchase or sign up for services.

You can use keywords such as “buy,” “order,” and “sign up” to direct them to a page that offers a CTA.

Dig deep: Create and implement a buyer journey based content strategy

You should analyse search engine results in order to align keyword targeting and user intent. Find out what content is ranking for certain keywords.

Ask yourself: “Does the content I’m creating align with what my users are looking for?”

You need to put yourself in the shoes of the people you want to reach and provide them with the solutions and answers they are looking for.

If we go back to our metal roofing example: if the choice is between “types metal roofs” and “metal roof contractor”, then “metal roof contractor” would be the best option based on commercial intent.

It is possible that the intent behind “types metal roofs” was commercial.

After looking at other content rankings for this keyword we can quickly tell that this keyword is for a blog post or another content piece.

By creating content that is tailored to the user’s intent, you can improve their experience and increase conversions.

Search intents are not limited to just 4 different types

Best Practices: The Trifecta in Action

Here are some tips to help you get started with your keyword research.

Conduct comprehensive keyword research

Do not limit yourself to just a few keywords. Explore a variety of keywords from the beginning to find hidden gems and not just the obvious ones.

To generate a wide range of keywords, use keyword research tools and brainstorming sessions.

Prioritize keywords according to trifecta

Not all keywords have the same value. Prioritize your keywords based on trifecta factors.

Find keywords that have a reasonable search volume, are aligned with your business objectives and have a realistic level of difficulty.

Consider different words and their variations (e.g. past or present tense), as you search for keywords that are relevant to your business.

Create content that is relevant to the user’s intent

Create content that meets the needs and desires of your audience. Content can be tailored to user intent, whether it is informative blog posts or engaging videos.

You are not sure of the language or questions your customers ask?

Ask your customer service and sales teams if they can provide a list with common objections. This is an excellent place to start when creating a content plan that focuses on keywords and what’s in demand.

The last thing you should do after identifying the most valuable keywords is to target them with the incorrect piece of content.

Do not optimize your product pages with a keyword that is high in volume and information. These users are simply looking for information and not yet ready to purchase.

By satisfying the user’s intent, you can reward your website’s authority and receive positive ranking signals.

Dig deep: Content map: who, what, when, where, why, and how

You can adjust your keyword strategy by monitoring and monitoring.

SEO is always evolving. Be sure to keep an eye on the performance of your keywords and make any necessary adjustments.

As trends change, the language used in markets can also evolve. Analyze data, monitor rankings and listen to your audience.

Your top keywords should be the focus of your landing pages, but you can tweak them as your audience grows.

Stay flexible and adjust your keyword strategy when necessary.

To stay on top of the latest trends in search and your competitors, you should continue to experiment, test, and refine your approach.

How to find keyword data

Choose from a variety of tools, both free and paid, to collect the data we have discussed. Here are some options:

Google Keyword Planner

You can use this free tool to analyze search volumes and get insight into the competitiveness for specific keywords.

Ubersuggest

You can use this “freemium tool” to search for data up to three times per month before you need a paid account. This is a good all-in one tool for beginners.

Search marketing platforms

Semrush, Ahrefs and Moz are all-in-one tools that provide you with all the information you need, as well as some handy tools to dig deeper into your keyword strategy. This will give you a complete understanding of the search environment.

For a successful keyword strategy, consider volume, difficulty, and intent

Keyword research isn’t a one-time task. This is a journey of continuous growth and optimization.

Keyword research will not be going out of fashion anytime soon. Even generative AI must use common search terms and language.

You’re on the correct path if you are just scratching the surface of keyword research or SEO. Just keep going.

Your curiosity can be your compass. Your creativity is your fuel. And your commitment will be your guide.

Your carefully selected keywords will soon help you to connect with your audience and elevate your online presence. This will lead to more conversions.

The post Keyword research strategy trifecta: volume, difficulty and intent first appeared on Search Engine land.

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