[VIDEO] SEO BEST PRACTICES AND STRATEGIES - Part 1

There are many factors search engines take into account when they analyze and try to understand your web page, so let's look at some strategies and best practices for SEO. A main factor and the first element we need to look at is the use of Keywords. This is part of what is known as on-page SEO, or optimizing the pages of your website.

What Are Keywords?

Keywords are the words people enter when searching on search engines. Basically, they are the topics people are trying to learn about and search for on the internet.

To attract strangers who are interested in your content, you need to do research to find out which keywords best relate to your business and your industry and are most likely to be used by a stranger when searching. Your research should always start with your buyer personas.

They represent the people who will become your visitors, leads, and ultimately your customers and promoters. You need to determine who they are, their goals and intentions, and what problems they face, so you can start to understand what they are looking for. Then put yourself in their shoes and make a list of the keywords they might be using in their searches.

Example

Let's say your business makes smartphone accessories, including a waterproof case called “Inmojable.” And let's say one of your buyer personas is a teenager; let's call him Juan Patinetas. If Juan drops his phone in a puddle, Juan has a problem. So what questions would someone normally ask? He might start by searching for something like “how to dry a smartphone,” trying to find the answer from someone who knows the subject.

Next, what questions might Juan ask for which your company offers a solution? Juan may not know to search for your specific product yet, but he could be searching for “waterproof smartphone cases.”

Finally, what questions might Juan ask when he has to decide to buy your waterproof case? He could be searching for phrases like “Inmojable case reviews.”

This is a great opportunity to get information from your sales team: what are the most common questions they get?

Following the process Juan Patinetas would go through, you can end up with a list of keywords like: “how to dry a smartphone,” “waterproof smartphone cases,” and “Inmojable case reviews.”

As you make the list, categorize the keywords by the stages of the buyer's journey. Keywords based on problems related to an industry are part of the Awareness stage. Keywords based on solutions your company offers are part of the Consideration stage. And keywords that help shape a decision are part of the Decision stage.

Now, as you brainstorm, make sure to mimic the language your buyer persona would actually use when searching. Just keep in mind that language can vary a lot in different parts of the world: it might be soda in one place and pop in another... and maybe soft drink somewhere else.

All right, it's quiz time! Let's test how well you know your buyer persona's language. What language would Juan use in a search?

• Where is the iPhone liquid contact indicator
• Is there a water damage indicator on the iPhone
• How to know if the iPhone got wet
• How to detect if the iPhone was wetted

We'll give you 10 seconds to think about it.

All right. Let's see what the correct answer is.

It's not A. Even though Apple calls the feature that, Juan probably doesn't know it, and that's why he wouldn't call it that.

So we can assume it's not B either. Indicator is not a word Juan would use.

The last two options are very similar, so how would Juan search: “How to know if the iPhone got wet” or “How to know if the iPhone was wetted”?

The correct answer is C. Juan is a teenager who would use more casual language, like “How to know if the iPhone got wet.”

Now you realize that there are many keyword phrases you can include in your list, but you will only attract your buyer personas with the words they use in their own language.

Expand Your List

Next, expand that list by searching the internet for alternatives. If you get stuck and think there are no more keywords to add to your list, try searching for your keywords on a search engine and see what the results are.

In this example, we are looking at the keywords “dog names.” When you type in Google, it autocompletes the phrases with the most popular keywords, such as “original dog names,” “funny dog names,” and “famous male dog names.”

You can also look for alternatives under the different options Google gives you in its searches, such as Images or Videos.

In this example, you can see that the phrase “cute dog names” also appears under the Videos search.

You can also use tools like Wordstream’s Keyword Niche Finder or Google Webmaster Tools to get suggestions.

You can add all kinds of alternatives to your keyword list and even expand those keywords yourself, as long as the topic relates to your business and your buyer persona.

Next, determine which keywords people are already using to find your website.

You can use an analytics tool like Google Analytics or HubSpot Sources to get some statistics.

Rank

Finally, decide which keywords will give you a better chance of ranking higher. Remember that many other websites are trying to rank for any given keyword, and only 10 can make it onto the first page of organic results. It will be easier to rank for some words than for others.

Think about it: what would happen if you searched for the word “jackets”? You would end up with results for all different kinds of jackets: men's, women's, leather, etc. And most likely the biggest companies would always come out on top. A keyword like “jackets” is classified as a short keyword or broad keyword because it is exactly that, a short word with a broad reach. If a small store specialized in jackets, it would be extremely difficult to rank for the word “jackets.” There is too much competition around that keyword, and it is also very general; a small store would not get qualified visitors who searched for that word. But if we search for something more specific, like “san francisco giants wool jacket size medium,” you would get more specific results that answer your question.

This more specific keyword phrase is known as a long-tail keyword.

A long-tail keyword usually has 2-4 words, like “giants jacket,” and can be expanded with additional context, such as: “san francisco giants wool jacket size medium.” Make sure the keyword fits as a description of what the page is about. In this case, this page is about this jacket.

First, you are optimizing your page for visitors, but it is also the way search engines understand the purpose of the page and know whether or not to index it in the results, and how to index it.

It is important to optimize your pages with long-tail keywords for two reasons:

1. 1. If you're trying to rank for “giants jacket”... good luck! That's not going to happen. The best way to show up for a term like that is to be specific about the product you are referring to.
      
   2. When you optimize with long-tail keywords like “san francisco giants wool jacket size medium,” you are also optimizing the page for “wool jackets” or for “wool jackets size medium.”

These are the keywords search engines manage to pick up. This doesn't mean that using long-tail keywords will make it easy to rank high. It is important to understand the difficulty level of each keyword you are using, regardless of its length.

To achieve this, you need to dig deeper into your keyword analysis. Research how your content ranks, look at what people are specifically searching for, and find the long-tail keywords that lead people to you.

If you use tools like Google Analytics or HubSpot Keywords, you can also see the level of competition for that keyword. In the end, you will be targeting the keywords with the highest search volume and the lowest competition.

One last thing worth mentioning when it comes to the relationship between long-tail keywords, SEO, and rankings.

It takes time to build credibility online to earn the traffic you want to receive.

You have to see this process as a savings account. Maybe your goal is to end up with $1,000,000 in 30 years. The only way you're going to get that million dollars is to have a plan and be consistent in carrying it out. If you stick to the plan, over time you will earn returns on your investment and get closer to reaching your goal.

It's the same with content and SEO. Every page you optimize is an investment that will help you get closer and closer to achieving your goals. If you are consistent, over time you will have the opportunity to have healthier content and rank for more difficult keywords.

The best way to rank for your main short keyword is to use it with a wide variety of long-tail keywords.

If you need proof, just check out this Sources report from HubSpot customers. It's a good example because the content started in January 2014, and that's exactly when organic traffic started to grow. They started publishing on their blog more than 3 times a week, and as you can see, the results multiplied over time.

The proof is in the data.

Once you have identified your target keywords, it's time to start creating content around them, and we'll talk about that in the next video.

I invite you to tell us: what do you think about using keywords, and how have they helped you get more traffic to your website? Leave us your comment below.

If you missed the previous video, click here: What Is SEO?

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See you in the next video.