The document outlines best practices for keyword research, emphasizing its importance in understanding search intent and aligning with the customer journey. It discusses various stages of the buyer's journey, factors to consider during research, and strategies for optimizing content with relevant keywords. Additionally, it highlights the importance of monitoring keyword performance and adjusting strategies based on competitive analysis.

2. ● I’m a keyword rockstar!
● I know a lot but there is always more to learn!
● I do keyword research here and there.
● What’s a keyword?
How much do you know about keyword
research?

3. The Heads & Tails of
Keyword Strategy

4. Keyword Research = Targeting
Relevant Words

5. Long tail
keywords
collectively can
account for 50%
of or more of a
sites overall
traffic
38% of Search
Queries are
Only One Word

7. Keyword Research Best Practices

8. Keyword Research: Customer Journey
3
What is a robotic vacuum?
The Early Stage of the Buyer’s
Journey consists of phrases
capturing the Searcher’s
awareness:
• Who
• What
• When
• Where
• Why
• How

9. Keyword Research: Customer Journey
3
Robotic vacuum vs standing vacuum
The Middle Stage of the
Buyer’s Journey consists of
comparative phrases to
capture the Searcher’s desire.
• Comparison
• Best
• Versus
• Better
• Or

10. Keyword Research: Customer Journey
3
Cost of a robotic vacuum
The End Stage of the Buyer’s
Journey consists of
transactional phrases to
capture the Searcher’s action.
• Cost
• “How Much”
• Buy
• Sale
• Price

11. Keyword Research Factors to Consider
Personas
Consider the searcher’s
demographic when
researching.
Rank
Search Volume
Consider the competition
and volume for each search
term.
Search Intent
Consider the user intent behind
the search.
Competitors
Analyze keywords your
competitors are ranking for.
Localization
Understand local demand &
visibility.
Non-Branded
Branded keywords often
skew organic visibility.
Seasonality
Consider any seasonal trends or
upcoming launches.
Include top organic keywords (Protect),
low-hanging fruit identified for quick
wins (Improve), and keywords with
untapped market potential (Expand).
Protec
t
Impro
ve
Expan
d

12. The Importance of
Keyword Relevancy &
Intent

13. What Makes Search Intent So Important?
Understanding the searcher’s intent ensures that you are prioritizing relevancy in your keyword
research.

14. What Makes Search Intent So DIFFICULT?
1. We don’t decide it! Google… “can’t beat
it”.
2. High Monthly Search Volume is just so
attractive.
3. Low Monthly Search Volume is so…
blehh.
Difficulty Factors

15. Meet Tired Tim

16. How do you sleep

19. How to Best Understand Search Intent
1. The SERP does not lie. Research your
phrase!
2. Competitive Rank Analysis
3. The higher the volume, the more likely it
can have a different meaning.
● How do you sleep (5,400 MSV)
● How do you sleep at night (1,300 MSV)
Factors to Consider

20. How to find relevant
keywords to use?

21. Strategy for Keyword Research
1. Keywords align with searcher's intent
1. Target 2-3 main keywords per page
a. Primary keyword - target keyword
b. Secondary keyword - supporting keyword
c. Tertiary keyword - supporting keyword
2. Create a topic for each page:
a. Topic should tie-in intent and Customer-first mentality
b. We cannot create demand so we need to match the customer’s voice
c. Targeted keywords should support this topic

22. Which related keywords do we use in
our content?
Latent Semantic Indexing (LSI) or
semantically related keywords are
the best way to increase our
relevancy around a topic.
Users search in a lot of different
ways but sometimes mean the
same thing.
These are not necessarily
synonyms but they are related in
nature.

23. Use Competitive Data
SERP Analysis
Know what keywords your competitors are using.

24. There are specific places where we need to place relevant keywords:
● Title tags
● Meta description
● Header tags (H1, H2, H3, etc)
● URL
● Body copy
How can we make sure Tired Tim finds out
content?

25. Title Tag: How Do I Fall Asleep At Night? (1300 MSV) | [Brand Name]
Meta Description: Learn the tips and tricks to make sure you can fall asleep fast and stay asleep.
H1: How Do I Fall Asleep Fast ( 480 MSV)
H2: How Do I Fall Asleep Earlier (40 MSV)
● H3: Tips to Fall Asleep Easily (110 MSV)
● H3: Best Way to Sleep Quickly (20 MSV)
H2: How Do I Fall Asleep After Waking Up (20 MSV)
Example of Page Optimization So Tired
Tim Can Sleep

26. Optimizing our content is only half the
story.
Next, we need to:
● Monitor keyword rankings and
organic traffic
● Analyze pages over-performing or
underperforming
Keyword & Content Performance for
Tracking Organic Performance