Infatex Blog

This blog’s main focus is to provide relevant tips about online marketing, as well as keep our readers updated with industry current events to ensure that our readers, clients and visitors are enriched with useful information.

SEO Keyword Research for Standard Websites: How to Do It the Smart Way

How is it possible to generate a list of keywords for a fairly normal website that is working with a very limited amount of template content? Creating a list of quality keywords followed by the optimization of separate pages with their own terms is normally the proper route to take. When it comes to this particular type of keyword research, brand websites are the best possible candidates.
 

The Importance of Search Volume

The data that a person can receive by using the integrated keyword tool that is built into Google is nothing but a bunch of useless garbage. That is not a secret to any person or company within the industry. After all of the tedious steps that you have to follow, the search volume always comes back differently each time.
 

The bottom line is that Google’s keyword tool is not a reliable source for quality, individual points of data. Using them for anything other than illustrative purposes will only cause people to end up on a dead end road. However, it is the only true supplier of data that can be generated on any specific keyword. People that decide to use Analytics instead are only provided with information that is already ranked. Therefore, even though it is a clearly flawed system, the keyword tool that is built into Google is the only source of data that is both easy to access as well as comprehensive.
 

A basic formula of relativity within search volume can be used to reduce overall reliance on those individual points of data that are usually generated through Google. In order to come up with that relative search volume, all that you have to do is divide the search volume for the individual keyword by the total volume that is calculated for all of the keywords combined. Following that formula allows one to hone their focus on the total population instead of just individual searches. The actual volume is then easily put in context which is required in order to accurately determine the importance of targeting a specific keyword.
 

Constructing Your Massive Keyword List

The first stage that has to be completed before proceeding is the discovery stage of quality keywords. This stage can occur either through the actual client or the tools being used.
 

One of the most effective routes to take is the client themselves because they would be the perfect people to ask about things related directly to their own business. They know their business inside and out as well as the customers that help drive their business so they are the prime candidates to provide the type of research needed for this stage. Such things as previous keywords that were used for past pages, phrasing that is being used through offline initiatives as well as high margin products that are being offered are all key elements that can be taken into consideration.
 

The secondary method, which is not as directly effective as working with the client, is through the use of tools such as Google keyword tools, data from paid searches and specific discovery tools that are paid for as well. Efficiently using both of these avenues during the discovery stage will allow that massive list of keywords to be generated quicker than one may think.
 

Standard Research for Quality Keywords

After creating the massive list of keywords, they then have to be taken through a collection of metric tests that use a distinct scoring system to measure importance and overall relevance of those words. The most important factor of this stage is to have all of the data that you may need provided on a single sheet because the system will not work properly if each keyword has to be queried separately.
 

For instance, some of the client-directed tests that should be conducted have to deal with whether or not they position their keywords effectively for exponential traffic growth, generate a high product margin based on the keyword description and if it makes up the majority of the complete search audience. By using these tests, you are eliminating human error or bias and sticking strictly to what works and eliminating what does not. The only thing that would ever need to be changed slightly with this systematic approach is the scoring chart.
 

The Procedure

All of the keywords that advance through those stages and make the final cut need to be listed in alphabetical order for organizational as well as tracking purposes for the rest of the process. Organize them in columns on a spreadsheet with calculated formulas that reference the inputted data and help calculate the final score.
 

The first column should feature the list of keywords and the rank will be listed in the second. Ranking on a term is highly recommended in this particular system and simplifies the scoring to a point where you will grade the word a score of 1 if the ranking is greater than 0 but it stays as 0 if it is not able to cross that threshold. It has been proven that keyword traffic increases as its rank continues to rise, the scoring on these spreadsheets will start to reveal the systematic ranking of those keywords.
 

Outside of the top 3 spots is where your focus should then be shifted because even the smallest improvement in overall ranking can cause a rippling effect that will increase traffic greatly. Scoring those keywords through conditional statements will allow you to analyze the words that you should pay more attention to as well as the words to which you should pay less.
 

Analyzing the Ranking of the Competition

Negative scores are applied when key competitors are displayed on the first page of generated results, because the opportunities that you should be focusing on are those that have not already been capitalized by competitors. Struggling with a competitor that already has a premium ranking spot may not be the type of battle that you want to initiate right off the bat.
 

Taking Advantage of Existing Anchor Text

Links can be used to your advantage especially if there are other sites that are interlinking with your site. Your website is clearly relevant to those terms and it’s much easier to accumulate even more links for anchor text purposes. The scoring system can then be adjusted based on whether or not those specific keywords already reflect anchor text currently being used.
 

On-Site Terms VS Paid Conversions

Your term is guaranteed a degree of relevance if people are searching for it as soon as they reach your website. Within the scoring system, the keyword should be awarded a point as soon as it is ranked as one of the top terms of searches. Converting terms that are listed towards the top of the ranking should be awarded a higher point value and penalized if the conversation rate is fairly low.
 

Effectively Analyzing the Time on the Site

The scoring system will award a keyword a single point is the average amount of time that is spent on a website based on that word exceeds the average rate of traffic naturally flowing through that website. A vlookup formula can be used to analyze keywords that are already featured within the behavior data of several users in order to measure the corresponding amount of time that is spent on those sites. If it is not featured within that data, no points will be awarded to that specific word.
 

The formula that can be used to calculate the complete score for the keywords can be analyzed by taking the difference of the sum of test scores and the values that you receive from paid searches and then multiply that figure by the relative search volume that you already found earlier on in the process.
 

The Final Stage

After everything has been completed, you will then be left with a prioritized list of quality keywords to offer your client. You are then able to accurately promote that list as being relevant, popular among the potential audience as well as filled with winning opportunities that clients will flock towards.
 

If there is any question on the accuracy, you can then review the tedious steps of the systematic approach that you have taken this list through along with the various formulas and calculations that you performed along the way. There are several key downloads available on the internet currently of Excel templates that can be used to get you started on the right track. 

Mikhail Tuknov
Internet marketing company in San Diego specializing in SEO, web design, Social media and viral marketing
8889 Caminito Plaza Centro
San Diego
CA
92122
United States
Phone: 858-461-9211 URL of Map