Why Is Keyword Research Important in Writing?
Keyword research is a fundamental process in SEO even while writing content, and this is why.
Video transcription:
David: Jami, do you have any observations from learning the keyword research process?
Jami: No, just that it is a whole lot more involved than I thought at first – you know, the first few times that I had done it. And it was a little bit confusing. The video that I just watched of you working on that spreadsheet today got a little bit confusing. So, I’m going to be interested to hear what you have to say about the part that I did. Yeah, it’s very involved. But it’s also kind of fun. I don’t know; that might be the analytical side of my brain because it is kind of interesting to me to do.
David: Yeah, I appreciate the input. I’ll look and see what your latest is on that. I think I’ll have time tomorrow to look at that. But you know, keywords are an important part of what this is because we have to make sure we’re speaking our customers’ language, not just literally their language, but speaking in terms they speak in. So, even if we’re doing paid like Eli, you know, we have to make sure that we’re connecting with what people search for, even if they search for the wrong thing.
Jami: Right.
David: And that’s where it can be really tough with customers, especially if they’re specialist customers. We don’t necessarily talk about client names here, but we have one client that barely can articulate what they do. That becomes really hard to even talk about in terms of what their customers do because they are such experts in this industry and boy, they’re doing really well. For them, it’s just a matter of producing something that’s relevant now.
Tricia: I’ve got a client that is working on some things, and one of the keywords has something to do with hair treatment. But the type of treatment that they do isn’t something you would search for. The person searching would not search for this word. I told them nobody who is looking for what you have to offer is going to come up with this word unless they’ve already done a ton of research and maybe went to someone else before you.
David: Right.
Tricia: So yeah, that’s where I said we need to figure out the words that your customers are using and not necessarily your industry terms. Your customer terms, not your industry terms, I guess. Is that kind of what you mean?
David: That’s a great way to think about it. And there’s also part of the keyword research process that is determining whether SEO is even right for the client. I had a prospective client call yesterday with a company that is producing these really, really cool, for lack of a better word, fertilizer pellets for industrial farming that are organic and powerful and great and will revolutionize the way farms could bring nutrition to crops. And I said that before we do anything, let’s see if anybody’s looking for this. Right? Because this isn’t something grandma is going to buy to throw in her backyard garden.
Tricia: Yeah.
David: And before we charge you for an SEO plan and hit our head against the wall for six months, not getting far, let’s make sure people even know what you have to offer to look for it. I mean, that’s kind of why I give away the keyword research process and Curious Ants for free because I want you to be able to say, hey, this is the right marketing channel for me before I even do it. But, even for Youssef in link building keyword research is important because when it comes to understanding who are the competitors or what are the topics of blog posts that we want to write for other websites. You know, we have to have that keyword research piece. So, SEO isn’t about a couple of magical keywords on a page and hoping it works. There’s a lot more, but it starts with keyword research.