{"id":21035,"date":"2023-06-20T14:26:30","date_gmt":"2023-06-20T14:26:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/c1mdev.com\/c1m.ai\/?p=21035"},"modified":"2024-09-16T14:48:08","modified_gmt":"2024-09-16T14:48:08","slug":"the-ultimate-seo-strategy-and-keyword-research-guide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/c1mdev.com\/c1m.ai\/the-ultimate-seo-strategy-and-keyword-research-guide\/","title":{"rendered":"The Ultimate SEO Strategy and Keyword Research Guide"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wpb-content-wrapper\"><div class=\"vc_row wpb_row vc_row-fluid vc_custom_1665094498945\">\n<div class=\"wpb_column vc_column_container vc_col-sm-12\">\n<div class=\"vc_column-inner\">\n<div class=\"wpb_wrapper\">\n<p class=\"vc_custom_heading\"><span style=\"font-size: 16px;\"><span id=\"urn:enhancement-0065186e-a685-462c-947d-a4a03a707910\" class=\"textannotation\">Search engine optimization<\/span> is a big topic \u2013 and it should be, since it\u2019s so valuable for <span id=\"urn:enhancement-cf38c385-e472-44e5-8788-50e71cae701a\" class=\"textannotation\">digital marketing<\/span>. But it\u2019s not enough to just <span id=\"urn:enhancement-1b5f3de7-c1bc-4e3c-bc1e-74fad7372cc2\" class=\"textannotation\">cover<\/span> the basics of <span id=\"urn:enhancement-2ba08c73-2708-46a9-bb3d-3dd93d98c685\" class=\"textannotation\">SEO<\/span>. You also need to develop a thoughtful <span id=\"urn:enhancement-161dec10-fccb-4c49-981a-c2fdcec7c9ff\" class=\"textannotation\">SEO strategy<\/span>. Without a <span id=\"urn:enhancement-e88c0b83-672c-4ac4-b0f3-2c958b25d760\" class=\"textannotation\">strategy<\/span>, you\u2019re just stuffing <span id=\"urn:enhancement-d0c1e812-cc97-49fb-85b9-838c94a1342e\" class=\"textannotation\">keywords<\/span> into <span id=\"urn:enhancement-71699360-f3b9-45d9-b43e-5266142b7921\" class=\"textannotation\">blog posts<\/span> and hoping your <span id=\"urn:enhancement-fa4a5589-ec12-46f4-af9a-7afa1651e004\" class=\"textannotation\">prospects<\/span> find you.<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"wpb_text_column wpb_content_element vc_custom_1665094018315 inner_sec_content\">\n<div class=\"wpb_wrapper\">\n<p>But tackling <span id=\"urn:enhancement-9b774ea7-478c-4e24-8bb1-6c45e018adb3\" class=\"textannotation\">SEO<\/span> can be overwhelming \u2013 what do you approach first when you\u2019re a <span id=\"urn:enhancement-e98507c2-1cc9-4c3a-970a-5dd834a4d078\" class=\"textannotation\">business<\/span> owner with too much on your plate already? Don\u2019t panic. We\u2019ve got the three most important steps to take right now to start reaping the benefits of <span id=\"urn:enhancement-a17b9d6e-144f-48da-911b-705024285fb3\" class=\"textannotation\">search engine<\/span> <span id=\"urn:enhancement-58398518-40fd-4682-81b7-2d9ff85a8f5a\" class=\"textannotation\">traffic<\/span>.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>First, develop an informed <span id=\"urn:enhancement-75a7ad39-c985-4a19-8336-3d14bdbee060\" class=\"textannotation\">SEO strategy<\/span> for your <span id=\"urn:enhancement-745fa5ee-f844-4320-9114-57319bd9c018\" class=\"textannotation\">business<\/span> so you go in with a solid <span id=\"urn:enhancement-ba861f61-ebba-4885-93cb-3fb52fc55e30\" class=\"textannotation\">plan<\/span> and thoughtful goals.<\/li>\n<li>Next, it\u2019s time to go over your existing site to <span id=\"urn:enhancement-3ae4cbaa-1d59-49f1-bb2d-f3e99ce602b8\" class=\"textannotation\">see<\/span> how you\u2019re already doing with an <span id=\"urn:enhancement-c5255777-333a-4bf1-8101-14990c5c9641\" class=\"textannotation\">SEO audit<\/span>.<\/li>\n<li>And finally, you should perform <span id=\"urn:enhancement-b03226ae-cf7e-42f2-bbcc-bad9a03baca7\" class=\"textannotation\"><a href=\"https:\/\/c1mdev.com\/c1m.ai\/the-ultimate-guide-to-conducting-effective-keyword-research\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">keyword<\/a> research<\/span> so you can find the <span id=\"urn:enhancement-cc91aad7-411a-4c31-89d1-0a57e0e88b69\" class=\"textannotation\">content<\/span> your ideal <span id=\"urn:enhancement-3babe33d-2b33-4979-b694-bab7d86f76d0\" class=\"textannotation\">audience<\/span> is looking for when they\u2019re searching the internet.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Ready to get started? A year from now, you\u2019ll be glad you did this today. Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"vc_row wpb_row vc_row-fluid vc_custom_1589931433539\">\n<div class=\"wpb_column vc_column_container vc_col-sm-12\">\n<div class=\"vc_column-inner\">\n<div class=\"wpb_wrapper\">\n<h2 class=\"vc_custom_heading\">SEO Strategy Basics<\/h2>\n<div class=\"wpb_text_column wpb_content_element vc_custom_1665094078855 inner_sec_content\">\n<div class=\"wpb_wrapper\">\n<p>If\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/c1mdev.com\/c1m.ai\/search-engine-optimization\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">search engine optimization<\/a>\u00a0is\u00a0the art of helping users find your <span id=\"urn:enhancement-06bf50d7-e976-4952-87df-33ad2d039034\" class=\"textannotation\">content<\/span> on <span id=\"urn:enhancement-6f4a8793-c27b-4631-ba82-898de97aaba3\" class=\"textannotation\">search engines<\/span>, then <span id=\"urn:enhancement-42e1bebd-1c19-421b-b331-b5fc43f05028\" class=\"textannotation\">SEO strategy<\/span> is the backbone that ties all those individual efforts together.<\/p>\n<p>An <span id=\"urn:enhancement-c297ab9d-0f64-4e08-a2f3-2ee4f57b56da\" class=\"textannotation\">SEO strategy<\/span>\u00a0helps you organize your site by <span id=\"urn:enhancement-2d18202e-3c9b-4596-8a31-0251f6b93c22\" class=\"textannotation\">content<\/span>, which in turn helps <span id=\"urn:enhancement-21691f1a-ccdb-4c0e-8ba9-1a0796b2f338\" class=\"textannotation\">Google<\/span> and other <span id=\"urn:enhancement-5db48d0a-4c88-4afd-abda-659060d3dede\" class=\"textannotation\">search engines<\/span>\u00a0understand their users\u2019 intent when they\u2019re searching.\u00a0Without this <span id=\"urn:enhancement-b03ed09c-5e75-407b-a710-e819989ac97f\" class=\"textannotation\">organization<\/span>, you\u2019re just blindly <span id=\"urn:enhancement-49f9409e-681d-4142-a441-0a52a56fbe3f\" class=\"textannotation\">creating content<\/span> based on a glance at a <span id=\"urn:enhancement-ef744043-a0e8-480a-b62d-a07e07c9db2d\" class=\"textannotation\">search<\/span> volume metric.\u00a0Before you begin churning out <span id=\"urn:enhancement-9565baaa-6e29-49a8-b191-73d6d4a24d4c\" class=\"textannotation\">content<\/span>, you need to think through what you\u2019re trying to achieve with <span id=\"urn:enhancement-d9b7d451-fa07-4802-8354-e253192eada6\" class=\"textannotation\">SEO<\/span>.<\/p>\n<p>Set your goals carefully. Using <span id=\"urn:enhancement-c7ada18f-1abb-4768-bf52-30bbcdbb22b8\" class=\"textannotation\">SEO<\/span> to get as much <span id=\"urn:enhancement-4ccbae0e-bd2b-483d-b22f-a09ca17b9b74\" class=\"textannotation\">traffic<\/span> as possible isn\u2019t a good <span id=\"urn:enhancement-d5becfad-d5cc-4b71-9100-b4d25f2e1385\" class=\"textannotation\">goal<\/span>. Traffic by itself\u00a0won\u2019t do your <span id=\"urn:enhancement-14c52c17-b9ce-4785-8469-eaa1b733ea77\" class=\"textannotation\">business<\/span> much good, because <span id=\"urn:enhancement-5fba6472-f11a-484e-8a39-88c4e5225b30\" class=\"textannotation\">traffic<\/span> is not <span id=\"urn:enhancement-de76e139-d213-4612-b3e2-3e54271586e2\" class=\"textannotation\">sales<\/span>. It\u2019s just eyeballs. And if you\u2019re attracting a <span id=\"urn:enhancement-b1d2fa92-50d4-401d-b422-f133e173df73\" class=\"textannotation\">lot<\/span> of eyeballs but not a <span id=\"urn:enhancement-25cf4550-b345-4fb9-8a0f-a773d54ab74e\" class=\"textannotation\">lot<\/span> of purchasers, you\u2019re not going to get\u00a0that bump in <span id=\"urn:enhancement-9e08c7c7-fae2-42fd-a3a4-bf0732dc6f50\" class=\"textannotation\">sales<\/span> you need.<\/p>\n<h3>Set Smart SEO Goals<\/h3>\n<p>What\u2019s a better <span id=\"urn:enhancement-845d7a87-00de-41d7-8861-fab57825e5b7\" class=\"textannotation\">goal<\/span>?\u00a0This is where your wider\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/c1mdev.com\/c1m.ai\/digital-marketing-services\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">digital marketing strategy<\/a>\u00a0comes into play as well. Who is your <span id=\"urn:enhancement-429e875a-3c25-4b48-b31b-c2a27bab80e3\" class=\"textannotation\">target market<\/span> for your <span id=\"urn:enhancement-f5444af6-2197-4d54-9025-7f600c7408af\" class=\"textannotation\">product<\/span>?\u00a0That\u2019s your <span id=\"urn:enhancement-fd8305d4-7997-4121-8cb4-168dcad08e9f\" class=\"textannotation\">traffic<\/span> <span id=\"urn:enhancement-7aa0a644-b8e2-4b9f-a293-9cb8973d90b2\" class=\"textannotation\">target<\/span> too.\u00a0Now start thinking about what problem your <span id=\"urn:enhancement-8e60dca6-345f-4de2-99e4-162a5b1d9b90\" class=\"textannotation\">product<\/span> or <span id=\"urn:enhancement-5dc40eaa-27ed-44a0-a37c-8ee9d87d4129\" class=\"textannotation\">service<\/span> is solving for them \u2013 are they looking to save money, lose weight, get healthy,\u00a0or care for a pet?\u00a0Those are the types of questions or needs you should be using to <span id=\"urn:enhancement-05d2868a-73cc-42d1-b61e-f1bd7a8c17fb\" class=\"textannotation\">create content<\/span>. If you\u2019re selling\u00a0<span id=\"urn:enhancement-00a99dfd-4873-4f82-94f6-be429d4ee8c3\" class=\"textannotation\">budget<\/span> travel, you don\u2019t want to attract people who are looking for a luxury package vacation \u2013 they\u2019re not going to buy what you\u2019re selling.<\/p>\n<p>Your <span id=\"urn:enhancement-509d0f59-dfe8-42c5-9a3b-016eb54f1e6e\" class=\"textannotation\">SEO strategy<\/span> should\u00a0<span id=\"urn:enhancement-f83dd2cf-e774-4588-9d18-3cffadc31d50\" class=\"textannotation\">cover<\/span> what your <span id=\"urn:enhancement-604eea8d-cdcc-46a4-b1fa-7dc27a6b9857\" class=\"textannotation\">target audience<\/span> is searching for \u2013 not just the\u00a0<span id=\"urn:enhancement-a29ef6a6-4cb6-47ff-ab33-b77cb2507ac7\" class=\"textannotation\">target<\/span> <span id=\"urn:enhancement-73aeb429-eba2-4097-9ae1-976d55bb9065\" class=\"textannotation\">keyword<\/span> they\u2019re using, but what kind of information are they seeking?\u00a0Are they searching with the intent to make a purchase, or do they need to be nurtured to a sale?\u00a0Are the topics you\u2019ve decided to <span id=\"urn:enhancement-9c59a71c-094c-44e0-8af7-d4a71c4ee409\" class=\"textannotation\">cover<\/span> really relevant to the people who actually purchase your <span id=\"urn:enhancement-a4fa3e90-f66a-45d4-b75d-56900ceca597\" class=\"textannotation\">product<\/span>?<\/p>\n<p>These are the questions you need to ask to get started developing your <span id=\"urn:enhancement-80ed00f2-92b6-4778-86ac-f803642e1465\" class=\"textannotation\">SEO strategy<\/span>. But there are a few more pillars of the <span id=\"urn:enhancement-cc67a9ef-44c1-4877-8586-ed75ae6dcb8e\" class=\"textannotation\">strategy<\/span> to include as well.<\/p>\n<h3>On-Page SEO<\/h3>\n<p>This is, quite simply, <span id=\"urn:enhancement-fe353fde-f475-4812-90ca-d35d1d92403e\" class=\"textannotation\">SEO<\/span> for <span id=\"urn:enhancement-9b8fb174-c038-49f8-a3dd-7e752a63fe0d\" class=\"textannotation\">content<\/span> that\u2019s actually on your <span id=\"urn:enhancement-934b1825-a408-4412-831e-094dcb8b5647\" class=\"textannotation\">page<\/span>. This can be anything from the <span id=\"urn:enhancement-38df0471-4a67-42bc-be96-baeb1c1c5c7c\" class=\"textannotation\">pages<\/span> of your <span id=\"urn:enhancement-af15905d-b873-4e05-b9fa-55783ce03f98\" class=\"textannotation\">website<\/span> describing your <span id=\"urn:enhancement-55c92e66-3adb-4116-a044-3427e302c107\" class=\"textannotation\">product<\/span> or <span id=\"urn:enhancement-0f085dff-f718-43db-bb2c-b4e72d09d811\" class=\"textannotation\">service<\/span>, your\u00a0<span id=\"urn:enhancement-1f3e4e1b-0cf5-4d10-95a8-6caedc0f75e5\" class=\"textannotation\">blog posts<\/span>, or anything else that\u2019s contained in the <span id=\"urn:enhancement-a00b7738-7a02-444a-81df-862d61347dbd\" class=\"textannotation\">content<\/span> on your site. This is what most people think of when they think of <span id=\"urn:enhancement-f502cb09-00f2-48c2-9829-bd6a28850412\" class=\"textannotation\">SEO<\/span>.<\/p>\n<p>Setting your <span id=\"urn:enhancement-ad730ac5-68ab-4c65-ade3-345478541af4\" class=\"textannotation\">strategy<\/span> for <span id=\"urn:enhancement-a568a98c-d423-4d3c-83d9-7d9c7159208b\" class=\"textannotation\">on-page SEO<\/span> is where you are thinking about what your <span id=\"urn:enhancement-8fa2b4e1-95e0-49a9-81b1-e0e8e9bc1e94\" class=\"textannotation\">audience<\/span> looks for when they\u2019re <span id=\"urn:enhancement-4bbaaa4d-2e9a-4488-9545-5bdd593490d8\" class=\"textannotation\">online<\/span>. What brings them to your <span id=\"urn:enhancement-629946f8-d665-4ecb-b690-b7cf881bf5d8\" class=\"textannotation\">page<\/span> through organic <span id=\"urn:enhancement-460f399c-2662-4fe1-a8a4-ee6b8a181b79\" class=\"textannotation\">search<\/span>, and what keeps them there engaging with your <span id=\"urn:enhancement-b2167e49-9d13-4f8a-8704-7ecc7a69ac42\" class=\"textannotation\">content<\/span>?\u00a0This is a more thoughtful form of <span id=\"urn:enhancement-3ba21015-c1c6-4a1a-a5e2-1b60c5b3fcbb\" class=\"textannotation\">keyword research<\/span> \u2013 not just looking for what\u2019s <span id=\"urn:enhancement-4618d88d-85bb-4aea-985e-777ffbfe7d6d\" class=\"textannotation\">popular<\/span>, but what\u2019s relevant to your <span id=\"urn:enhancement-db51bec9-5f8c-4919-8c06-93fa8890c5ae\" class=\"textannotation\">audience<\/span>.<\/p>\n<p>One under-used piece of <span id=\"urn:enhancement-d69c41e0-c721-4e5f-abe2-acc2ef30e10f\" class=\"textannotation\">SEO strategy<\/span> is using\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/c1mdev.com\/c1m.ai\/keyword-research\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">long-tail keywords.<\/a>\u00a0Sure,\u00a0<span id=\"urn:enhancement-35eccb6f-5c75-43d4-93e6-b45efeba7294\" class=\"textannotation\">target\u00a0keywords<\/span> can be short\u00a0like \u201cblender\u201d, and those shorter <span id=\"urn:enhancement-e4b8b0e8-2b71-452f-9af0-67b6a7c7249c\" class=\"textannotation\">keywords<\/span> tend to be <span id=\"urn:enhancement-119d0307-7576-447f-97b6-4faac528db2a\" class=\"textannotation\">popular<\/span> with both searchers and <span id=\"urn:enhancement-5f378ed7-c305-4903-bd05-a5030f1c3099\" class=\"textannotation\">content<\/span> writers.\u00a0But there\u2019s a <span id=\"urn:enhancement-3808d103-be66-4c46-a3ff-f0b6e5911c04\" class=\"textannotation\">lot<\/span> of opportunity in longer <span id=\"urn:enhancement-58b27ae7-80e2-4cbb-a53f-bbab311ddbe3\" class=\"textannotation\">keywords<\/span> as well. They won\u2019t have the high <span id=\"urn:enhancement-a0cb689b-555b-4db7-b27f-18715d22a5a1\" class=\"textannotation\">search<\/span> volume that the shorter, more <span id=\"urn:enhancement-6c3b1d6f-26ac-4c2e-b1ed-cb629d4a8d48\" class=\"textannotation\">popular<\/span> <span id=\"urn:enhancement-ff0f4c16-d31b-4fe7-9274-8994a87e0cf6\" class=\"textannotation\">keywords<\/span> have. But they\u00a0can\u00a0dig deeper into the <span id=\"urn:enhancement-3900e803-6c81-403e-bc19-c050811d4dac\" class=\"textannotation\">content<\/span> topic you want to <span id=\"urn:enhancement-82dd74a7-b7ba-48ec-8285-f64fc1e260b0\" class=\"textannotation\">cover<\/span>.<\/p>\n<p><span id=\"urn:enhancement-0024bfb6-9f6c-4f09-a898-9452e0b61dbc\" class=\"textannotation\">Long-tail keywords<\/span> help you attract people who are attracted to various parts of what you offer. They bring in a wider variety of <span id=\"urn:enhancement-e51b8a76-d9ab-4386-a43b-26e787e692c9\" class=\"textannotation\">prospects<\/span>.\u00a0So \u201cblender\u201d becomes \u201cfastest blender on <span id=\"urn:enhancement-5cc4eb8e-0463-4ceb-98ca-9c246dac629b\" class=\"textannotation\">amazon<\/span>\u201d and \u201ceasiest blender to clean under $200\u201d. Now you\u2019ve started to attract people who want to buy your blender because it\u2019s fast, and people who are interested in it because it\u2019s easy to clean.\u00a0Use all three <span id=\"urn:enhancement-7e68c517-2185-464d-a4c1-bf029ff4bc8e\" class=\"textannotation\">keywords<\/span> in one past, and you\u2019ve got some <span id=\"urn:enhancement-6a56014f-c1bb-4ad5-ace0-80d5ae58e7cc\" class=\"textannotation\">SEO<\/span> juice coming your way.<\/p>\n<h3>Off-Page SEO<\/h3>\n<p>Now we get into the less-known\u00a0(but still critically important) parts of <span id=\"urn:enhancement-5ccbd422-93cb-4b0b-b103-7e44bd2ac9c7\" class=\"textannotation\">SEO strategy<\/span>. <span id=\"urn:enhancement-7412fd1b-9b81-4eb2-b93b-7be784eb0aac\" class=\"textannotation\">Off-page SEO<\/span> is the <span id=\"urn:enhancement-2215a3cd-1db9-41df-beec-718d2f8a0227\" class=\"textannotation\">search engine\u00a0optimization<\/span> that focuses on links to your <span id=\"urn:enhancement-33c350c8-fea6-4e75-b0dc-67805c9624e8\" class=\"textannotation\">website<\/span> from other parts of the internet, mostly other websites.\u00a0<span id=\"urn:enhancement-6056d4da-28bd-4c10-b66e-1e68e0753cb5\" class=\"textannotation\">Search engines<\/span> like <span id=\"urn:enhancement-129622e8-65c3-4b56-b9af-fafc783985cc\" class=\"textannotation\">Google<\/span> <span id=\"urn:enhancement-5c1c308e-5d40-46a2-86e2-b46d7e376fe9\" class=\"textannotation\">will<\/span> rank your site more highly if\u00a0other reputable\u00a0<span id=\"urn:enhancement-91f6f45c-df97-4595-aa65-0d854e251d4f\" class=\"textannotation\">web<\/span> <span id=\"urn:enhancement-0095114c-8c1a-479c-88f4-b063cc9063cd\" class=\"textannotation\">pages<\/span>\u00a0<span id=\"urn:enhancement-96437727-5c0d-4535-b472-53c1930b364c\" class=\"textannotation\">link<\/span> back to your site. This is because it shows your site is a credible and useful resource \u2013 it must be, if\u00a0other sites are\u00a0sharing a <span id=\"urn:enhancement-a8916a16-4026-41c4-b956-d781a25cc0c2\" class=\"textannotation\">link<\/span> to it.<\/p>\n<p>These links are called <span id=\"urn:enhancement-3d0b39e0-fc9c-4e10-b6ec-9ea669194306\" class=\"textannotation\">backlinks<\/span>,\u00a0and they\u2019re vital to getting your site <span id=\"urn:enhancement-91166319-6668-4f39-bf67-d20b151e42b1\" class=\"textannotation\">ranking<\/span> up. You can wait to attract <span id=\"urn:enhancement-7c106d46-15e3-4484-ab1c-546940105ded\" class=\"textannotation\">backlinks<\/span> by putting out great <span id=\"urn:enhancement-81bd89ff-5b0a-41fd-8a31-2b4bb3d82db5\" class=\"textannotation\">content<\/span> and hoping it gets noticed \u2013 but that takes a long time. Or you can ask other local <span id=\"urn:enhancement-058979e1-3292-4425-8a51-92016254e858\" class=\"textannotation\">businesses<\/span> if they would include a <span id=\"urn:enhancement-3e495b92-6982-4306-93a4-055f21010d67\" class=\"textannotation\">link<\/span> to your <span id=\"urn:enhancement-ec3dfd78-cfe8-47bd-b6a2-6f760e2210a5\" class=\"textannotation\">website<\/span> on their <span id=\"urn:enhancement-b309a457-844c-407c-8d01-5a287d9f14e9\" class=\"textannotation\">page<\/span> in exchange for a <span id=\"urn:enhancement-8eb15f0f-8031-4cb9-b6e9-7b05d612889a\" class=\"textannotation\">link<\/span> on yours. Guest posts for other <span id=\"urn:enhancement-271b1b6a-7ee7-4e0c-a656-a9dc89295774\" class=\"textannotation\">businesses<\/span> or\u00a0blogs that are in your field are a great opportunity to get a\u00a0<span id=\"urn:enhancement-1163e7ec-c6a5-47f3-90d2-c40539ec83fe\" class=\"textannotation\">link<\/span> to your site too.\u00a0And those posts can even bring in some new <span id=\"urn:enhancement-6bfc9c5c-ee3d-4b47-89c4-87d45c50d98c\" class=\"textannotation\">traffic<\/span> on their own \u2013 paying off double for one effort.<\/p>\n<h3>Technical SEO<\/h3>\n<p>The third leg of the <span id=\"urn:enhancement-a56251c3-7346-43c7-8af7-8405e8c74c84\" class=\"textannotation\">SEO<\/span> stool is <span id=\"urn:enhancement-20e5c4a8-b9b4-4ba9-8089-0b4c4dfc991a\" class=\"textannotation\">technical<\/span> <span id=\"urn:enhancement-36d4058d-e4da-487d-a42a-1a61c8896095\" class=\"textannotation\">SEO<\/span>. It\u2019s the least glamorous part, but still vital to a well-rounded <span id=\"urn:enhancement-b4d0a6c9-6e4a-40b7-9b3c-de7f58787c10\" class=\"textannotation\">SEO strategy<\/span>.\u00a0The <span id=\"urn:enhancement-9eaf522c-d844-44a2-89bd-1d314b83d9d5\" class=\"textannotation\">technical<\/span> part refers to the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/c1mdev.com\/c1m.ai\/website-design\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">architecture of your website<\/a>. <span id=\"urn:enhancement-4fd5bf20-7f8a-499b-83f4-8eb29fc4e769\" class=\"textannotation\">Google<\/span>\u00a0pays a <span id=\"urn:enhancement-57817e94-707b-419d-a44b-11725b487543\" class=\"textannotation\">lot<\/span> of attention to how your <span id=\"urn:enhancement-6c0cf180-6bff-4b27-86c7-a5fff9af92d6\" class=\"textannotation\">pages<\/span> are set up, as well as the <span id=\"urn:enhancement-56168b39-e59e-48f1-83e6-2e7d3b8ad2aa\" class=\"textannotation\">content<\/span>.<\/p>\n<p>Having solid <span id=\"urn:enhancement-bdd0d550-b0bb-4f78-b51c-78308cbfa518\" class=\"textannotation\">technical<\/span> <span id=\"urn:enhancement-b6c89b26-3e73-4e71-af39-fc5ed50f4e86\" class=\"textannotation\">SEO<\/span> means that <span id=\"urn:enhancement-79ed8f0c-98ef-48b1-96c4-cc8b253a3869\" class=\"textannotation\">search engines<\/span> can easily find, assess, and categorize your <span id=\"urn:enhancement-dee9a381-bf8e-47c0-9a76-5983a347dcdb\" class=\"textannotation\">website<\/span>.\u00a0Fortunately, most <span id=\"urn:enhancement-4a31bda0-3599-4ce2-aa0d-840c17ec6c77\" class=\"textannotation\">technical<\/span> <span id=\"urn:enhancement-ba628bce-a5b5-44b9-bd53-f9fe6324045e\" class=\"textannotation\">SEO<\/span>\u00a0<span id=\"urn:enhancement-d951baa9-f92f-4356-a560-5dfecddb9dc4\" class=\"textannotation\">best practices<\/span> <span id=\"urn:enhancement-a49f16ab-a00f-49fc-bead-e49fa674ff4c\" class=\"textannotation\">will<\/span> be built into your site by your <span id=\"urn:enhancement-22d5d6df-d77f-4ad9-b52c-0d82146ac07b\" class=\"textannotation\">web<\/span> host or your <span id=\"urn:enhancement-9a7ec607-ba4d-4a41-99c3-c65bb1d1d22f\" class=\"textannotation\">digital marketing agency<\/span>.<\/p>\n<p>One place you can ensure your <span id=\"urn:enhancement-1e3185d2-f7bc-4612-b43b-88e336bf0ee8\" class=\"textannotation\">technical<\/span> <span id=\"urn:enhancement-a8996947-768e-4c5e-95eb-fb5cff4791d4\" class=\"textannotation\">SEO<\/span> is <span id=\"urn:enhancement-91bd78d7-7cad-415d-8b93-48ab8006d7da\" class=\"textannotation\">up to<\/span> par yourself? <span id=\"urn:enhancement-6ed35bf9-0e40-471e-b02f-fe43762d8800\" class=\"textannotation\">Make<\/span> sure you\u2019re keeping the title <span id=\"urn:enhancement-5d2cd029-b13b-48ba-a055-fc12c8a6c35b\" class=\"textannotation\">URLs<\/span> of your <span id=\"urn:enhancement-e29cc39b-9445-4034-b33a-42fd09c028c9\" class=\"textannotation\">blog posts<\/span> short, lowercase, and relevant. <span id=\"urn:enhancement-d3410bf7-2696-4394-90b7-5e796762d983\" class=\"textannotation\">URLs<\/span> have a big impact on <span id=\"urn:enhancement-b583edc2-8c79-4f94-8fe3-a1c3706035ec\" class=\"textannotation\">SEO<\/span>, so you want to be sure yours are all clear and easy to understand.<\/p>\n<h3>SEO Strategy as a Whole<\/h3>\n<p>As you can <span id=\"urn:enhancement-1446dfd2-4c91-49f4-865c-e83a09809f58\" class=\"textannotation\">see<\/span>, <span id=\"urn:enhancement-7e428a6d-f483-49d4-85cf-a697f7e8a03c\" class=\"textannotation\">SEO strategy<\/span>\u00a0has several related and interdependent parts.\u00a0You need to think about who you want to find your site, come up with a <span id=\"urn:enhancement-d9f3b52d-c0ec-46bd-bde4-57b4f3fb65f7\" class=\"textannotation\">plan<\/span> to figure out what they\u2019re searching for, and <span id=\"urn:enhancement-a7a94e22-5d42-4e00-aeb0-fe80e223d1de\" class=\"textannotation\">create content<\/span> that speaks to their needs (not just their\u00a0<span id=\"urn:enhancement-02da7a12-1bf4-4923-a8b7-632858a35dcc\" class=\"textannotation\">search<\/span> terms). And with the three pillars of <span id=\"urn:enhancement-991c02fb-a9ef-4cfb-aad5-837894c0ef1f\" class=\"textannotation\">SEO<\/span>, you are in a position to make lots of <span id=\"urn:enhancement-5cc988e5-51d1-462b-bcb6-7ea7cf917729\" class=\"textannotation\">organic traffic<\/span> happen for your <span id=\"urn:enhancement-50b1424f-64ab-437f-9b5f-631ad1e02743\" class=\"textannotation\">website<\/span>.\u00a0When that <span id=\"urn:enhancement-73530a82-8387-4bc0-a3a5-6635d1ca6c01\" class=\"textannotation\">traffic<\/span> is people who are interested in your products or services? Well, you\u2019ve got some <span id=\"urn:enhancement-0ad0a275-e5e2-4c2e-a15c-dae20a23dbf7\" class=\"textannotation\">new customers<\/span> now.\u00a0And that\u2019s what growing your <span id=\"urn:enhancement-767a6d79-8d8a-4b77-8789-e2e913964bb9\" class=\"textannotation\">business<\/span> is all about.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"vc_row wpb_row vc_row-fluid vc_custom_1589931433539\">\n<div class=\"wpb_column vc_column_container vc_col-sm-12\">\n<div class=\"vc_column-inner\">\n<div class=\"wpb_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"vc_separator wpb_content_element vc_separator_align_center vc_sep_width_20 vc_sep_border_width_5 vc_sep_pos_align_center vc_separator_no_text hide\"><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"vc_custom_heading\">Conduct an SEO Audit<\/h2>\n<div class=\"wpb_text_column wpb_content_element vc_custom_1665094579144 inner_sec_content\">\n<div class=\"wpb_wrapper\">\n<p>Now that you know what an important role <span id=\"urn:enhancement-4c824519-82e1-4b5f-82b6-3b3a18b816bf\" class=\"textannotation\">SEO<\/span> plays in your\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/c1mdev.com\/c1m.ai\/digital-marketing-strategy\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">digital marketing strategy<\/a>, it\u2019s time to <span id=\"urn:enhancement-cc1c0ef4-d7a2-43b8-8f34-80cdc3645266\" class=\"textannotation\">check<\/span> how your <span id=\"urn:enhancement-f0ce5fe0-0d8c-4219-9537-b8d49515771b\" class=\"textannotation\">website<\/span> is doing. What happens if you realize your existing site\u00a0and <span id=\"urn:enhancement-ccff0538-ad86-4c8e-85aa-a0cc1d7ea205\" class=\"textannotation\">content<\/span> isn\u2019t <span id=\"urn:enhancement-cc8c5306-bbf7-4b1d-8c2c-7f44d97fc94a\" class=\"textannotation\">up to<\/span> date on <span id=\"urn:enhancement-b12e4d86-c672-429e-ac7f-83cab2fbc50f\" class=\"textannotation\">SEO<\/span> <span id=\"urn:enhancement-d73ddefa-d48b-4dac-a537-de200647e5de\" class=\"textannotation\">best practices<\/span>? Maybe you set it up before\u00a0you were a <span id=\"urn:enhancement-25f9f5f7-089e-474a-80d9-6dd56931c2b0\" class=\"textannotation\">search engine<\/span> whiz, or before your <span id=\"urn:enhancement-01622c74-2fee-4c1b-a5dc-c57d2bd15895\" class=\"textannotation\">goal<\/span> was to <span id=\"urn:enhancement-8d970d07-21fe-4d32-983d-d67e33ea8045\" class=\"textannotation\">boost organic traffic<\/span>. That\u2019s when you need to do an <span id=\"urn:enhancement-e05af92c-0175-4994-a7c1-25759e00f7f7\" class=\"textannotation\">SEO audit<\/span> of your site.<\/p>\n<h3>What\u2019s\u00a0an SEO Audit?<\/h3>\n<p>An <span id=\"urn:enhancement-31633ecc-6c49-4484-b84d-e3e987aa2cf0\" class=\"textannotation\">SEO audit<\/span> is\u00a0a checklist of steps to improve your website\u2019s health and visibility to <span id=\"urn:enhancement-7625ef0b-ae0f-4b6f-9b59-4c72b10d6224\" class=\"textannotation\">search engines<\/span>. It an important <span id=\"urn:enhancement-9462333e-5321-4511-a449-eae04c80ecb7\" class=\"textannotation\">tool<\/span> in your\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/c1mdev.com\/c1m.ai\/seo-strategy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">SEO Strategy<\/a>.\u00a0 If you set up your site a while ago without adhering to <span id=\"urn:enhancement-9d438d14-80da-480b-83c1-fc1c0cf0610d\" class=\"textannotation\">SEO<\/span> <span id=\"urn:enhancement-4792b4a8-2cf1-47f8-bf63-ddeca88eb6cb\" class=\"textannotation\">best\u00a0practices<\/span>, or you just want to <span id=\"urn:enhancement-923bd105-2cbf-4b45-aa2a-91c311afdf6d\" class=\"textannotation\">check<\/span> in to make sure your site is all tuned up, you need an <span id=\"urn:enhancement-b342e2b7-9a4c-4376-9d97-3df53f74f544\" class=\"textannotation\">SEO audit<\/span>. And with the <span id=\"urn:enhancement-e8fc8268-dd3b-4764-9af2-405965edd8f2\" class=\"textannotation\">speed<\/span> that <span id=\"urn:enhancement-248fa168-4461-4315-9a33-6790d121f5a5\" class=\"textannotation\">SEO<\/span> information changes, what was working well for your site two years may not be producing results for you today.\u00a0Having a proper <span id=\"urn:enhancement-90cf8d63-42c0-4320-9337-83ccbbecd91a\" class=\"textannotation\">SEO<\/span> setup on your site is just as important as other <span id=\"urn:enhancement-313c7e4d-a970-497f-812b-719a1f1a5f1f\" class=\"textannotation\">SEO<\/span> elements like your <span id=\"urn:enhancement-91586571-f3fe-4f53-9252-70465ae8050c\" class=\"textannotation\">backlink<\/span> profile.<\/p>\n<p>To start your <span id=\"urn:enhancement-67fdf5c3-ad87-4d66-8ca1-665d25553e1a\" class=\"textannotation\">SEO audit<\/span>, you can\u00a0begin by using an audit <span id=\"urn:enhancement-0c51490f-82e8-4cd0-8bff-c23351688d45\" class=\"textannotation\">tool<\/span> like <span id=\"urn:enhancement-b10798b4-864e-4c4e-89b4-8835ae138002\" class=\"textannotation\">SEMrush<\/span> to crawl through your\u00a0<span id=\"urn:enhancement-bd2af0a1-3710-423a-a158-9b51e8b9a769\" class=\"textannotation\">pages<\/span> for any errors.\u00a0This is a great option if you\u2019re using a paid <span id=\"urn:enhancement-b8f1ee37-ce70-45b8-ac86-d807f05293d4\" class=\"textannotation\">tool<\/span>, as\u00a0the site crawl\u00a0<span id=\"urn:enhancement-8ff810b4-5eb2-4e6c-8d6e-4441cbd17d04\" class=\"textannotation\">will<\/span> surface any problems like broken links that <span id=\"urn:enhancement-952706ec-a5b0-4a8e-b542-da3d3981b913\" class=\"textannotation\">will<\/span> bring your score down.<\/p>\n<h3>Performing an\u00a0SEO Audit<\/h3>\n<p>But if you\u2019re not yet using a paid <span id=\"urn:enhancement-60090d0f-c666-439b-8634-4609c7bb9c59\" class=\"textannotation\">tool<\/span>? You\u2019re not out of luck.\u00a0There are a few steps you can do through Google\u2019s own <span id=\"urn:enhancement-cc80684f-dbcb-4c2e-9f1e-7411ad155a3f\" class=\"textannotation\">free<\/span> <span id=\"urn:enhancement-47e0faba-d956-4c5b-baca-b1d676b27aac\" class=\"textannotation\">tools<\/span> to <span id=\"urn:enhancement-a97cbe95-1770-4d88-b1de-a9eab40becfe\" class=\"textannotation\">review<\/span> your site <span id=\"urn:enhancement-73add74c-e0ec-45db-898d-7df787d1afc3\" class=\"textannotation\">structure<\/span> and the <span id=\"urn:enhancement-278506ad-a36d-46bf-a596-5b14ecd38f89\" class=\"textannotation\">pages<\/span> on your site for any issues.\u00a0Look at your submitted sitemaps in <span id=\"urn:enhancement-725c0947-d831-499a-b085-b58b7f069cf9\" class=\"textannotation\">Google<\/span> <span id=\"urn:enhancement-2199f597-8460-42ce-93ef-c19dfd7de442\" class=\"textannotation\">Search<\/span> Console to be sure they\u2019re submitted correctly\u00a0\u2013 if not, <span id=\"urn:enhancement-5ffc3f2b-b386-4d9d-b768-cb36f92721c2\" class=\"textannotation\">Google<\/span> won\u2019t be able to easily navigate your site.\u00a0You also want to <span id=\"urn:enhancement-096f3072-d755-43f7-9001-243ad5b44991\" class=\"textannotation\">check<\/span> your Index Coverage Report in <span id=\"urn:enhancement-740de012-717b-489f-a447-ab9aa503a15c\" class=\"textannotation\">Google<\/span> <span id=\"urn:enhancement-7b6c43b7-f1a0-4cc7-a0e8-52e6d1195ff7\" class=\"textannotation\">Search<\/span> Console to be sure all your <span id=\"urn:enhancement-55547f8f-b5eb-4064-81ad-4cbde9aa7cd5\" class=\"textannotation\">pages<\/span>, new and old, are indexed.\u00a0Any errors <span id=\"urn:enhancement-4bbd8257-522c-4005-a577-d6d59628073c\" class=\"textannotation\">will<\/span> come up in\u00a0red\u00a0so you\u2019ll know exactly which <span id=\"urn:enhancement-2da58a90-f0f5-49ef-8dc4-a5d33b2ee426\" class=\"textannotation\">page<\/span> needs to be fixed.<\/p>\n<h3>Check Your Mobile Experience<\/h3>\n<p>Next, you want to be sure your site is <span id=\"urn:enhancement-5d671bf5-ec9a-4260-9c4d-bb537578f150\" class=\"textannotation\">mobile<\/span>-friendly.\u00a0Many, if not most, of your users <span id=\"urn:enhancement-4b6499b6-8047-43fb-96a4-cc3502e68853\" class=\"textannotation\">will<\/span> access your site at some point from their phones instead of a laptop or desktop.\u00a0Does your <span id=\"urn:enhancement-7a516c6c-2dfe-4e90-a9b9-a2445e1b69dd\" class=\"textannotation\">page<\/span> load correctly and look good when you\u00a0access it from your phone? If not, that\u2019s dragging down your site rankings. <span id=\"urn:enhancement-fc796c40-4278-4d1d-af00-ca105c08120a\" class=\"textannotation\">Google<\/span> has recently said it is\u00a0using\u00a0<span id=\"urn:enhancement-332ce702-c97d-44aa-be21-a91dd23585df\" class=\"textannotation\">mobile<\/span>\u2013friendliness\u00a0as an important <span id=\"urn:enhancement-8a6d4272-324f-4cab-9291-eb3c0a5e0c51\" class=\"textannotation\">ranking<\/span> factor, so you need to have this\u00a0set up if it\u2019s lacking for you.<\/p>\n<p>How can you tell if you need to fix your <span id=\"urn:enhancement-3e2ce3ec-d4a9-4b3e-837c-bc4446caa678\" class=\"textannotation\">mobile<\/span> version? <span id=\"urn:enhancement-946f44e3-8956-43e6-99c1-15ecdf12b7c0\" class=\"textannotation\">Google<\/span> has a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/search.google.com\/test\/mobile-friendly\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">free tool<\/a>\u00a0for that.\u00a0Just plug in your <span id=\"urn:enhancement-893630be-a6f3-43b1-aefd-5ba5d6d0d1ef\" class=\"textannotation\">web<\/span> address and get the <span id=\"urn:enhancement-7b41b3ca-e76f-4571-aafb-041adc1cb136\" class=\"textannotation\">data<\/span> you need.<\/p>\n<p>Broken links are a\u00a0factor that <span id=\"urn:enhancement-5157ba32-3fb7-4b27-b4fe-ba4c4022b66e\" class=\"textannotation\">will<\/span> drag down your <span id=\"urn:enhancement-c6f7399b-1000-4aa0-9f27-8386c9e99967\" class=\"textannotation\">search engine ranking<\/span> and damage your <span id=\"urn:enhancement-44d5c601-8cdc-4589-9b7c-2a14faff8593\" class=\"textannotation\">user experience<\/span> too. And they pop up more frequently than you\u2019d think \u2013 whether because of a typo, a deleted internal <span id=\"urn:enhancement-d339f5bc-6a83-47d7-b715-509e1c9c9a3d\" class=\"textannotation\">page<\/span>, or a change to an external site. Run your site through one of the many <span id=\"urn:enhancement-497ca840-c361-4c3f-b934-1ad7a5bcd950\" class=\"textannotation\">free<\/span> broken <span id=\"urn:enhancement-2c5c7934-9827-4df3-9c69-8f12a41a0821\" class=\"textannotation\">link<\/span> checking <span id=\"urn:enhancement-46320749-2fc1-4867-9f95-21bdcafcbf89\" class=\"textannotation\">pages<\/span> and make sure those are deleted or cleaned up\u00a0quickly.<\/p>\n<h3>Check Your Site Flow<\/h3>\n<p>Up next in your <span id=\"urn:enhancement-786a5b9d-03f6-4d10-951c-30024d43eaec\" class=\"textannotation\">SEO audit<\/span>? Making sure your site <span id=\"urn:enhancement-fc892671-b965-4943-86c4-b4138f5d0c79\" class=\"textannotation\">structure<\/span> still makes sense. It\u2019s common for growing sites to have little <span id=\"urn:enhancement-c4a4ac15-99ee-49bc-a634-66cb8090c817\" class=\"textannotation\">structure<\/span> or a confusing one, because it might not have been a concern\u00a0when you first set your site up. <span id=\"urn:enhancement-476a85c5-fd56-41fb-94b8-ee470b25946b\" class=\"textannotation\">Make<\/span> sure your categories still fit your <span id=\"urn:enhancement-20dd5743-8aa4-4119-a33d-3fe4239862a6\" class=\"textannotation\">content<\/span>, and that all the <span id=\"urn:enhancement-5fa3be50-d89e-4b43-9d5f-50e02c8f23ce\" class=\"textannotation\">content<\/span> on your site is easily findable with less than three <span id=\"urn:enhancement-1d20fac9-dd4d-499a-9c07-9d89fda73997\" class=\"textannotation\">clicks<\/span>.<\/p>\n<p>A thoughtful site <span id=\"urn:enhancement-f8c41518-c229-44c6-9fc2-f15998b5dbb6\" class=\"textannotation\">structure<\/span>\u00a0encourages <span id=\"urn:enhancement-a461e222-852d-4ee9-b9db-0addd0475a21\" class=\"textannotation\">visitors<\/span> to spend more time on your <span id=\"urn:enhancement-2b136abe-4f0b-486c-9a9b-ff63375187b5\" class=\"textannotation\">page<\/span>, which increases your <span id=\"urn:enhancement-706b698a-c7e9-4024-b73a-bc382635bead\" class=\"textannotation\">SEO rankings<\/span>.\u00a0If you would like to <span id=\"urn:enhancement-f341bfd5-a629-44ff-954e-5db0d0ccc168\" class=\"textannotation\">move<\/span> your site to a new\u00a0domain, make sure to set up a <span id=\"urn:enhancement-40b954c0-3c0e-4c39-b30f-c821eb8f51c4\" class=\"textannotation\">301 redirect<\/span> so your <span id=\"urn:enhancement-7c8eab7b-0439-4569-850e-e900fdbe7a12\" class=\"textannotation\">traffic<\/span> from your original site doesn\u2019t get lost. You should also set up a <span id=\"urn:enhancement-ba3e6c73-d86f-4bd3-8c33-3a99006b456d\" class=\"textannotation\">301 redirect<\/span> for all the different <span id=\"urn:enhancement-7cebcfc5-2b65-48ff-ab69-303999e18628\" class=\"textannotation\">URLs<\/span> of your <span id=\"urn:enhancement-ca9a61b8-89b3-4ffe-8689-5ea4a8278a29\" class=\"textannotation\">page<\/span> (www vs.\u00a0without,\u00a0etc) so all your <span id=\"urn:enhancement-6ea4696b-3394-46c4-b534-72a43eaeb5bc\" class=\"textannotation\">traffic<\/span> directs to your https site.<\/p>\n<h3>Check Site Speed<\/h3>\n<p>Site <span id=\"urn:enhancement-5e315064-c102-4ef4-977b-19bf5cb88b50\" class=\"textannotation\">speed<\/span> is a very critical element of your <span id=\"urn:enhancement-b090c43d-0014-4225-ab32-2b77ee9db280\" class=\"textannotation\">SEO rankings<\/span>. We all know the frustration of waiting for a needed <span id=\"urn:enhancement-8c388e5d-e516-4725-9148-a6ab01b185ec\" class=\"textannotation\">web<\/span> <span id=\"urn:enhancement-d2070381-f0da-45b1-9268-57125d5bd7ba\" class=\"textannotation\">page<\/span> to load\u00a0\u2013 it\u2019s not a good <span id=\"urn:enhancement-086a3ba8-d2d9-4af0-865e-1c0f73e538e3\" class=\"textannotation\">user experience<\/span>. <span id=\"urn:enhancement-0c2bf556-ff3b-4aa4-9591-80e84039f138\" class=\"textannotation\">Google<\/span> knows it\u00a0too, and\u00a0punishes long load times. What are the best resources to <span id=\"urn:enhancement-77a6bab0-5a70-42ff-a6b8-9dc462feba5b\" class=\"textannotation\">check<\/span> your <span id=\"urn:enhancement-913efb24-d877-4661-b0ff-8093da61f271\" class=\"textannotation\">page<\/span> <span id=\"urn:enhancement-c60f299a-bed1-44f3-8ac7-c855008693f2\" class=\"textannotation\">speed<\/span> insights?\u00a0Don\u2019t worry, <span id=\"urn:enhancement-45d78ec6-53fc-4b3a-8abc-7b8d8d01301c\" class=\"textannotation\">Google<\/span> has a <span id=\"urn:enhancement-7582bf88-30f6-477b-b1e0-6ba34ba744a8\" class=\"textannotation\">tool<\/span> for that too. It\u2019s called\u00a0<span id=\"urn:enhancement-9fa55696-9e45-456e-b470-6c3bcb9eca8b\" class=\"textannotation\">Google<\/span> <span id=\"urn:enhancement-fe3167c0-f919-430f-aeda-c7edc84db423\" class=\"textannotation\">Page<\/span> <span id=\"urn:enhancement-fcdf383c-82be-4ca7-a6e6-e58ac761e7b5\" class=\"textannotation\">Speed<\/span> Insights and it\u2019s <span id=\"urn:enhancement-f60a8803-5f9f-40f1-bf68-01c759e8baf7\" class=\"textannotation\">free<\/span>.\u00a0It <span id=\"urn:enhancement-6e2e1ef3-fc9e-40c6-a70b-841b739ddc7e\" class=\"textannotation\">will<\/span> tell you the loading time for both the\u00a0desktop and <span id=\"urn:enhancement-3f58921c-7afc-4372-909a-55efc5c71ba9\" class=\"textannotation\">mobile<\/span> versions of your site.<\/p>\n<h3>Check SEO in Your Content<\/h3>\n<p>It\u2019s not just your overall site that needs an\u00a0<span id=\"urn:enhancement-893cde8e-df14-42ce-b5c9-c84523bfc6b5\" class=\"textannotation\">SEO audit<\/span>. The individual\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/c1mdev.com\/c1m.ai\/seo-writing\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">pages of content<\/a>\u00a0you\u2019ve created need one as well.\u00a0Each <span id=\"urn:enhancement-92a112d5-0870-48ec-b2f6-0f53ef0606bb\" class=\"textannotation\">blog post<\/span> and site <span id=\"urn:enhancement-776d9e1f-5358-48fc-a3e2-106b03fa9ab4\" class=\"textannotation\">page<\/span>\u00a0has\u00a0to be optimized for <span id=\"urn:enhancement-bc9d7cf2-461a-40ab-8eb4-60b074e4e5c5\" class=\"textannotation\">SEO<\/span>. And if you created your site a while ago, before you were an <span id=\"urn:enhancement-51fd6bbe-f1d3-4e4b-b934-9c4f1fc7674e\" class=\"textannotation\">SEO<\/span> master, there might be a <span id=\"urn:enhancement-7d96245f-d744-4fbc-ba60-f7624ac97598\" class=\"textannotation\">lot<\/span> of <span id=\"urn:enhancement-66d7e364-78cc-4c17-97a7-fafeb8ac315c\" class=\"textannotation\">room<\/span> for improvement. That can sound worrying but it\u2019s great news \u2013 you\u2019re just a few steps away from\u00a0a big boost in your <span id=\"urn:enhancement-19afde1b-7dcf-40c4-8112-7d003ca37fa8\" class=\"textannotation\">search<\/span> rankings.<\/p>\n<p>First, <span id=\"urn:enhancement-92558db8-5dc5-4e6e-9630-625433986a43\" class=\"textannotation\">check<\/span> your title tags. Are\u00a0all of\u00a0your <span id=\"urn:enhancement-1474b897-8313-46c8-bf0d-906aa7eaa216\" class=\"textannotation\">page<\/span> titles\u00a0coded in your <span id=\"urn:enhancement-c8669a54-2978-4cf4-9197-7cb4af7f23fe\" class=\"textannotation\">HTML<\/span>\u00a0with the proper <span id=\"urn:enhancement-8aefbeb3-c2ad-4cc5-891a-2c8fb67ab19b\" class=\"textannotation\">title tag<\/span>?\u00a0This helps <span id=\"urn:enhancement-7acc4f8e-b68d-4595-af63-30f9dbec4807\" class=\"textannotation\">search engines<\/span> figure out what your <span id=\"urn:enhancement-5c4d8b4a-ebf5-4595-acb7-a08d733277fd\" class=\"textannotation\">content<\/span> on the <span id=\"urn:enhancement-c947459a-809c-496d-8082-77f73bdd12cf\" class=\"textannotation\">page<\/span> is about. You should use a form of the <span id=\"urn:enhancement-b96de5c0-ffba-48de-8ddc-1d9228647af1\" class=\"textannotation\">keyword<\/span> you\u2019re trying to rank for on that <span id=\"urn:enhancement-aace03c0-8f74-443e-b5de-c6142d38f8cc\" class=\"textannotation\">page<\/span>. Keep\u00a0the title\u00a0to about 60 characters so it shows up in <span id=\"urn:enhancement-34a2ae74-0ef6-48ba-9258-7a779b31696c\" class=\"textannotation\">search results<\/span> well.<\/p>\n<p><span id=\"urn:enhancement-52854eb1-405d-4082-87fc-bec96365047a\" class=\"textannotation\">Meta\u00a0tags<\/span>\u00a0are another important tag system on your <span id=\"urn:enhancement-a621a51a-c819-420f-8e8f-76188954ac68\" class=\"textannotation\">website<\/span>. The meta <span id=\"urn:enhancement-e8d6304b-eafd-4f35-9d3d-f701a47363a7\" class=\"textannotation\">HTML<\/span> tag <span id=\"urn:enhancement-468eb326-b2d2-454b-a386-3c9b50af80ac\" class=\"textannotation\">will<\/span> provide <span id=\"urn:enhancement-89ca5bb8-e099-4748-bf55-d2292d6027c0\" class=\"textannotation\">search engines<\/span> with a description of what your <span id=\"urn:enhancement-0da177fc-0890-4a41-8682-9dbc1759270b\" class=\"textannotation\">content<\/span> contains.\u00a0<span id=\"urn:enhancement-e3ea7be2-7131-4a97-9386-20b6b805e575\" class=\"textannotation\">Meta descriptions<\/span> are short paragraphs that tell searchers what your <span id=\"urn:enhancement-1290b7b4-ac63-4420-8483-c6405461b3d2\" class=\"textannotation\">content<\/span> is about.\u00a0For best <span id=\"urn:enhancement-cb6b2c2e-5651-439f-8287-8fc437ead64a\" class=\"textannotation\">SEO<\/span> results, each <span id=\"urn:enhancement-5e8fef6b-7972-498e-84f7-59e36adc560e\" class=\"textannotation\">page<\/span> should have a <span id=\"urn:enhancement-cef2abee-244d-44d0-a3ce-8193ed84c47a\" class=\"textannotation\">meta description<\/span> that contains a <span id=\"urn:enhancement-92723ef8-0900-4a7c-be06-9b6f9d47fcd8\" class=\"textannotation\">keyword<\/span> but also provides an engaging\u00a0blurb that makes users want to read more.<\/p>\n<p>You also need to <span id=\"urn:enhancement-642ba97c-89a8-4c31-911c-8f6598b52219\" class=\"textannotation\">check<\/span> your on-<span id=\"urn:enhancement-4986c194-5495-48c0-9e2d-8a2c970c4712\" class=\"textannotation\">page<\/span> <span id=\"urn:enhancement-aa2a4ac5-aea4-423b-a910-367577db3df9\" class=\"textannotation\">images<\/span> for a few things. Review the file size \u2013 if it\u2019s over 1 MB compress it, or it <span id=\"urn:enhancement-0d0e59d6-be57-4ec2-a9ca-c846bb772e9e\" class=\"textannotation\">will<\/span> slow your <span id=\"urn:enhancement-733b8ecd-b69d-41ca-9df7-3688db24ba7e\" class=\"textannotation\">page<\/span>.\u00a0Also, <span id=\"urn:enhancement-863662fa-ba90-47ef-b7ae-0d406e8ed67a\" class=\"textannotation\">check<\/span> to make sure you have alt\u00a0<span id=\"urn:enhancement-cec49df9-c296-48a9-8284-d31d042f8853\" class=\"textannotation\">text<\/span> written for each <span id=\"urn:enhancement-c43a4d9b-655c-413d-a4ad-1ed5a2779ae5\" class=\"textannotation\">image<\/span>.\u00a0Alt <span id=\"urn:enhancement-c149078c-e132-4cea-8845-4c983f4610b7\" class=\"textannotation\">text<\/span> should describe what\u2019s in each <span id=\"urn:enhancement-55889cd3-52fc-491f-9da2-6bc40079b537\" class=\"textannotation\">image<\/span>, helping <span id=\"urn:enhancement-9324328f-24c3-489c-aa8b-2560f3b468bf\" class=\"textannotation\">search engines<\/span> understand what each <span id=\"urn:enhancement-a187258c-585e-4bdb-aa9a-4a5d73318593\" class=\"textannotation\">image<\/span>\u00a0contains.\u00a0Stuffing alt <span id=\"urn:enhancement-cf18b39c-8e39-442d-adf5-4bb32de26d12\" class=\"textannotation\">text<\/span> with <span id=\"urn:enhancement-db1e3430-7fb5-4a37-ab65-7dc33e9d2b21\" class=\"textannotation\">keywords<\/span> that don\u2019t quite match isn\u2019t a good idea \u2013 just describe what each <span id=\"urn:enhancement-86bc9aba-6def-4758-b980-af48d1a5e7bc\" class=\"textannotation\">image<\/span> contains.<\/p>\n<p>And finally, don\u2019t forget to boost your\u00a0<span id=\"urn:enhancement-75955bc6-84dd-497a-8649-891b57fab24d\" class=\"textannotation\">blog posts<\/span> and articles on <span id=\"urn:enhancement-c7c28b30-3b6f-4460-9155-47da3f636071\" class=\"textannotation\">social media<\/span>. The greater the number of people who access your <span id=\"urn:enhancement-2344d7f2-650c-4c4a-b4c5-eab10ec039e8\" class=\"textannotation\">content<\/span>\u00a0directly or from <span id=\"urn:enhancement-80d4448e-ebf7-43f6-b7ee-90b1dc0edad8\" class=\"textannotation\">search<\/span>, the more authority <span id=\"urn:enhancement-fa5bafd5-24cf-4b35-a32e-3a6ecd2916b6\" class=\"textannotation\">Google<\/span> assumes your <span id=\"urn:enhancement-dd6238d8-5968-45f8-8977-08c010ff5507\" class=\"textannotation\">website<\/span> has and so it <span id=\"urn:enhancement-8f7dfedc-dece-4bb8-836c-21d4095734c0\" class=\"textannotation\">will<\/span>\u00a0likely\u00a0rank your site higher.\u00a0<span id=\"urn:enhancement-41f0d1c0-2614-47d5-b02f-dda5164a59a6\" class=\"textannotation\">Social media<\/span> doesn\u2019t just mean <span id=\"urn:enhancement-9c088c0d-66d1-43e8-8195-9505c95282b2\" class=\"textannotation\">Facebook<\/span> \u2013 don\u2019t forget about <span id=\"urn:enhancement-948fd027-a1ad-4c39-ba38-d01ad946aeae\" class=\"textannotation\">LinkedIn<\/span> for <span id=\"urn:enhancement-dabcf0ac-f20e-47c1-a0f0-af75071d7cd4\" class=\"textannotation\">business<\/span>-related <span id=\"urn:enhancement-4dfdebf6-5d44-4e07-9363-7c7c3125dac6\" class=\"textannotation\">content<\/span>.<\/p>\n<h3>Your Next Steps<\/h3>\n<p>Your <span id=\"urn:enhancement-e573cb3a-2127-406c-b92c-ee60f09afac5\" class=\"textannotation\">SEO audit<\/span> is done \u2013 but you still have work to do. You still have two more steps to\u00a0complete your audit.<\/p>\n<p>Setting up a way to track your results is a great idea after an <span id=\"urn:enhancement-768b6d36-e967-4414-92d9-d3912ee82d37\" class=\"textannotation\">SEO audit<\/span>. Chances are you won\u2019t be able to update the <span id=\"urn:enhancement-aeb8fb9d-5651-4ae1-a50f-96e1622f45e7\" class=\"textannotation\">SEO<\/span> on each <span id=\"urn:enhancement-3cf1a5ec-2956-40f7-992c-38b2d1f4501c\" class=\"textannotation\">post<\/span> and <span id=\"urn:enhancement-cf6ff0a1-437a-4f73-be52-e4fb778f6154\" class=\"textannotation\">page<\/span> at once, so note which ones you\u2019re\u00a0updating first and track their progress after the update. Are you seeing a boost in <span id=\"urn:enhancement-fc48f623-0e06-4828-b63c-65db7580ac25\" class=\"textannotation\">traffic<\/span>, and more critically, in <span id=\"urn:enhancement-f9e8f1fa-8931-4d8a-8108-414d0326ef4d\" class=\"textannotation\">traffic<\/span> that converts? This <span id=\"urn:enhancement-451e88ec-9a06-427d-8027-c93aa70ed5d6\" class=\"textannotation\">will<\/span> give you\u00a0insights for updating the rest of your <span id=\"urn:enhancement-a1d74ce2-68fd-4bad-8740-73262dddb39d\" class=\"textannotation\">pages<\/span> in your next batch of updates.<\/p>\n<p>Your final step is to set a regular schedule to perform an <span id=\"urn:enhancement-8d71bb1b-b71e-42ad-a363-fb295a857e1c\" class=\"textannotation\">SEO audit<\/span>. Once a year is a good minimum time. A <span id=\"urn:enhancement-69b70146-f0cb-4842-847f-7169e073d805\" class=\"textannotation\">lot<\/span> can change with <span id=\"urn:enhancement-a0ac15dc-27a2-43c9-b64f-e486140f2b5f\" class=\"textannotation\">SEO<\/span> <span id=\"urn:enhancement-96e66484-1a7a-4066-a343-b9270e9ae190\" class=\"textannotation\">best practices<\/span> in just 12 months. You want to have a <span id=\"urn:enhancement-900e32f7-8acd-4073-9021-dd53902e8608\" class=\"textannotation\">plan<\/span> to stay on top of\u00a0any\u00a0changes\u00a0so you don\u2019t lose all the boosts you just got from completing your audit. It\u2019s a good idea to <span id=\"urn:enhancement-4051cb95-dd2d-422d-a3a5-490221721b23\" class=\"textannotation\">check<\/span> for\u00a0items like broken links more frequently\u00a0as these can happen quickly.<\/p>\n<p>Great job \u2013 for now! <span id=\"urn:enhancement-a1dcba2b-9a68-4991-a831-d7565f2d0081\" class=\"textannotation\">SEO audits<\/span> are a <span id=\"urn:enhancement-e33f58b0-d72b-4501-abd5-f82ed095e7fe\" class=\"textannotation\">lot<\/span> of work, but they usually pay off with big results.\u00a0If you\u2019re tracking your results, you should <span id=\"urn:enhancement-c32520ff-ae5d-4f0f-8b8d-33f94d3df6a0\" class=\"textannotation\">see<\/span> an uptick in a few weeks, with bigger results coming down the line.\u00a0Always remember, when you invest in <span id=\"urn:enhancement-fdecb433-6037-45c6-9849-b906848ccf4b\" class=\"textannotation\">SEO<\/span>, you\u2019re playing the long game \u2013 not looking for instant results.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"vc_row wpb_row vc_row-fluid vc_custom_1665094535336\">\n<div class=\"wpb_column vc_column_container vc_col-sm-12\">\n<div class=\"vc_column-inner\">\n<div class=\"wpb_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"vc_separator wpb_content_element vc_separator_align_center vc_sep_width_20 vc_sep_border_width_5 vc_sep_pos_align_center vc_separator_no_text hide\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-15688 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/c1mdev.com\/c1m.ai\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/search-engine-optimization-concept-seo-with-magn-2022-11-14-04-27-54-utc-1-520x346.jpg\" alt=\"seo strategy\" width=\"520\" height=\"346\" \/><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"vc_custom_heading\">SEO Keyword Research<\/h2>\n<div class=\"wpb_text_column wpb_content_element vc_custom_1665094355156 inner_sec_content\">\n<div class=\"wpb_wrapper\">\n<p>Let\u2019s <span id=\"urn:enhancement-d484e1fe-99ca-4837-b744-4dec341e46ee\" class=\"textannotation\">review<\/span>: now you know the basics of good <span id=\"urn:enhancement-b73e6ed9-02b2-41bc-9965-d59ce4e8f333\" class=\"textannotation\">SEO strategy<\/span>, and you\u2019ve reviewed your <span id=\"urn:enhancement-a70705cb-a31a-4007-9b04-0995a498bef6\" class=\"textannotation\">website<\/span> to fix any issues getting in the way of attracting plenty of <span id=\"urn:enhancement-d35dddba-ac6b-4d73-a1e5-573d22f3f865\" class=\"textannotation\">search engine<\/span> <span id=\"urn:enhancement-b71ba8c1-dbd3-4c2b-9709-2de2b93acc07\" class=\"textannotation\">traffic<\/span>. Well done!<\/p>\n<p>Now we start on creating your <span id=\"urn:enhancement-384ba60c-45c1-4e1b-91c8-681013020e5c\" class=\"textannotation\">SEO<\/span>-friendly <span id=\"urn:enhancement-3ece10c1-aa8c-473a-bb32-0ee2c26e8b30\" class=\"textannotation\">content<\/span>. And the best way to do that is starting with thorough, thoughtful <span id=\"urn:enhancement-ff580637-cbde-44bd-9a53-b5134aa34b7d\" class=\"textannotation\">keyword research<\/span>. This is how you can make your <span id=\"urn:enhancement-270b4136-ac36-4f0e-a7f1-c27c2f083306\" class=\"textannotation\">content<\/span> as effective as possible at bringing in <span id=\"urn:enhancement-aa368528-e598-4dd7-9569-ab2b557f1f2f\" class=\"textannotation\">organic traffic<\/span> and <span id=\"urn:enhancement-a7c99c2b-6253-483e-a06f-0af0be4dffce\" class=\"textannotation\">sustained leads<\/span>, and start seeing real results sooner.<\/p>\n<h3>What is Keyword Research?<\/h3>\n<p><span id=\"urn:enhancement-a064af8e-cb71-470d-9ead-a4eac4295735\" class=\"textannotation\">Keyword research<\/span> is\u00a0the process where you find and analyze\u00a0<span id=\"urn:enhancement-f334926c-56ca-44f2-9c26-70f06f58d11b\" class=\"textannotation\">search<\/span> terms that people are entering into <span id=\"urn:enhancement-b159a95a-3179-4243-8a81-c1d56a2c8a2a\" class=\"textannotation\">search engines<\/span> like <span id=\"urn:enhancement-beee1527-75a2-4215-95f2-31fc37a3b9b6\" class=\"textannotation\">Google<\/span> or <span id=\"urn:enhancement-b7ac3515-b08f-4c62-a4d3-9033182f85a5\" class=\"textannotation\">Bing<\/span>.\u00a0By researching\u00a0these actual <span id=\"urn:enhancement-2dacc0b0-2d4a-481b-8fc6-d48ad69c73bd\" class=\"textannotation\">keywords<\/span> that people are using, you can develop an effective <span id=\"urn:enhancement-1de14bae-526c-4f46-b763-c37d9a786786\" class=\"textannotation\">content strategy<\/span> as well as informing your overall\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/c1mdev.com\/c1m.ai\/digital-marketing-strategy\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">digital marketing strategy<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h3>Analyzing Search Volume<\/h3>\n<p>Let\u2019s break it down a little more. If you know what your <span id=\"urn:enhancement-33e57801-8cd6-4761-bcd1-8552177444e3\" class=\"textannotation\">target audience<\/span> is searching for on <span id=\"urn:enhancement-fbe919d1-2854-4cd5-8838-0d6b4f58a354\" class=\"textannotation\">Google<\/span>, you have a valuable <span id=\"urn:enhancement-1013ded9-973b-4ed0-bc5a-ffbce315e2ab\" class=\"textannotation\">line of sight<\/span> into what they want to know, what they\u2019re interested in reading, and what questions they want to <span id=\"urn:enhancement-d8c28d3b-c824-4bc6-9f73-c9c610cd05c9\" class=\"textannotation\">see<\/span> answered.\u00a0<span id=\"urn:enhancement-479d4ca1-129b-470b-8a34-d79776109fea\" class=\"textannotation\">Keyword research<\/span> tells you what topics your <span id=\"urn:enhancement-1a48ddec-40ce-4aea-a639-1483e6c826a7\" class=\"textannotation\">audience<\/span> is interested in, which allows you to <span id=\"urn:enhancement-bae82848-b3a6-4195-9afb-25ffc4bea0f3\" class=\"textannotation\">create content<\/span> that speaks to them.<\/p>\n<p>For example, if you\u2019re running a bookstore, you can use <span id=\"urn:enhancement-9181b70c-37fd-4bf6-ae31-63514808cf09\" class=\"textannotation\">keywords<\/span> to <span id=\"urn:enhancement-2e555bbb-1722-4037-927f-d1cdf6f5da19\" class=\"textannotation\">see<\/span> what kind of book <span id=\"urn:enhancement-c4159c98-fc09-422d-8390-0ce2378689bc\" class=\"textannotation\">content<\/span> people are looking for. If you were debating between <span id=\"urn:enhancement-ef60dee0-d598-4a42-921c-6c7dcc507408\" class=\"textannotation\">writing<\/span> a <span id=\"urn:enhancement-e3629b87-69a1-4c78-bc92-ac38607d9af5\" class=\"textannotation\">blog post<\/span> about \u201cTop Ten Travel Books\u201d and \u201cThe Best Books About England,\u201d you would <span id=\"urn:enhancement-79df5683-2586-418d-9181-30a04a6639ac\" class=\"textannotation\">check<\/span> a <span id=\"urn:enhancement-e630fe9c-ea71-4e47-b5e2-49b8feb5e535\" class=\"textannotation\">keyword research<\/span> <span id=\"urn:enhancement-414511db-ef63-46c2-a638-ef08422aa415\" class=\"textannotation\">tool<\/span> like\u00a0<span id=\"urn:enhancement-c41d9280-264a-4b07-a86e-a44fc87bf7e5\" class=\"textannotation\">SEMrush<\/span>\u00a0to <span id=\"urn:enhancement-b024475a-9b65-450d-8ff6-9144e201f072\" class=\"textannotation\">see<\/span> which term has a higher monthly <span id=\"urn:enhancement-16292280-07c8-4f60-ad20-f9c8a86c14f2\" class=\"textannotation\">search<\/span> volume and write an <span id=\"urn:enhancement-9170f8d3-3550-48b2-bfaf-f2b7db6303d3\" class=\"textannotation\">article<\/span> based on which one is more <span id=\"urn:enhancement-99bdfc74-14e6-41a1-b260-06acfe7e307e\" class=\"textannotation\">popular<\/span> with searchers.<\/p>\n<h3>About Keyword Difficulty<\/h3>\n<p>But overall <span id=\"urn:enhancement-b5b5c970-168f-406c-b712-5b8acc85775f\" class=\"textannotation\">search<\/span> volume doesn\u2019t tell you the whole story. After all, there are plenty of other companies in your <span id=\"urn:enhancement-086db3b9-c238-4238-9f4d-778fa43f14fc\" class=\"textannotation\">industry<\/span> who are also <span id=\"urn:enhancement-7d59476d-1377-41e0-8d00-ef9884bf8f62\" class=\"textannotation\">writing<\/span> <span id=\"urn:enhancement-119c9bdb-45dd-4b27-b3a2-72ee239a307e\" class=\"textannotation\">content<\/span> about the same topics. (That\u2019s unless you\u2019re in a very specific niche, which we\u2019ll talk about later.)<\/p>\n<p>This is why you need to take <span id=\"urn:enhancement-dd3e4a3a-7152-4202-a15d-2c3dd14469ce\" class=\"textannotation\">keyword<\/span> difficulty into <span id=\"urn:enhancement-81fc9d49-8665-4de9-b26d-1c5f739257c7\" class=\"textannotation\">account<\/span> when <span id=\"urn:enhancement-98b4c2ff-2c81-43c1-9a27-4069033b221e\" class=\"textannotation\">planning<\/span> your <span id=\"urn:enhancement-9da4740a-c37c-4e3c-b817-f2f05ce31e59\" class=\"textannotation\">keyword strategy<\/span>. <span id=\"urn:enhancement-a58c056e-96d2-4a70-a3fc-2058ec3c11db\" class=\"textannotation\">Keyword<\/span> difficulty tells you how many other\u00a0competing websites have written a <span id=\"urn:enhancement-4891436c-0138-498b-9eba-a4ca36dceeec\" class=\"textannotation\">lot<\/span> about this topic. If <span id=\"urn:enhancement-2834d173-667d-4458-b40a-9fa3096ba9c4\" class=\"textannotation\">search<\/span> volume is high but so is <span id=\"urn:enhancement-dfd26f10-b673-48e1-a354-9b56f88e643e\" class=\"textannotation\">keyword<\/span> difficulty, you might be best served by choosing a <span id=\"urn:enhancement-20df5a3d-b03e-4c24-80ec-e4cfea52cf2d\" class=\"textannotation\">long-tail keyword<\/span> with a little less volume but less difficulty if your site is new.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"vc_row wpb_row vc_row-fluid vc_custom_1589931433539\">\n<div class=\"wpb_column vc_column_container vc_col-sm-12\">\n<div class=\"vc_column-inner\">\n<div class=\"wpb_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"vc_separator wpb_content_element vc_separator_align_center vc_sep_width_20 vc_sep_border_width_5 vc_sep_pos_align_center vc_separator_no_text hide\"><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"vc_custom_heading\">Your Research Plan<\/h2>\n<div class=\"wpb_text_column wpb_content_element vc_custom_1665094428330 inner_sec_content\">\n<div class=\"wpb_wrapper\">\n<p>While <span id=\"urn:enhancement-8880be62-d363-4185-8dad-239c2ab8595f\" class=\"textannotation\">keyword research<\/span> can sound intimidating and <span id=\"urn:enhancement-f7cc9ec3-8d15-4d8f-bfdf-72edf6a126b0\" class=\"textannotation\">technical<\/span>, you already have more <span id=\"urn:enhancement-a5ae518d-f6bc-4182-8278-341db6b8eff8\" class=\"textannotation\">tools<\/span> at your disposal than you think. You\u2019re the expert at your <span id=\"urn:enhancement-eabdd7c0-4c19-45f7-90d1-6ad247c61b85\" class=\"textannotation\">business<\/span>, and you already have some idea of what your <span id=\"urn:enhancement-bb78a408-be12-4111-b485-ba35b0eda206\" class=\"textannotation\">customers<\/span> want. That\u2019s a very strong starting point. Let\u2019s get going on the rest of the <span id=\"urn:enhancement-4a276735-02dc-4505-a11d-293961be7e07\" class=\"textannotation\">plan<\/span>.<\/p>\n<h3>Make a List of Topics<\/h3>\n<p>Start any <span id=\"urn:enhancement-99f4b4ae-eaca-4ec1-96d1-b8bd94e939ca\" class=\"textannotation\">keyword\u00a0research<\/span> for your <span id=\"urn:enhancement-b306b44b-b2ab-4e5c-952c-be7ab78b3200\" class=\"textannotation\">SEO strategy<\/span> by making a list\u00a0of\u00a0about 5-10\u00a0topics that are important and relevant for your <span id=\"urn:enhancement-f943b015-9f29-4b5d-b3da-bb1fc12c7aac\" class=\"textannotation\">business<\/span>.\u00a0These should be pretty easy to put down on paper \u2013 they\u2019re the topics you <span id=\"urn:enhancement-29dfe561-d691-4adb-aba1-84e95e1610eb\" class=\"textannotation\">blog<\/span> about frequently, topics you talk to <span id=\"urn:enhancement-c27fca9c-31ea-4d20-a292-db19bf00a10f\" class=\"textannotation\">customers<\/span> about often, or topics that are important for your <span id=\"urn:enhancement-846ddd8d-251d-4459-a47a-90da697a8058\" class=\"textannotation\">industry<\/span>. You\u2019re using your own years of expertise as a <span id=\"urn:enhancement-4409188c-519e-49bd-9ca6-4106f42bfb03\" class=\"textannotation\">business<\/span> owner to come up with these pillars of your <span id=\"urn:enhancement-ede1afa5-c7a8-458d-a813-074c784d7647\" class=\"textannotation\">keyword strategy<\/span>.\u00a0What kind of topics is your <span id=\"urn:enhancement-bb9b5c7c-3d13-47b9-a53f-38b6e2ba5936\" class=\"textannotation\">target<\/span> <span id=\"urn:enhancement-c236388c-65d2-4a32-987b-a82b785efb90\" class=\"textannotation\">customers<\/span> searching for where you would want them to find you?<\/p>\n<p>Let\u2019s use ContentFirst.Marketing as an example. Our topic buckets would look like this:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span id=\"urn:enhancement-e1ab011a-056d-497c-9ea9-be52e9616e02\" class=\"textannotation\">Digital marketing<\/span><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/c1mdev.com\/c1m.ai\/email-marketing\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Email marketing\u00a0\u00a0<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Content <span id=\"urn:enhancement-c986bc4b-3f5d-4d73-9101-b09ae37ccb77\" class=\"textannotation\">marketing<\/span><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/c1mdev.com\/c1m.ai\/search-engine-optimization\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">SEO\u00a0<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Next, you want to look up the monthly <span id=\"urn:enhancement-046f09c1-57a7-441f-95a3-b830ca1f0cca\" class=\"textannotation\">search<\/span> volume for each of those topics.\u00a0Topics with a higher\u00a0amount of <span id=\"urn:enhancement-d87ed43e-e518-4bf2-9137-37ea3aa5dd16\" class=\"textannotation\">search<\/span> <span id=\"urn:enhancement-fd0118d1-9c72-40e4-849b-4a60a1d5a74f\" class=\"textannotation\">traffic<\/span>\u00a0are more important to your <span id=\"urn:enhancement-31743983-ce5d-4e9d-915f-7c87908ac859\" class=\"textannotation\">audience<\/span>. That means you <span id=\"urn:enhancement-c4c72505-2c65-4ea6-bf33-0cd6b4a7be5d\" class=\"textannotation\">will<\/span> want to write more frequently and on a wider variety of related\u00a0sub-topics.<\/p>\n<h3>Refine Those Topics Into Keywords<\/h3>\n<p>Now that you have your topic buckets, we can get started refining your topics into a list of <span id=\"urn:enhancement-948ae3f0-c37d-4504-899a-f2ce1fbbbc92\" class=\"textannotation\">keywords<\/span>.\u00a0These are <span id=\"urn:enhancement-913e507b-6a3f-4869-8a25-1556ceb6a902\" class=\"textannotation\">keyword<\/span> phrases\u00a0you consider important to rank for in <span id=\"urn:enhancement-741f5ad3-0fdb-4309-939f-6d7e9b622b4b\" class=\"textannotation\">search engine results pages<\/span> (<span id=\"urn:enhancement-b37627c5-1fc9-449f-b011-61e7140af948\" class=\"textannotation\">SERPs<\/span>), because that\u2019s what your <span id=\"urn:enhancement-e6c7d557-100c-4c20-9abb-47de97e57c18\" class=\"textannotation\">target<\/span> <span id=\"urn:enhancement-0d1b642e-6f90-45a8-8033-c1fa065bd1ed\" class=\"textannotation\">customers<\/span> are looking for when they <span id=\"urn:enhancement-c5da7550-2e5a-4265-9f18-83450f838e15\" class=\"textannotation\">search<\/span>.<\/p>\n<p>This isn\u2019t your final list of <span id=\"urn:enhancement-3da9b3e7-7a23-41d3-89e8-431aa80a1a4c\" class=\"textannotation\">keywords<\/span> \u2013 it\u2019s just a draft of ideas to get you started. For ContentFirst.Marketing, our list of ideas for the <span id=\"urn:enhancement-163f881f-a0bc-487c-9dbd-6e94f0942232\" class=\"textannotation\">content marketing<\/span> <span id=\"urn:enhancement-07c98fe0-23cd-43dd-a00e-8eb8b828d45b\" class=\"textannotation\">bucket<\/span> would look something like this:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\u201c<span id=\"urn:enhancement-fa1a1d98-67f6-4e5f-bbc9-dfd1535ab713\" class=\"textannotation\">Content marketing<\/span> ideas for small <span id=\"urn:enhancement-4eaea27e-5c3b-4058-b7ad-69e5567c7e62\" class=\"textannotation\">business<\/span>\u201d<\/li>\n<li>\u201c<span id=\"urn:enhancement-d6dd8d3f-da88-4884-9e6f-66023fd20d6b\" class=\"textannotation\">Best practices<\/span> for <span id=\"urn:enhancement-56461552-edf7-4c86-8397-810add5a80a5\" class=\"textannotation\">content marketing<\/span>\u201d<\/li>\n<li>\u201c<span id=\"urn:enhancement-dccf415d-456d-42bc-9929-bb2c153c3d0e\" class=\"textannotation\">Blogging<\/span> ideas for <span id=\"urn:enhancement-0fcbbe20-5127-4f92-80bb-e15ec519f9cf\" class=\"textannotation\">businesses<\/span>\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>And so on.<\/p>\n<p>Another great way to come up with relevant <span id=\"urn:enhancement-42683631-e30f-491a-8bb6-47adfb200172\" class=\"textannotation\">keyword<\/span> ideas? Find out which <span id=\"urn:enhancement-4ef9f2b4-d998-46e5-a8ab-5e51e262641f\" class=\"textannotation\">keywords<\/span> are already getting <span id=\"urn:enhancement-0e2b6e1c-f060-46b0-882c-acbaf7bf2599\" class=\"textannotation\">visitors<\/span> to your site. You can get a look at your existing <span id=\"urn:enhancement-c0e5802a-6738-4e79-a90a-c973ee930a9e\" class=\"textannotation\">search<\/span> <span id=\"urn:enhancement-ed473726-a90b-414b-ada7-3242f531ff88\" class=\"textannotation\">traffic<\/span> by accessing <span id=\"urn:enhancement-af1c0d80-61fc-45fe-94a4-fd009213aa15\" class=\"textannotation\">Google<\/span> <span id=\"urn:enhancement-36abbdfa-1c77-46a7-bafc-4528e0be7102\" class=\"textannotation\">Search<\/span> Console\u00a0or <span id=\"urn:enhancement-8ad31b7d-64e3-4217-a0b7-76f2baa88b9a\" class=\"textannotation\">Google<\/span> Analytics\u00a0for your site (which you should set up if you don\u2019t already have it).\u00a0Take a look at your\u00a0<span id=\"urn:enhancement-f4eb0f04-0436-4863-a316-a2482a95d9f0\" class=\"textannotation\">traffic<\/span> sources for your site, and\u00a0Take a look at your\u00a0<span id=\"urn:enhancement-f12c86a3-1b2d-4314-b3aa-1fa15818bd9c\" class=\"textannotation\">traffic<\/span> sources for your site, and\u00a0look through your <span id=\"urn:enhancement-c8ca6c85-9e64-499c-88b1-495eabd17e2f\" class=\"textannotation\">organic search results<\/span> to <span id=\"urn:enhancement-3326e593-558b-460b-82fa-c9910eaedf63\" class=\"textannotation\">see<\/span>\u00a0the <span id=\"urn:enhancement-d266a4a1-82a5-410c-90f3-5a5bcaf66148\" class=\"textannotation\">keywords<\/span> people are currently using to find your site.<\/p>\n<p>Repeat this step for every topic <span id=\"urn:enhancement-b5188bf1-bb4b-441a-9056-edc76f7c1760\" class=\"textannotation\">bucket<\/span> you have created. If you\u2019re running out of ideas, there are plenty more sources out there. One of the best ways to get <span id=\"urn:enhancement-a852d2b7-f4bb-4e14-8542-cfb6c2880e96\" class=\"textannotation\">keyword<\/span> ideas is to ask your <span id=\"urn:enhancement-f5ac9502-9362-4229-aaa6-91c489c94fbf\" class=\"textannotation\">sales<\/span> team\u00a0or <span id=\"urn:enhancement-622cbd97-83ef-4501-831b-0f28fcbf2de6\" class=\"textannotation\">service<\/span>\u00a0team what kind of questions they frequently get from <span id=\"urn:enhancement-fe2606f3-8db0-4c2e-945b-49ca03f91948\" class=\"textannotation\">customers<\/span> and <span id=\"urn:enhancement-e9f6b2e2-4e0b-4443-90ac-684492a4e67a\" class=\"textannotation\">prospects<\/span>. If they\u2019re asking your team members, they might be searching <span id=\"urn:enhancement-8cd6f682-719d-4197-8aa0-ceaa75233972\" class=\"textannotation\">online<\/span> for those same questions too.<\/p>\n<h3>Find Related Search Terms<\/h3>\n<p>Need more ideas for potential <span id=\"urn:enhancement-aff698de-016d-4970-997d-f082ff2496f9\" class=\"textannotation\">keywords<\/span>? All this brainstorming can be tricky the first time you try it. But there\u2019s plenty of help on <span id=\"urn:enhancement-a03aa995-ac5b-4c4e-9e5e-6aaa1f9345d2\" class=\"textannotation\">Google<\/span> itself for finding related <span id=\"urn:enhancement-c7b69092-4b9f-4cab-a122-9639913d3de8\" class=\"textannotation\">search<\/span> terms so you can get creative with <span id=\"urn:enhancement-906070cf-ad65-4413-b8a7-c311ddf29e5d\" class=\"textannotation\">content<\/span>.<\/p>\n<p>Go to <span id=\"urn:enhancement-9df1e0c6-1def-4b58-a3cd-45cd74f7122f\" class=\"textannotation\">Google<\/span> and type in a <span id=\"urn:enhancement-36d118ad-fd9c-48f2-843d-cb47629d1c42\" class=\"textannotation\">keyword<\/span>, then take a peek at the related <span id=\"urn:enhancement-d12d0a52-287f-4a0a-a0bd-9e99331e7b7c\" class=\"textannotation\">search<\/span> terms that come up at the bottom of the <span id=\"urn:enhancement-178d1389-e0a3-4b5c-9c27-a718eb82c3f0\" class=\"textannotation\">page<\/span>\u00a0(you\u2019ll notice it under the \u201csearches related to\u2026\u201d header). Right there is a goldmine of related terms you can use to think of more <span id=\"urn:enhancement-eafbfe21-e1c5-47d3-82f0-0a276aa4b54b\" class=\"textannotation\">keyword<\/span> ideas for your <span id=\"urn:enhancement-a0d2ce62-66f3-43a7-9a3d-44753ce8154b\" class=\"textannotation\">content<\/span>.\u00a0For extra points, click on one of those related <span id=\"urn:enhancement-fe5e9b68-3377-4da6-9db8-2019f6277be3\" class=\"textannotation\">search<\/span> terms and find the related terms for that related term. The possibilities are endless at this point!<\/p>\n<h3>Mix Short and Long Keywords<\/h3>\n<p>Now that you\u2019ve come up with your general <span id=\"urn:enhancement-f1a06ee0-62a8-4453-b5c6-b7f108b8f388\" class=\"textannotation\">content<\/span> ideas, let\u2019s get into the details of researching exact <span id=\"urn:enhancement-4e02266c-75bf-4213-b4a8-47a1dfcab4e6\" class=\"textannotation\">keywords<\/span>.\u00a0You won\u2019t <span id=\"urn:enhancement-1ce17ac2-0ae8-4d88-8ff3-6b2c3f3bb665\" class=\"textannotation\">write a blog<\/span> <span id=\"urn:enhancement-d3e1c90d-186b-4a41-84bb-2c82da3831f1\" class=\"textannotation\">post<\/span> based on just one <span id=\"urn:enhancement-658e603b-2c07-4bc6-aa31-6d53100fa24a\" class=\"textannotation\">keyword<\/span> \u2013 with the vast variety of information available on the internet, it <span id=\"urn:enhancement-cf4b0b1f-0229-48d3-b1b6-d15330ec0d07\" class=\"textannotation\">will<\/span> get lost in the shuffle. You <span id=\"urn:enhancement-6ff8f612-b8cf-4c5f-bfba-8c15ff2e66ff\" class=\"textannotation\">will<\/span> want to <span id=\"urn:enhancement-36b21521-03d6-4548-be29-7c38f0de7658\" class=\"textannotation\">plan<\/span> a mix of <span id=\"urn:enhancement-5cb15839-710e-4263-a443-a1d414b8fc70\" class=\"textannotation\">head<\/span> <span id=\"urn:enhancement-8a6ea83d-073d-4371-ba3d-13114dd7777a\" class=\"textannotation\">keywords<\/span> and <span id=\"urn:enhancement-8acf2d6e-0cf4-4dae-92a6-14e8b2d9add9\" class=\"textannotation\">long-tail keywords<\/span> for each piece of <span id=\"urn:enhancement-3b6b648a-1c3c-4313-b851-f94c6bdcaabe\" class=\"textannotation\">content<\/span>.<\/p>\n<p>A <span id=\"urn:enhancement-c598162d-a60c-4405-b2a2-7235c72dd0b3\" class=\"textannotation\">head<\/span> <span id=\"urn:enhancement-249625f7-cad8-4e90-9491-0198c33ade48\" class=\"textannotation\">keyword<\/span> is a short\u00a0(think 1-3 words)\u00a0<span id=\"urn:enhancement-6678f2fd-cb7c-460f-95f0-52a0e96db238\" class=\"textannotation\">keyword<\/span> that\u2019s typically more generic. A <span id=\"urn:enhancement-522457d6-dc90-4482-915a-9fe4fba7a946\" class=\"textannotation\">long-tail keyword<\/span> is, of course, longer. It\u2019s also more specific and targeted.\u00a0Why do you need both kinds? People <span id=\"urn:enhancement-73e302e6-e368-4667-8652-2994a2fb2606\" class=\"textannotation\">search<\/span> for <span id=\"urn:enhancement-eb8d87e3-5a77-459b-9310-d3f80a29d1eb\" class=\"textannotation\">head<\/span> <span id=\"urn:enhancement-ba42ccb7-6d83-45ce-baef-3480a8d7f70f\" class=\"textannotation\">keywords<\/span> more frequently, but they\u2019re also more competitive. Over the long run as your <span id=\"urn:enhancement-f69fe52a-ae28-4aaa-abb7-9baf66ae918d\" class=\"textannotation\">SEO strategy<\/span> starts paying off, you could begin <span id=\"urn:enhancement-d672b3d1-b824-4cef-ac4e-3f14543520f3\" class=\"textannotation\">ranking<\/span> for these. But in the shorter term, you want those specific and less-competitive <span id=\"urn:enhancement-2412bde2-38a1-4f28-ad8f-210ec8752e17\" class=\"textannotation\">long-tail keywords<\/span> to bring in <span id=\"urn:enhancement-5fb2e2d1-ceb3-451f-9676-91dfd2edee67\" class=\"textannotation\">visitors<\/span>.<\/p>\n<p>And while <span id=\"urn:enhancement-173bbef4-7690-4faa-9d7f-1e3601ff59f5\" class=\"textannotation\">long-tail keywords<\/span> might be less <span id=\"urn:enhancement-0a2f323a-b70b-4eb3-8ca3-b036dc3b93e8\" class=\"textannotation\">popular<\/span>, they can be more effective at getting <span id=\"urn:enhancement-5f71fbb5-2635-4cd3-b058-4ed1cedb2b40\" class=\"textannotation\">visitors<\/span> who are ready to take action. Someone who is searching generically for \u201c<span id=\"urn:enhancement-8603fb1f-7cc6-47cf-954c-9eda599f05a7\" class=\"textannotation\">digital marketing<\/span>\u201d and finds ContentFirst.Marketing might just be curious about the term, and not a good prospect for us. But someone who searches for \u201chow to create <span id=\"urn:enhancement-085aed02-e0be-431b-b7aa-6c376477d99f\" class=\"textannotation\">digital marketing strategy<\/span>\u201d is likely much more ready to create their <span id=\"urn:enhancement-7b909f8c-e1ac-40de-b591-372d42a52344\" class=\"textannotation\">digital marketing strategy<\/span>, and a better bet to <span id=\"urn:enhancement-aa135ee1-da58-4f41-baf3-7ec350728775\" class=\"textannotation\">convert<\/span> to a frequent reader or customer.<\/p>\n<h3>Research Competitor Rankings<\/h3>\n<p>You don\u2019t need to blindly copy your <span id=\"urn:enhancement-9a758f54-aecb-4f5d-8ee4-81e6318328ab\" class=\"textannotation\">competitors<\/span> \u2013 you already know that in your <span id=\"urn:enhancement-44e94ddf-8f6f-43e6-8891-82e1584f2e4f\" class=\"textannotation\">business<\/span>, and it goes for <span id=\"urn:enhancement-2a7056d6-fdb8-4f11-b4b9-4614ac580a71\" class=\"textannotation\">keywords<\/span> too. But it can be informative to <span id=\"urn:enhancement-c7a1edf9-e87a-4b5a-8b23-9340b62d205d\" class=\"textannotation\">see<\/span> what <span id=\"urn:enhancement-ec051724-ff77-410a-828a-d203dcce4a09\" class=\"textannotation\">keywords<\/span> your <span id=\"urn:enhancement-0e44f642-d89e-44a8-b046-4b82c42e700c\" class=\"textannotation\">competitors<\/span> are <span id=\"urn:enhancement-dbd8ccb5-2347-407e-8518-3eb20d18f727\" class=\"textannotation\">ranking<\/span> for in <span id=\"urn:enhancement-0c181d9a-db75-440c-b362-7141b6ffb1f2\" class=\"textannotation\">search engines<\/span>.\u00a0It\u2019s another <span id=\"urn:enhancement-8e269792-a4cf-4234-ad85-fc4f2377a73e\" class=\"textannotation\">tool<\/span> to use to evaluate your list of <span id=\"urn:enhancement-1737ef3e-ed21-49f4-9b1f-2b0d620b1bc6\" class=\"textannotation\">keywords<\/span>.<\/p>\n<p>If you notice your competitor is <span id=\"urn:enhancement-dadff78b-9dd5-45be-a786-6c802f7c1272\" class=\"textannotation\">ranking<\/span> for a <span id=\"urn:enhancement-b829b9a7-e312-4610-828a-6db82b7620c3\" class=\"textannotation\">keyword<\/span>\u00a0that\u2019s on your list,\u00a0it\u2019s reasonable to try to improve your rankings for that <span id=\"urn:enhancement-ae639e3a-ab42-4bcd-9c6e-a7528ad2a477\" class=\"textannotation\">keyword<\/span> too. But don\u2019t disregard <span id=\"urn:enhancement-b418eafe-f0aa-4069-a2b0-d3c9622cb3b6\" class=\"textannotation\">keywords<\/span> your <span id=\"urn:enhancement-68a380a0-6903-457f-89e9-f46fa80a9710\" class=\"textannotation\">competitors<\/span> are ignoring \u2013 they could be a great opportunity to\u00a0increase your <span id=\"urn:enhancement-d85bce4a-6177-4c73-9e51-ae02f8358e46\" class=\"textannotation\">market share<\/span> on your own terms too.<\/p>\n<p>How can you find the <span id=\"urn:enhancement-ff002454-f7eb-4195-b33b-c3d5d8517e4e\" class=\"textannotation\">keywords<\/span> your <span id=\"urn:enhancement-4ffbd3e1-d40c-4c3f-ab02-ad5fc066468c\" class=\"textannotation\">competitors<\/span> rank for? You can <span id=\"urn:enhancement-de78f22f-420c-469b-97e5-5786941ec8e1\" class=\"textannotation\">search<\/span> in an incognito <span id=\"urn:enhancement-638a97b9-4d79-4f71-bb3a-bc355742b04c\" class=\"textannotation\">browser<\/span> manually for your list of <span id=\"urn:enhancement-6fed2911-7647-4d44-9ec0-d693c4eb3fa3\" class=\"textannotation\">keywords<\/span> and <span id=\"urn:enhancement-925e6309-ed45-4888-a3a5-245c0f162405\" class=\"textannotation\">see<\/span> where they come up in the rankings, or use a <span id=\"urn:enhancement-c60ef19c-71eb-4af8-bd13-966bef819878\" class=\"textannotation\">tool<\/span> like\u00a0<span id=\"urn:enhancement-dc2d78c8-18e3-4a37-b013-839ab9b547b3\" class=\"textannotation\">SEMrush<\/span>\u00a0to run reports for you.<\/p>\n<p>Like we discussed in your mix of short and long <span id=\"urn:enhancement-c1714482-b762-4353-9064-2d56af424297\" class=\"textannotation\">keywords<\/span>, balance is key in any <span id=\"urn:enhancement-18f3a597-4fd6-4c5a-abc6-1e51de29fe6d\" class=\"textannotation\">keyword strategy<\/span>. You want to <span id=\"urn:enhancement-100e9114-4f7b-4831-9364-001e7d5539d0\" class=\"textannotation\">move<\/span> toward short-term success while also <span id=\"urn:enhancement-3dd2feda-450c-4b5a-875d-54b90655d8d2\" class=\"textannotation\">planning<\/span> for growth in the long-term. Maybe you won\u2019t rank for those competition <span id=\"urn:enhancement-af152ee4-9c83-427b-b838-46b2636b32a2\" class=\"textannotation\">keywords<\/span> just yet, especially if your <span id=\"urn:enhancement-e4907273-6876-45a9-946b-dfee03d7d291\" class=\"textannotation\">website<\/span> is new. But you don\u2019t want to ignore them entirely. <span id=\"urn:enhancement-4c45252c-ca5e-4ccf-9c9f-6b3a83838ced\" class=\"textannotation\">SEO<\/span> is a game for the long haul.<\/p>\n<h3>Use Keyword Planning to Refine Your List<\/h3>\n<p>It\u2019s time to narrow down your <span id=\"urn:enhancement-4a5ba3ae-af81-4b4f-b341-91044d4cc32c\" class=\"textannotation\">keyword<\/span> list with some more research. There are plenty of paid <span id=\"urn:enhancement-92fdeb3a-2e0d-4de4-b8e6-663d0f277427\" class=\"textannotation\">keyword research<\/span> <span id=\"urn:enhancement-bc04b633-a2de-472a-b294-f8af97e4dc38\" class=\"textannotation\">tools<\/span> out there, but it\u2019s possible to use Google\u2019s own <span id=\"urn:enhancement-160241e7-acf4-4457-8471-f50aebb31eaf\" class=\"textannotation\">free<\/span> <span id=\"urn:enhancement-e9891150-b5a1-4d25-a27e-fadb04b6bec7\" class=\"textannotation\">tools<\/span> to do this work too.<\/p>\n<p>Use the <span id=\"urn:enhancement-92f25f94-97c7-4e03-86c5-4788eb97d974\" class=\"textannotation\">Google\u00a0Ads<\/span>\u00a0<span id=\"urn:enhancement-216bb4d9-7111-4d79-88ea-5727e0139378\" class=\"textannotation\">Keyword Planning\u00a0Tool<\/span> to\u00a0get <span id=\"urn:enhancement-ac42ebb8-a01a-43ec-b283-8de85af599ce\" class=\"textannotation\">traffic<\/span> estimates and <span id=\"urn:enhancement-e4766d4a-bc2a-4025-a1e9-2b28cb92b97b\" class=\"textannotation\">keyword<\/span> volume for your <span id=\"urn:enhancement-360da3eb-6b80-4f5b-8c3e-afa44f48e863\" class=\"textannotation\">keyword<\/span> ideas. (You have to sign up for a <span id=\"urn:enhancement-dde513c3-90b3-4b97-bcb8-da200b16b320\" class=\"textannotation\">Google Ads<\/span> <span id=\"urn:enhancement-565f1026-4cb9-4a69-87ac-271c715b93a4\" class=\"textannotation\">account<\/span>, but you won\u2019t have to create an <span id=\"urn:enhancement-bb6f96a4-1cc8-4254-a250-53cfaa9ae4b6\" class=\"textannotation\">ad<\/span>.)\u00a0Use the <span id=\"urn:enhancement-ee89bdac-1d55-41f9-9139-030b9da8e097\" class=\"textannotation\">data<\/span> you find here to rule out any <span id=\"urn:enhancement-72e4dcdd-17a8-485b-a568-5bcb1f5b250b\" class=\"textannotation\">keywords<\/span> that have too little or too much <span id=\"urn:enhancement-945e9333-73e6-4540-bfcf-8c9dde4d5cf1\" class=\"textannotation\">search<\/span> volume.<\/p>\n<p>Now it\u2019s time to do some trend-watching. Using the <span id=\"urn:enhancement-48653504-e051-48fc-919b-3b504d94c08d\" class=\"textannotation\">Google<\/span> Trends <span id=\"urn:enhancement-2599ac02-1f40-4c20-aedd-e59afa406c99\" class=\"textannotation\">tool<\/span>, you can find\u00a0which\u00a0<span id=\"urn:enhancement-9aae2d28-cdc0-4f31-8d6d-6310fc7ba072\" class=\"textannotation\">search<\/span> terms\u00a0are\u00a0trending upwards \u2013 they\u2019re a good investment of your time even if current <span id=\"urn:enhancement-6020a825-6091-4b4f-a4a4-f8d533d51b77\" class=\"textannotation\">search<\/span> volume is low.\u00a0Write now, reap the <span id=\"urn:enhancement-a187ff80-49ff-413c-9d21-54af32847671\" class=\"textannotation\">search<\/span> <span id=\"urn:enhancement-83aaa9d9-3ca4-4348-8908-b01dbfc5a379\" class=\"textannotation\">traffic<\/span> benefits later.\u00a0<span id=\"urn:enhancement-bf427960-b60e-4b07-b332-98d79385faab\" class=\"textannotation\">Google<\/span> Trends can also help you narrow your list down if it\u2019s too large, allowing you to focus your efforts\u00a0on the most promising <span id=\"urn:enhancement-baf99060-f5c0-4193-add4-3557b36cbd33\" class=\"textannotation\">keywords<\/span>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"vc_row wpb_row vc_row-fluid vc_custom_1589931433539\">\n<div class=\"wpb_column vc_column_container vc_col-sm-12\">\n<div class=\"vc_column-inner\">\n<div class=\"wpb_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"vc_separator wpb_content_element vc_separator_align_center vc_sep_width_20 vc_sep_border_width_5 vc_sep_pos_align_center vc_separator_no_text hide\"><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"vc_custom_heading\">The Goal of Keyword Research<\/h2>\n<div class=\"wpb_text_column wpb_content_element vc_custom_1665094278025 inner_sec_content\">\n<div class=\"wpb_wrapper\">\n<p><span id=\"urn:enhancement-db438c86-5771-4d1c-a354-bee5d02b053b\" class=\"textannotation\">Keyword research<\/span> is really a way of developing <span id=\"urn:enhancement-145b110f-d35f-4450-a203-7c3f2bf893cb\" class=\"textannotation\">content<\/span> ideas that <span id=\"urn:enhancement-715db2c2-eeeb-48d8-97e2-28169a9fb110\" class=\"textannotation\">will<\/span> resonate with your <span id=\"urn:enhancement-f36a371a-678d-4d35-9b3e-8aeecf20dbde\" class=\"textannotation\">target audience<\/span>. <span id=\"urn:enhancement-15e45b7a-0598-4a9f-a202-64d72823fabf\" class=\"textannotation\">Search<\/span> <span id=\"urn:enhancement-cad77e6e-2e66-4e63-9d28-530dacc32b96\" class=\"textannotation\">keywords<\/span> are a <span id=\"urn:enhancement-0d491f5e-65b6-4c49-aa9d-7d12074658bc\" class=\"textannotation\">line of sight<\/span> into what your <span id=\"urn:enhancement-cbe7188c-3f0e-4ed8-98bb-7e623e8f9fb2\" class=\"textannotation\">prospects<\/span> care about and need.\u00a0With some thoughtful research, you\u2019ll some be <span id=\"urn:enhancement-7a19d624-e6e5-4063-b5e9-d25b19c2900c\" class=\"textannotation\">creating content<\/span> on topics that\u00a0grow your <span id=\"urn:enhancement-611ceae7-d934-4922-a022-2e1ff5a685a1\" class=\"textannotation\">business<\/span>.<\/p>\n<p>Don\u2019t let this process be a one-time effort, either. Track your <span id=\"urn:enhancement-a2dfef5c-5580-4313-883f-b7c1f1ee9cee\" class=\"textannotation\">keywords<\/span> in a spreadsheet and regularly check on how they\u2019re performing. And don\u2019t forget to make this <span id=\"urn:enhancement-10d20f9f-885d-403b-9645-c1a564536219\" class=\"textannotation\">keyword research<\/span> process at least a quarterly event. <span id=\"urn:enhancement-e07e2942-1f49-446e-a89f-d0f6379c327a\" class=\"textannotation\">Search<\/span> trends shift over time, and you can\u2019t afford to get left behind.<\/p>\n<p>Once you\u2019ve established a strong <span id=\"urn:enhancement-4ba31fa8-ba86-47e9-86bd-cd549a207667\" class=\"textannotation\">SEO strategy<\/span>, performed your <span id=\"urn:enhancement-e9d0ef52-8af5-4bb8-88f4-fe7afb05aacf\" class=\"textannotation\">SEO audit<\/span>, and planned your <span id=\"urn:enhancement-cafd2a12-1247-4aa7-b4ef-051f7643feaa\" class=\"textannotation\">keyword strategy<\/span>, you\u2019ll begin to see your <span id=\"urn:enhancement-5fcce0fd-be3d-48c2-9eea-b31c92916cf5\" class=\"textannotation\">organic search traffic<\/span> grow and start converting those <span id=\"urn:enhancement-c384cee0-8c94-47b4-8a6e-3ebd449f51d4\" class=\"textannotation\">visitors<\/span> to <span id=\"urn:enhancement-3ae0469d-2fe3-4709-b5a3-c9dded4a3272\" class=\"textannotation\">customers<\/span>.<\/p>\n<h3>Get an SEO Expert on Your Side<\/h3>\n<p>If you\u2019re strapped for time but know how important a solid <span id=\"urn:enhancement-f3ae60b7-d0ba-4141-96dc-62bd819dd227\" class=\"textannotation\">SEO strategy<\/span> is for your <span id=\"urn:enhancement-1f3a1a17-cbcc-4703-aa11-6c55e36f88fb\" class=\"textannotation\">business<\/span>, give ContentFirst.Marketing a call and talk to our <span id=\"urn:enhancement-ed24dd5c-a481-4086-807d-fe4c380fc777\" class=\"textannotation\">digital<\/span> <span id=\"urn:enhancement-fc8ed5fb-1c29-43f4-b180-7ec22ccd8379\" class=\"textannotation\">marketing experts<\/span>. We\u2019re here to help you grow your <span id=\"urn:enhancement-dd781327-a2ab-49fd-98fd-2c3417213018\" class=\"textannotation\">business<\/span> through proven <span id=\"urn:enhancement-b0a5f708-51e9-4272-a931-23886b9d0225\" class=\"textannotation\">SEO<\/span> techniques, excellent writing, and measurable results. You take care of running your <span id=\"urn:enhancement-05d9e8ca-c5ea-4390-91ef-73b6dad07c67\" class=\"textannotation\">business<\/span> \u2013 we\u2019ll handle the <span id=\"urn:enhancement-6e570ca7-d9fa-4ea5-affb-a92bb2a1fbac\" class=\"textannotation\">digital marketing<\/span> for you.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Search engine optimization is a big topic \u2013 and it should be, since it\u2019s so valuable for digital marketing. But it\u2019s not enough to just&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":21036,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21035","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-marketing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c1mdev.com\/c1m.ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21035","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c1mdev.com\/c1m.ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c1mdev.com\/c1m.ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c1mdev.com\/c1m.ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c1mdev.com\/c1m.ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21035"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/c1mdev.com\/c1m.ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21035\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23533,"href":"https:\/\/c1mdev.com\/c1m.ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21035\/revisions\/23533"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c1mdev.com\/c1m.ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21036"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c1mdev.com\/c1m.ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21035"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c1mdev.com\/c1m.ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21035"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c1mdev.com\/c1m.ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21035"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}