Encourage Conversion: More Advanced Keyword Research Strategies
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This is the second part of a two-part guide to keyword selection. I will explain how to choose keyword phrases that offer a high rate of conversion, how to organize and target several keywords on one page, and more. I'll also cover some keyword "dos and don'ts," and point you to online tools that can help you do deep keyword research.
One Word Keywords Don’t Bring Money
Everyone wants to rank for “shoes,” “car” and “SEO,” but one word queries deliver few sales and are expensive to optimize for. Searchers usually use one word keywords, and then go back and refine their search, because the choice is too broad.
For example, Bob is shopping for a car. He puts the word "car" into Google's search. He gets 111 million hits (no exaggeration). He quickly realizes that the term is too broad to give the results he wants.
What kind of car is he looking for? Is it an SUV, sports car, BMW, Mitsubishi or some sort of a pick-up truck? He refines his search to “sedan car 2008.” He gets less than three million results. That's somewhat better.
Websites on top of search results with a title tag optimized for this keyword promise to give Bob what he wants, so he clicks. This is even more true for other industries.
Bob may not buy a car online, but it’s a different story when we compare the one word phrase “camera” with “sony digital camcorder.” The latter phrase is the sales maker.
Low Search Volume = No Traffic = No Dough
Keyword selection is most effective when it follows this matrix:
1.Search volume > 2.conversion rate
It’s not practical (and expensive as hell) to optimize for one word generic keywords, but don’t get so carried away that you fall into a “conversion hole.” Conversion rates do matter; those are your sales. There must be healthy search volume, however, for a term to make the entire equation work. The key term “buy sony CD453 digital camera” may deliver a 90 percent conversion rate, but if practically no one uses it when searching, it’s worthless.
Two- to four-word key phrases tend to deliver good conversion rates, while providing good search volume.
Next: Keywords That Convert Best >>
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