Your Guide to Keyword Research

Keyword Research Tips for B2B Marketers

It’s one thing to make content – it’s another thing to make searchable content. There are many factors that contribute to how often your website shows up in search engine results, including your use of keywords. If you’re a search engine optimization (SEO) beginner, start with our blog here. Otherwise, keep reading for keyword research tips that can improve your content’s ranking on search engines.

Why Should I Care About Keywords?

When you enter a query into a search engine, the specific words you type are a major factor determining what results you get. This is because search engines use algorithms to automatically find websites that match the inquiry as accurately as possible.

To write content that is more likely to appear in relevant searches, you need to include the right keywords for SEO. To find these phrases, you need to determine how people typically search for the products, services or information about which you are writing and your organization provides. Keyword research can also help determine topics of interest to your audience to inform your content marketing. With a keyword research tool, you can select common and relevant keywords to help your content reach the right audiences, thereby driving awareness, interest and hopefully leads.

Finding the Right Words for Your Brand

To incorporate keywords into your SEO strategy, follow these steps:

Make a list of topics.

Brainstorm ideas for topics relevant to your company and industry. Think about what questions a potential customer could have that your website could answer. Review your competitors’ websites, blogs and resource pages to see what topics they cover. Consider areas of expertise where your brand could be a thought leader. Then, write down a list of simple phrases that describe these topics.

Find similar keywords.

From this list, it’s time to plug your topics into a keyword research tool to discover more keywords. Tools such as Moz Keyword Explorer and HubSpot Website Grader take your phrases and suggest similar keywords. They also include options to compare the keywords based on popularity.

Choose your keywords strategically.

As you review the keywords, make sure to take these considerations into account:

  1. Long tail keywords. Longer, more specific keywords, including “long tail” keywords, make up more than 75% of all searches. They contain several words in a string that reveal specific answers, such as “top trends for marketers in 2022” or “best social media marketing tactics for b2b agencies.” These phrases are also more likely to target someone with an intent to purchase. For example, while someone searching “dresses” is probably just browsing, another person searching “blue cotton dress for women size 10” is ready to buy.
  2. Questions. Targeting questions that your audience may search is a great way to achieve higher rankings and develop relevant content for potential customers. Keywords in the form of questions could include “what cleaning chemicals are safe for use around kids” or “how to install a wall-mounted chemical dispenser.”
  3. Search intent. One of the more recent trends in search engine ranking has been a focus on intent rather than simply matching the exact phrase a person searches. When choosing keywords, it’s crucial that they reflect the purpose of your content. Websites that ignore search intent might include irrelevant keywords to trick someone into visiting their page. This tactic is counterproductive because the searcher will leave the page quickly after noticing that it does not solve their inquiry. Search engines track this metric and will lower a page’s ranking if people cannot find answers.

Narrow down your list.

Once you have a list of relevant keywords, it’s time to compare them based on average monthly search volume and difficulty. These metrics can be found in your keyword research tool. A higher search volume for a keyword will help your page achieve better search engine rankings. However, the higher the search volume, the more competition and effort required to rank high. That’s why it’s important to be strategic when selecting which keywords to target. A mix of difficult keywords and more specific, lower-competition search terms covers more ground.

Incorporate keywords across your website.

Pages rank for keywords individually, so make sure to include your chosen keywords on several of your pages. When posting a blog, you can consider incorporating both keywords relevant to your brand in general and keywords connected to the blog’s topic. Be sure not to go overboard by cramming keywords into every sentence. Three or four tailored keywords per page is a great starting point.

Getting Your Content to the Right Audience

Although search engines are constantly evolving, keywords remain an important part of SEO for any brand. By including relevant keywords in your content marketing, you can increase your website’s reach and become a resource for your audience.

Ready to become a thought leader to your audience? Contact us today.

Theresa Colston is a Senior Account Executive at Mulberry Marketing Communications, an award-winning full-service B2B communications agency based in Chicago, London and Australia. She enjoys developing creative marketing ideas and building connections to drive results for clients.