Web design matters but keywords need your attention too

Search engine optimisation is one of the hottest trends in digital marketing. However, not all businesses succeed in making it to the top of the results page.

Of course, it’s possible to have a better performance in search results with the right tactic. Some people decide to give up on SEO after an initial failure.

What most people don’t realise is that SEO is not designed to be difficult. One key to ranking higher in results pages is to target smaller keywords.

Here’s why businesses should start looking for smaller keywords to perform better.

Why do you need to perform keyword research?

Keyword research refers to the process of finding key phrases people search for in Google. Your goal is to create content targeting these keywords to drive traffic to your website.

The hardest part of the process is to analyse those keywords and find the one your website can rank for. You need to look into the competitiveness of the keyword among other indicators.

Magicdust explains that “your goal is to find key phrases with a strong commercial intent and high traffic volume.” However, these phrases should also be competitively reachable based on your website’s authority and ranking.

If there’s too much competition in the keyword you chose, it will take too much effort to rank high for it. On the other hand, keywords that are too easy usually have a low search volume. The key is to find a balance between the two.

Most of the time, competition for smaller phrases is lower since most websites compete for long-tailed keywords.

How will smaller keywords make your life easier?

As mentioned above, it’s easier to rank for smaller keywords.

Most of the time, smaller keywords refer to a general topic. So, most web content will ignore it. SEO efforts will focus less on smaller phrases since they are not appealing. So, most of the pages ranking for the keyword are low-quality. This means you have an opportunity to rank higher by creating impressive content targeting that keyword.

This hack is especially useful for local websites that are not receiving any traffic. This is a useful way to kick off SEO efforts.

What are the disadvantages?

The main disadvantage of going for smaller keywords is that the search volume can be low. Even if you get to the first page, you won’t receive a lot of visitors.

So, is it worth it to spend money on smaller keywords?

The best way to answer this is to forecast the results from SEO efforts targeting harder keywords. Compare the traffic you’ll get for the two alternative scenarios.

Even if the search traffic for smaller keywords is low, you won’t stick to this tactic forever. By creating valuable content for these keywords, you can build your website’s authority and try to rank for longer phrases. This will give you a better chance of appearing in search results.

Some businesses think targeting phrases with only 100 searches a month is not worth the effort. However, it may translate to three customers per month, which is not a bad deal especially for local businesses.

Do you have to focus on longer keywords?

For a local business, it’s better to avoid longer phrases. However, there’s an exception. If you can use the content you create for link building efforts go for it. This will be useful if the existing content for the keyword lacks crucial information.

Keyword targeting is a crucial part of content creation. If you want to get traffic to your website, don’t be scared about targeting smaller keywords. The traffic might not be too high at the beginning, but it will all add up.

Keyword research is not the only factor that will affect your SEO success. Analysing your website back-end is also important for your optimisation efforts.

Always remember that your content will influence your website design, so figure out your priorities to create the best content.

Ken Isangar
Ken Isangar
An avid blogger and freelance writer to many technology related company. I have been blogging for 15+ years on various topics.
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