Advanced Keyword Research - SMX London

Locations Roseville & San Francisco, CA - New York, NY

Email [email protected] Web www.blastam.com Phone (888) 252-7866 Twitter @blastam

SMX London 2013 Advanced Keyword Research

Kayden Kelly CEO, Managing Director

@kaydenkelly

Advanced Keyword Research

( +Bonus Tips )

[email protected]

Agenda - 01 -

Keys to Success

- 02 -

Silo Strategy – How to Manage Keywords

- 05 -

Adwords Keyword Research Mistakes & Tips

- 04 -

Analytics Research – How to Mine your Analytics Data

- 07 -

Bonus: Keyword Research Process

- 06 -

Competitor Analysis

- 03 -

Find New Keywords

- 01 -

Keys to Success

Start with “Why”

Understand User Intent

Identify Content to Create

Best Answers/Most Value >> Leadership & Affinity

Prioritize Efforts

Structure Process

Lifecycle Understand User Journey

Map to Entire Customer Lifecycle

Customer Lifecycle

Awareness Interest

Decision Affinity

Potential Customer Potential Customer Potential Customer Potential Customer Potential Customer Customer Repeat Customer Loyal Customer Customer Advocate Customer

Awareness Research Interest Evaluation Justify /Decide Buy Repeat Retention Support Referral

Awareness Consideration Decision Phase

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%

% o

f se

arch

phr

ases

fea

turing

thi

s ty

pe o

f ke

ywor

d issue / opportunity

issue / opportunity

issue / opportunity

brand

brand

brand

solution

solution

solution

comparison / review comparison /

review

comparison / review

Keyword Usage Pattern through the Buying Process

Customer Lifecycle

Clear Goals

Mistake #1 No Success Metrics

You can’t improve, what

you don’t measure"

Mistake #2 Don’t focus only on

the decide stage

Not all visitors are ready to buy"

Measurement Model What does success look like

across the lifecycle?

- 02 -

Silo Strategy How to Manage Keywords

Content Structure (Silos)

Create Photo Books! Sell Your Book! Bookmaking

Tools! ...!Tier 2!

Travel Photo Books!

Baby Photo Books!

Sports Photo Books! ...!Tier 3!

Football Photo Book!

Soccer Photo Book!

Gymnastic Photo Book!

Tier 4!

Make Books!Tier 1! Head/Broad Term

Mid-Tail Terms

Long-Tail/Specific Terms

Sub Sub-Page

Sub Sub-Page

Sub Sub-Page

Sub Sub-Page

Page 1

Page 2

Page 3

Page 4

Sub-Page

Sub-Page

Sub-Page

Sub-Page

Page 5

Home

Centralized Silos

Hierarchy of Multi-Layered

Related Content

Sub-Page

Sub-Page

Sub-Page

Sub-Page

Sub-Page

Sub-Page

Sub-Page

Sub Sub-Page

Sub Sub-Page

Sub Sub-Page

Sub Sub-Page

Home

Page 1

Page 2

Page 3

Page 4

Sub-Page

Sub-Page

Sub-Page

Sub-Page

Page 5

Created by links

Examples: Product Templates, Product Ideas They can live in multiple categories, but they are all one theme

De-centralized Silos

Strategic vs.

Tactical

Keyword Research

Creating Silos

Search engines reward sites with

relevant, focused themes

Strategic Keyword Research builds

out those themes

5-12 Silos With Top 35 Keywords for Each Silo

Seasonality

Tactical Keyword Research Using the right keywords for each specific page

optimal keyword

sub-optimal keyword

Silo Content Coverage

- 03 -

Find New Keywords

Adwords Keyword Tool Analytics Competitors Website Search Results

Find New Keywords

Matching Keywords to Content

Map Keywords: -  Primary -  Secondary -  Tertiary

Create new content -or-

Update existing pages

- 04 -

Analytics Research

Google Analytics Analysis

Review Web Analytics

1

2

3

In Google Analytics 1.  Login to Google Analytics 2.  Go to Traffic Sources > Search >

Organic (or Paid) 3.  Set date range for 30-90 Days 4.  Filter out branded keywords with

advanced segments 5.  Examine current keywords

driving traffic to site 6.  Filter by potential keywords

found in previous steps 7.  Find keywords that provide

traffic that convert 8.  Add keywords to you list

Make it easier to find the keywords you are looking for

Filter by Potential Keywords Find Long-Tail

Keyword Combinations

Filter Results

Filter by: - Advanced Segments - Keyword (Include/Exclude)

Remove Branded Keywords

See how that keyword is performing on that

specific page

How is a Keyword Performing? Add a secondary dimension: Landing Page

If keyword not performing well for a page, check to see how well page is optimized for it

Check Bounce Rate for that Page/Keyword

GA Word Cloud Identify clusters/top keywords

Change # in URL to 1500

Tableau Analysis Grouping

Keyword Group colored and sized by number of current visits

Keyword Group CPC ranking

Keyword groups sized by search volume and colored by share. Red means we have low share (<10%), Green more than 10%. Red & Big = Opportunity

Keyword Groups colored and sized by Share. Where do we have better visibility? Darker Blue = More Traffic

Keyword Groups by visits. What currently brings traffic to website and in what groups? Darker Blue = More Traffic

- 05 -

Adwords Research

Mistake #1 Not Logging In

Login to Google Adwords Keyword Tool

Log-in to View More Features

(create account without setting up AdWords)

Mistake #2 Broad Match

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Keyword Match Types

Match Type Definition Results

Broad Match are synonyms, related searches, and other relevant variations

photo books, photobooks, photo albums, books,

photo box

“Phrase Match” is a phrase, and close variations of that phrase

photo books, custom photo books, create

photo books

[Exact Match] is an exact term photo books

Example Keyword = photo books

How are they different?

Start with Phrase Match to allow you to find additional

long-tailed keywords

If Exact Match has no/low volume, use Phrase Match

instead

Match Types Examples

Search Options

Filter by location, language, device type

Click columns to see additional keyword data

Column Definitions

Default columns

Click to add these columns

Competition - Level of competition for paid search

Global Monthly Searches - Worldwide searches (12 Month Average)

Local Monthly Searches - US searches (12 Month Average)

Approximate CPC (Search) - Estimated cost per click

Local Search Trends - Monthly Search Trends

Add Your Keywords

wedding photo books wedding photo albums wedding photobooks make a wedding photo book create a wedding photo book wedding photo guest book honeymoon photo album wedding album templates

Mistake #3 Exclude High

Competition/CPC Keywords

Keyword Results Evaluate keyword volume and potential based on

level of competition

HIGHER CPC

= HIGHER

conversion potential

Mistake #4 Overlooking Seasonality

Keyword Results This gives you an

average of US search traffic Keywords are

seasonal

Look at the Search Trends

480 average

880 in July

Keyword Seasonality

Average May Exact Match for: [unique mothers day gifts] 14,800 135,000

+120,200

Keyword Grouping

Automatically creates keyword groups based on your keywords

Groups Similar Keywords

If anything triggers new keyword ideas add them to your list and re-submit

Mistake #5 Missing Ad Group

Expansion

Click on “Show more ad groups” to view

more groups

Wait, There’s More

Narrow Your Search

Add an Include Term “wedding”

All keyword results now include the term “wedding”

Download Keyword Data

1

2


Average Search Volume

Ad Groups

Keywords

Search Volume by Month

Evaluate Keyword Research

13

Mistake #6 Not Manually

Generating Lists

Keyword List Generator

Mistake #7 Trusting Adwords (Sampled) Data

- 06 -

Competitor Analysis

Keyword Rank Monitoring (Reactive) Don’t wait for ranking to change – watch what competitors are doing on and off-site. Take action proactively!

•  Screaming Frog: Analyze site for keyword usage and content changes

•  Linkdex: Monitor competitor link building

Be Proactive

Screaming Frog Analysis

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Thanks for listening!

Any Questions?

Kayden Kelly CEO, Managing Director

Roseville Office 950 Reserve Drive, Suite 150

Roseville, CA 95678

San Francisco Office 156 Second Street

San Francisco, CA 94107

New York Office 261 Madison Ave, 9th Floor

New York, NY 10016

Phone (888) 252-7866 Email [email protected] Web www.blastam.com

- 07 -

Bonus: Research Process •  Understanding keyword types

•  How to avoid personalization and keyword chaining

•  How to audit the SERP

•  How to analyze competitor listings to mine top keywords & differentiators

•  How to mine search suggestions and related keywords

Types of Keywords Primary Keyword

•  Most important keyword on the page •  Higher search traffic (generally) •  Used the most on the page

Make a yearbook

How to make a yearbook

yearbook publishing, yearbook maker, family photo yearbook, elementary school yearbooks, middle school yearbooks, high school yearbooks, yearbook templates, photo yearbooks

Secondary Keyword •  Supports the primary keyword •  Related to primary keyword •  Usually more specific •  Used less often than primary keyword

Tertiary Keywords • Supports the other keywords • Related to other keywords • Offers more variations • Helps sync with user intent when you use

variations of keywords they are thinking of • Each tertiary keyword is used less than

primary & secondary keywords

Use Keywords to Optimize Page Content

Each page should be focused on one primary keyword Part of the Page! Primary Keyword! Secondary Keyword! Tertiary Keyword!

File Name! 1

Page Title! 1

Meta Description! 1

Heading - H1! 1

Headings - H2-H3!

Body Content! 2-6 times 1-4 times 1-2 times

Links - To the page 1

Images!

Secondary & Tertiary keywords should be used less

2: Review Web Analytics

3: Use Google AdWords Keyword Tool

1: Perform Searches

4: Evaluate Keyword Research

5: Apply Keyword Research

- 04 -

Keyword Research Process

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Before You Search

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Prevent Personalization from Skewing your Results

Search Results are effected by: - Search History - Social Accounts - Localization - Account Settings Chrome:

File -> New Incognito Window Firefox: Tools -> Start Private Browsing Use Incognito (Chrome) or

Private Browsing (Firefox)

Search Anonymously

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Localization

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Set a more general location (like USA)

- Use the country specific search engine - Set the correct location

1

2

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STEP 1: Perform Searches

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Look for new keywords in SERPs

How do your competitors write their title and meta description?

What other keywords are they using?

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Create a List of Keywords

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Add your keywords to a spreadsheet as you go

Add variations: - Plurals - Rearrange the phrase - Combine Keywords to make new phrases

Don’t leave anything out, this is brainstorming

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Review Sites Yours & Competitors

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What keywords are used on the page?

Look at: - File names - Headings - Links - Body Content - CTAs - Page Titles and Meta Tags

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Pay Attention to Paid Search Ads

Competition: How many ads are there?

Are they relevant?

Take a look at how they are writing their ads and what keywords they are using

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Look at Universal Search Results What Type or Universal results are showing up? - Images - Videos - MP3s - News - Social Sites - Local Listings

Are these universal results pushing down listings?

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Don’t Hit Enter!

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Look at Google Suggest Results

Start typing and see what Google suggests

Good way to find longtail keywords

These are good, quality keywords that Google is suggesting to everyone

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Google Suggest Tool

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http://ubersuggest.org/

Übersuggest

Allows you to see the Google Suggest results for the entire alphabet

Lets you drill down on certain keywords and get further information

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Related Searches

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Easily find new keywords that are related

Follow these related keywords to find even more relevant searches and keywords



1: Perform Searches



- 04 -


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Step 2: Review Web Analytics

1

2

3

In Google Analytics 1.  Login to Google Analytics 2.  Go to Traffic Sources > Search >

Organic (or Paid) 3.  Set date range for 30-90 Days 4.  Filter out branded keywords with

advanced segments 5.  Examine current keywords

driving traffic to site 6.  Filter by potential keywords

found in previous steps 7.  Find keywords that provide

traffic that convert 8.  Add keywords to you list

Make it easier to find the keywords you are looking for

Filter by Potential Keywords Find Long-Tail

Keyword Combinations

Filter Results

Filter by: - Advanced Segments - Keyword (Include/Exclude)

Remove Branded Keywords

101

See how that keyword is performing on that

specific page

How is a Keyword Performing? Add a secondary dimension: Landing Page

If a keyword is not performing well on the page, check to see how well that page is optimized for it

Check Bounce Rate for that Page/Keyword



1: Perform Searches



- 04 -


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STEP 3: Use Google Adwords Keyword Tool

Log-in to View More Features

(create account without setting up AdWords)

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Keyword Match Types

Match Type Definition Results

Broad Match are synonyms, related searches, and other relevant variations

photo books, photobooks, photo albums, books,

photo box

“Phrase Match” is a phrase, and close variations of that phrase

photo books, custom photo books, create

photo books

[Exact Match] is an exact term photo books

Example Keyword = photo books

How are they different?

Start with Phrase Match to allow you to find additional

long-tailed keywords

If Exact Match has no/low volume, use Phrase Match

instead

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Match Types Examples

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Search Options

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Filter Results Include or Exclude

Terms

Choose a related category

Filter by location, language, device type

Click columns to see additional keyword data

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Column Definitions

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Default columns

Click to add these columns

Competition - Level of competition for paid search

Global Monthly Searches - Worldwide searches (12 Month Average)

Local Monthly Searches - US searches (12 Month Average)

Approximate CPC (Search) - Estimated cost per click

Local Search Trends - Monthly Search Trends

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Add Your Keywords

www.BLASTAM.com

wedding photo books wedding photo albums wedding photobooks make a wedding photo book create a wedding photo book wedding photo guest book honeymoon photo album wedding album templates

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Keyword Results Evaluate keyword volume and potential based on

level of competition

The HIGHER the competition,

the HIGHER the

conversion potential

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Keyword Results This gives you an average of US search traffic Keywords are

seasonal

Look at the Search Trends

480 average

880 in July

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Keyword Grouping

www.BLASTAM.com

Automatically creates keyword groups based on your keywords

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Groups Similar Keywords

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If anything triggers new keyword ideas add them to your list and re-submit

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Wait, There’s More

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Click on “Show more ad groups” to view

more groups

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Narrow Your Search

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Add an Include Term “wedding”

All keyword results now include the term “wedding”

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2

Download either your original keyword ideas

-or- keywords from the

ad group ideas

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Choose what file format you would like

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Average Search Volume

Ad Groups

Keywords

Search Volume by Month



1: Perform Searches



- 04 -


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Step 4: Evaluate Keyword Research

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We will be creating sheets for both Exact &

Phrase match types

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Evaluate Keyword Research: Step 1

Step 1: Rename Spreadsheet to “Organization-SEO-kw-research-#keyword#-v1.0.xls”

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Evaluate Keyword Research: Steps 2-5

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Step 2: Rename worksheet tab to “Phrase”

2

Step 3: Select Entire Top Row

3 Step 4: Bold

4

Step 5: Hide “Global Monthly Searches” column

5

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Evaluate Keyword Research: Step 6

Step 6: Select Top Row and Click “Sort/Filter” Icon

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Evaluate Keyword Research: Step 7 Step 7: •  Click Sort Down

Arrow on Approx. CPC (Cost Per Click) Column

•  Click “Descending” 7

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Evaluate Keyword Research: Step 8 Step 8: Select Competition, Local Monthly Searches, and CPC fields for all rows with dashes “-” and clear contents for proper sorting.

8

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Evaluate Keyword Research: Step 9 Step 9: •  Sort Descending again

by CPC.

•  Highlight top CPC values in green.

•  Typically CPC values greater than $1.50, but it depends on the quality and volume of keywords returned.

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Evaluate Keyword Research: Step 10 Step 10: •  Sort Descending by “Competition”

•  Highlight values greater than or equal to 0.90

10

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Evaluate Keyword Research: Step 11 Step 11: •  Sort Descending by “Local Monthly Searches”

•  Highlight values greater than or equal to 70 (or higher if volume is strong for these keyword variations)

11

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Evaluate Keyword Research: Step 12 Step 12: Highlight keywords with: •  Good volume •  Higher CPC •  Higher Competition

(which indicates keyword quality and better conversion, commercial intent)

12

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Evaluate Keyword Research: Step 13 Step 13: Highlight month(s) in green that have the highest keyword volume to identify seasonal trends

13 You are now DONE with the Phrase match type sheet. NEXT you need to create a sheet for the Exact match type keywords.

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Evaluate Keyword Research: Step 14 Step 14: •  Copy keywords from

Phrase tab to New tab

•  Perform a Find/Replace on quotation marks (“) and replace with blanks ( )

This allows you to copy clean keywords without match type back into the Adwords keyword tool

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Evaluate Keyword Research: Step 15-17 Step 15: Clear out previously saved keywords

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Step 16: Select Exact Match Type

16 Step 17: Paste your keywords into the Word or Phrase textbox

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Evaluate Keyword Research: Step 18-19

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Step 18: Save All “My Keywords”

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Step 19: Download “My Keywords ideas”

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Evaluate Keyword Research: Step 20 Step 20: Copy and Paste all rows to new “Exact” tab in existing spreadsheet

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Evaluate Keyword Research: Step 21 Step 21: Repeat Steps 3-13 used for Phrase keyword research

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Evaluate Keyword Research: Finalized

Save your file and share it with others



1: Perform Searches



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Step 5: Apply Keyword Research

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Primary Keyword

Secondary Keyword Tertiary Keywords

hardcover photo books

hardcover photo book

custom hardcover photo books, hard cover photo books

softcover photo books

custom softcover photo books photo books

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Use your findings to create content recommendations

Add your keywords to the content recommendations

Add seasonality information (good info when planning priorities)

Advanced Keyword Research - SMX London

Technology

Transcript of Advanced Keyword Research - SMX London