While planning content for a client’s new website, we’ve recently been carrying out some keyword research around their core services to improve the site’s SEO at launch. However, it soon became apparent that the value of this research extended way beyond optimizing individual pages of a new website. More importantly, it’s provided valuable insight into the client’s customers that affected the wider marketing and business development effort.
For those professional services operating within a broad ‘consultancy’ category, this research can really help focus the proposition. It highlights what solutions the customers are searching for, the questions they need answering and the specific services they need. As a result, how you define and what you call your different service lines may need re-thinking. That in turn could lead to an overhaul of your entire marketing communications.
For example, we found massive variations in search volumes for various interchangeable terms previously used for the same service. The keyword research identified the optimum term the industry was using, which resulted in numerous changes for the client – to the point that some individuals’ job titles needed updating!
Obviously, this research is also vital to shape your future content strategy, possibly taking it in a different direction then previously planned.
Moz.com is a fantastic resource for all things SEO and their Keyword Explorer product an invaluable tool for marketers to use this data for wider purposes than just SEO. (There are of course many other products out there, not least Google’s Keyword Planner).
As Moz point out;