Knowing your target audience is essential in the world of content marketing. Not only do you need to have an awareness of what your audience is thinking while they browse online, but you also need to know how to use this information to convert them into loyal customers.

The answer: keyword research. This simple strategy is one of the best ways to gain insight into your customers’ wants and needs so that you can create content that directly addresses these areas.

If you’re looking to create a robust content marketing strategy, keep reading to explore how you can extend your reach and maximise your visibility through proper keyword research.

Keyword Core Concepts

Types of Keywords

Fat-head keywords are brief, usually one or two words, with a high search volume. In contrast, long-tail keywords are phrases made up of three to five words, and are more specific than generic or broad fat-head keywords, allowing you to target more niche audiences. For this reason, it’s helpful to incorporate long-tail keywords into your content marketing if you want to really tap into a specific market and reach the people you’re aiming for.

For example, if you run an e-commerce business selling electronic supplies, a fat-head keyword such as ‘laptop’ could have several long-tail keywords around it that you might want to tap into, such as ‘best laptops 2024’ or ‘cheapest laptops for nomads’. The long-tail keywords will have lower search volume, and therefore less competition, meaning you’ll likely see more high quality traffic.

There’s also informational keywords to consider, which will always start with phrases such as ‘how to’, ‘tips for’, or ‘what is’. These are for content that aims to educate or provide information, compared to sales keywords that are targeted towards buyers ready to make a purchase. These will include phrases such as ‘order’ or ‘discount’, and are usually used in product descriptions and site content to convert users into buyers.

Unique Selling Propositions

The only way to target the audience you want to reach is to tailor your keywords towards the customer whose needs align with your unique selling propositions. This involves a deep understanding of the way people actually use Google and the intent behind searches.

Imagine, for example, a university that offers updated courses – this is their value proposition. However, it’s very rare that a user is actually going to type ‘updated engineering courses’ into the Google search bar. Instead, they are more likely to search for ‘colleges with modern engineering facilities’.

By understanding the way your target audience uses their time online, you can tailor your keywords towards their behaviours and actually reach the right people.

Keyword Variations

These are simply variations of the same keyword, and are crucial to use collectively so that you don’t miss out on any customers who might be Googling words that have the same overall intent. For example, a company that sells running shoes would want to include both ‘running’ and ‘run’ in their content marketing, so that they extend their reach to every user who types both these keyword variations into Google.

Qualities of Keywords

Look at your list of keywords. Ask yourself, do they:

Reflect user questions that seek information?
Capture user intent?
Have significant enough volumes to ensure users will find the content?
Have significant financial value to your business?

This will determine the quality of your keywords. If you answered no to any of the above, find some alternative keywords that cover all of these bases.

The Modern World of Content Marketing

Content marketing has evolved rapidly in recent years, meaning keyword research has had to adapt to keep up. Google’s algorithm is ever-changing, so it’s crucial to remain aware if you want to stay ahead of the curve with industry trends.

Google SGE & AI Marketing

AI continues to expand in all areas of sales and marketing, and search is no exception. Google’s Search Generative Experience (SGE) is its own response to the modern search landscape – it differs from traditional SERP (Search Engine Results Page) results in that it uses generative AI to provide a quick and clear overview of search queries. Users no longer have to click through results and sift through information, as SGE scans the web and does it all for you, with the answer to your question succinctly handed to you on a plate right at the top of the search results.

However, it’s still early days for this one – SGE has currently only been rolled out in 120 countries and spans just seven languages, and users are required to opt in if they want to see it. Like all generative AI, it’s learning as it goes, meaning it’s not currently always accurate, but it is an important part of keyword research that you’ll want to stay informed of if you want to get the most out of your content marketing.

This is mostly because, if done right, SGE has the potential to change the entire SERP landscape as we know it. Generative AI is led through a more conversational approach – the experience is voice-search-dominant, meaning marketers might want to tailor their content (and therefore their keywords) towards a more casual tone.

There is also the ranking factor. SGE automatically lands at position zero, directly at the top of page one in the search results. This means users are far less likely to even scroll down to position one or two, if they find everything they’re looking for right there beneath the search bar. With less motivation to scroll and click, there could inevitably be a significant decline in organic search traffic for businesses. But all is not lost – you will still benefit from visibility if your content is properly optimised.

Using SGE to Your Advantage

This new step towards an AI-driven future for marketing brings with it a need to adapt. There are several ways to use SGE to your advantage – you just need to focus on creating quality content that your users will actually gain something from. Make sure your information comes from reputable sources, includes the opinions of experts, and provides crucial insight into your industry that will target the wants and needs of your audience.

This comes down to understanding and addressing search intent. If you can harness a proper understanding and awareness of the intent behind your target audience’s searches, you can then work to actively address these key areas with your content marketing. Consider these four main areas when getting your keywords together:

Navigational intent: These are users searching for a specific site or page.
Informational intent: These are users who are looking to find something out, learn something, or gain some knowledge in a specific area.
Commercial intent: These are users who are trying to conduct research that will inform a purchase they’re wanting to make.
Transactional intent: These are users who actively want to complete a specific action, such as a purchase.

Conducting Keyword Research

Specialised Keyword Research Tools

Whether you want to splash out on a paid tool or save your investment with a free service, there are so many options to choose from when it comes to specialised keyword research tools. Here are our favourites:

Social Media

Regularly browsing through social media gives you direct insight into the most frequently asked questions and inquiries. You can even search for specific words and phrases in your inbox to find comments and messages that mention specific topics.

Your competitor’s pages are also really handy here, as you might find relevant questions and answers in their comments section that can help to shape your keyword content strategy.

Platforms like LinkedIn and Twitter are also great for identifying user questions and learning how best to respond to them with your content marketing.

Google Search & Google Trends

You can use a quick and easy Google search to your advantage by exploring the ‘related searches’ section. Not only does this present you with key questions users are currently typing in, but it also offers answers to those queries, helping you to identify the information your target audience is wanting to know.

Similarly, the Google Trends tool allows you to identify trends around the world by typing in keywords and topics and seeing what related searches come up.

Google Adwords Keyword Planner

Another crucial Google tool, the Google Adwords Keyword Planner provides you with a search volume and traffic estimate based on your inputted keywords. You can essentially gain a glimpse into the potential of your prospective keywords before using them in your content marketing, allowing you to make a more informed decision and plan out your content accordingly.

Measuring Your Success With Analytics

Beyond research and planning, there are several ways to develop your content strategy by assessing the success of your keyword research with analytics.

Track Website Traffic

Tools such as Google Analytics offer key insight into your page views and visitors, helping you to identify trends and see which pieces of content are having the most impact in terms of increasing your traffic.

Engagement Metrics

Your social media platforms are an invaluable tool for tracking metrics and identifying levels of audience engagement. Track interactions, such as comments, likes, and shares so you can then focus on creating more of the content that drives engagement.

Conversion Rates

Tracking rates of conversion allows you to monitor the impact of your content. Is your content leading to what you set out for it to do, such as purchases or sign-ups? Identify where your content is and isn’t leading to conversions, and go from there.

Looking to boost your content marketing with proper keyword research? Book in a discovery call with us today to find out how we can help you.

How To Do Keyword Research For Content Marketing