SEO 2019 learn search engine optimization with smart internet marketing strategies

SEO2019
LearnSearchEngineOptimization
WithSmartInternetMarketingStrategies
Expanded&Updated
AdamClarke


SimpleEffectivenessPublishing,Publisher.
CoverDesign:SimpleEffectivenessPublishing.
ProductionandComposition:SimpleEffectivenessPublishing.
SEO2019:Learnsearchengineoptimizationwithsmartinternetmarketingstrategies.Copyright©Adam
Clarke.Allrightsreserved.
Thistitle,itscontents,coverdesign,likenessandassociatedmarketingmaterialsaretheintellectual
propertyofitscopyrightholder;theauthorandpublishingcompany.Copyrightinfringement,reproductions
ortranslationsofanypartofthisworkwithoutpermissionofthecopyrightownerisunlawful,in
accordancewithSection107and108ofthe1976UnitedStatesCopyrightAct.
AdamClarkehascompletedacertificateintheGoogleAnalyticsandGoogleAdsQualificationprograms.
SEO2019:Learnsearchengineoptimizationwithsmartinternetmarketingstrategies.
AdamClarke
KindleASINB00NH0XZR0
ISBN:9781730775758


Tableofcontents.
Introductiontotheupdatededition.
1.IntroductiontohowGoogleworks.
-Old-schoolmethodsthatnolongerwork.
-Googleupdatesandhowtosurvivethem.
-Authority,Trust&Relevance.ThethreepowerfulSEOstrategiesexplained.

-HowGooglerankssitesnow—Google’stop10rankingfactorsrevealed.
-HowtostayaheadofGoogle’supdates.
2.Keywordresearch.ThemostimportantstepofSEO.
-Whyiskeywordresearchsoimportant?
-Whatisakeyword,exactly?
-Howtogenerateamassivelistofkeywords.
-Howtofindkeywordsthatwillsendtraffictoyoursite.
-Howtofindkeywordsforeasyrankings.
3.On-pageSEO.HowtoletGoogleknowwhatyourpageisabout.
-HowtostructureyoursiteforeasyandautomaticSEO.
-HowtomakeGooglepickupthekeywordsyouwant.
-HowtogetmorepeopleclickingonyourrankingsinGoogle.
-Siteloadspeed—Googlemagicdust.
-Theusualsuspects—sitemaps.xmlandrobots.txt.
-Duplicatecontent—canonicaltagsandotherfun.
-Usability—thenewSEOexplained.
-Mobilesupport—importantSEOexplainedinsimpleterms.
-Google ’ ssearchqualityguidelines—andhowtousethemtoyouradvantage.
-Readability—SEOforthefuture.
-Howtoacceleratetrafficandrankingswithcontentmarketing.
-HowtotargetFeaturedSnippetrankingsinGoogle’ssearchresults.
4.Linkbuilding.HowtorankextremelyhighonGoogle.
-Whyislinkbuildingsoimportant?
-Thedirtylittlesecretnoonewantstotellyouaboutlinkbuilding.
-Howtoacquirelinksandwhattoavoidinlinkbuilding.
-Anchortext.What'sallthefuss?
-Simpletoadvancedlinkbuildingstrategies.
-Linkoutreach—scalinguphighqualitylinkbuildingcampaigns.
-Additionallinkbuildingstrategies.
5.Socialmedia&SEO.

-IssocialmediaimportantforSEO?
-Facebook&SEO.
-Twitter&SEO.


-Othersocialnetworks.
-Socialmediaanalytics.
6.Webanalyticsinanutshell.Howtomeasureyoursuccess.
-WhyuseGoogleAnalytics?
-HowtouseGoogleAnalytics.
-Acquisition.
-OrganicSearchreport.
-Segments.
-Commonwebanalyticstermsexplained.
-Calltracking—powerfulanalyticsforeverybusiness.
-Otherwebanalyticstools.
7.TroubleshootingcommonSEOproblems&howtofixthem.
-WhattodowhenyoursiteisnotlistedinGoogleatall.
-Whattodowhenyourbusinessisnotrankingforyourownbusinessname.
-Whattodowhenyourrankingshavedroppedoff.
-Howtoseekprofessionalhelpforfree.
8.LocalSEO.SEOforlocalbusinesses.
-WhyuselocalSEO?
-HowtorankhighwithlocalSEO.
-Localsearchrankingfactors.
-GettingstartedwithlocalSEO.
-Buildingcitations.
-Buildingreviews.
-SupercharginglocalSEOwithphotosandvideos.
-LocalSEOrankingchecklist&essentialresources.

9.TheNewMeta:JSON-LD,Microdata,Schema.org&FacebookOpenGraph.
-JSON-LD,RDFa,Microdata&Schema.org.Wheretostart?
-WhyuseSchema.org&JSON-LD?
-HowtouseSchema.org.
-FacebookOpenGraph.
10.PowerfulSEOtools.
-Researchtools.
-Optimizationtools.
-Linkbuildingtools.
-Webanalyticstools.
Bonuschapter1:Google’salgorithmupdates.
-HTTPSupdate&HTTPSupgradechecklist.
-Google’sRankBrain&machinelearningannouncement.
-HTTP/2—thenewtechnologythatcandoubleyourloadspeed.
-Google’sInterstitialupdate—A.K.A.“Deathtomobilepopups"
-AcceleratedMobilePages—A.K.A.Mobilewebbrowsingonsteroids.
-Google'sFREDandPandaupdate—diagnosisandrecovery.
-Google'sLocalSEOHawk&Possumupdates.
-GooglebecomingApple'sdefaultsearchproviderforSiri,iOsandSpotlightonMacOS.


-Google’sgame-changingMobileFirstIndex.
-Google'sMobile"SpeedUpdate."
-TheriseofvoicesearchSEOandGoogle'snewSpeakablemarkup.
-Google’s"MedicUpdate"—A.K.A"YourMoneyorYourLife."
-KeepinguptodatewithGoogle'supdates.
-Google’s2019updates—what’sonthehorizon?
Bonuschapter2:Thequickanddirtyguidetopay-per-clickadvertisingwithGoogleAds.
-Whybotherwithpay-per-clickadvertising?
-WhichisthebestPPCprovidertostartwith?

-Ensuringsuccesswithresearchandaplan.
-Howtochoosetherightkindofkeywords.
-Howmuchtopayforkeywords.
-GoogleAdssettingsforgettingstarted.
-Optimizationtipsfortweakingyourcampaignforbetterprofit.
-UsingAcceleratedMobilePagesinGoogleAdscampaignstoaccelerateyoursales.
-FurtherGoogleAdsresources.
Bonus:50pointSEOChecklistPDFDownloadInstructions.
Finalthoughts&tips.


FreeSEOchecklistPDFavailableattheendofthis
book.

Thefree50-pointSEO2019-SEOChecklistPDF,coveringexactstepsto
improveyourwebsite’srankinginGoogle,isavailableforreadersattheendof
thisbook.InstructionsondownloadingtheSEOchecklistPDFareattheendof
thebook.


Introductiontotheupdatededition.
So,you'vepickedupSEO2019anddecidedtolearnsearchengineoptimization.
Congratulations!SEOmarketinghaschangedmylifeanditcanchangeyours.
Over10yearsago,IachievedmyfirstnumberonerankinginGoogleformy
family'shomebusiness.Thephonestartedringingwithnewcustomerseveryday
andIwashooked.
Sincethen,Ihaveusedsearchengineoptimizationtogrowhotelchains,large
internationalfashionbrands,andsmallfamily-ownedbusinesses.Onething
neverceasestoamazeme—thepowerofSEOasanInternetmarketingtoolfor
growinganybusiness.Ihavegrownsmallbusinessesintogiantcompaniesin

justoneortwoyears—simplyfromworkingthesiteuptothetoppositionin
Google.
Unfortunately,learningSEOisdifficult,sometimesimpossible,formany
businessowners,Internetmarketersandeventech-heads.
Ihaveatheoryonwhythisisso...
SiftingthroughtheinformationfloodingtheInternetaboutSEOis
overwhelming.Inmanycases,theadvicepublishedisoutdatedormisleading.
AndtheconstantupdatesbyGooglemakeithardforSEObeginnersandgurus
aliketokeepupwithwhatworks.
SEOcanbesimpleandusedbyanyonetorankatthetopofGoogle,growtheir
businessandmakemoneyonline.It'ssimplyamatterofhavingup-to-date
informationonhowGoogleworks,usingeffectivetechniquesandtakingaction.
ThisbookhasbeenexpandedandupdatedtocoverhowSEOworksnowand
likelyinthenearfuture.Alloftheresourcesandtoolshavebeenupdatedand
maderelevantfor2019.Itincludesbroadercoverageofthebasics,andfilled
withmoretechniquesforadvancedusers.Andduetorequestsbyreaders,ithas
beenloadedwithmoretoolsandresourcestosavetimeandgetbiggerresults.
Ifyouareabeginner,thereisasmallamountoftechnicalinformationincluded
inthisbook.Ifyoureallywanttolearnsearchengineoptimizationthiscan'tbe
avoided.We'vemadetheseareasassimpleaspossible,whileproviding


additionalresources,includinganSEOchecklist,thatwillspeedupyourjourney
toSEOmastery.
IfyouareanadvancedSEOoptimizationprofessional,thisSEObookcovers
Google'slatestupdates,newSEOmarketingbestpracticestorefreshyour
memory,solutionsforcommontechnicalproblems,andnewtoolsandresources
tosharpenyourskillset—allwritteninaneasy-to-readformat,sorefreshingyour
knowledgedoesn'tfeellikeachore.
Whetheryou'reacompleteSEObeginnerorwell-versedInternetmarketing

veteran,SEO2019coverstheseareasandmakesitassimpleaspossibleto
achieverankings,trafficandsales.
Enjoy.


IntroductiontohowGoogleworks.
YoucanfeellikeadogchasingitsowntailtryingtofigureouthowGoogle
works.
Therearethousandsofbloggersandjournalistsspreadingvolumesof
informationthatsimplyisn'ttrue.IfyoufollowedalltheadviceaboutSEO
writtenonblogs,it'sunlikelyyouwouldreceivetoplistingsinGoogle,and
there’sariskyoucoulddamageyoursiteperformanceandmakeitdifficultto
rankatall.
Letmetellyouasecretaboutbloggers…
ArticlesaboutthelatestSEOupdates,techniquesortipsareoftenwrittenby
interns,assistantsorevenghostwriters.Theirjobistowritearticles.The
majorityofblogpostsaboutSEOarerarelywrittenbyexpertsorprofessionals
withtheday-to-dayresponsibilityofgrowingsitetrafficandachievingtop
rankingsinsearchengines.
Canyoulearnfromsomeonewhodoesn'tevenknowhowtodoitthemselves?
Youcan't.Thisiswhyyouhavetotaketheadvicespreadbyblogpostswitha
grainofsalt.
Don'tgetmewrong.Ilovebloggers.Therearebloggersouttherewhopractice
andblogaboutSEO,anddoitwell.Butithasbecomeincreasinglydifficultto
sortthewheatfromthechaff.
Fearnot.ThischapterwilldispersecommonmisconceptionsaboutSEO,show
youhowtoavoidfallingintoGoogle'sbadbooksandrevealhowtostayup-todatewithhowGooglerankssites.
Butfirst,tounderstandhowGoogleworkstoday,wemustunderstandalittlebit
aboutGoogle'shistory.

Old-schoolmethodsthatnolongerwork.


IntheearlydaysofGoogle—over15yearsago—Googlestartedasmarter
searchengineandabetterexperiencefornavigatingtheWorldWideWeb.
Googledeliveredonthispromisebydeliveringrelevantsearchengineresults.
Internetusersdiscoveredtheycouldsimplytypewhattheywerelookingforinto
Google—andBINGO—userswouldfindwhattheyneededinthetopresults,
insteadofhavingtodigthroughhundredsofpages.Google'suserbasegrewfast.
Itdidn'ttakelongforsmartandentrepreneuriallymindedwebmasterstocatch
ontosneakylittlehacksforrankinghighinGoogle.
Webmastersdiscoveredbycrammingmanykeywordsintothepage,theycould
gettheirsiterankinghighforalmostanywordorphrase.Itquicklyspiraledinto
acompetitionofwhocouldjamthemostkeywordsintothepage.Thepagewith
themostrepeatedkeywordswon,androseswiftlytothetopofthesearch
results.
Naturally,moreandmorespammerscaughtonandGoogle'spromiseasthe
“mostrelevantsearchengine”waschallenged.Webmastersandspammers
becamemoresophisticatedandfoundtrickywaysofrepeatinghundredsof
keywordsonthepageandcompletelyhidingthemfromhumaneyes.
Allofasudden,theunsuspectingInternetuserlookingfor“holidaysinFlorida”
wouldfindthemselvessuddenlyarrivingatawebsiteaboutViagraViagra
Viagra!
HowcouldGooglekeepitsstatusasthemostrelevantsearchengineifpeople


keptonspammingtheresultswithgazillionsofspammypages,buryingthe
relevantresultsatthebottom?
EnterthefirstGoogleupdate.GooglereleasedawidespreadupdateinNovember
2003codenamedFlorida,effectivelystoppingspammersintheirtracks.This

updateleveledtheplayingfieldbyrenderingkeywordstuffingcompletely
uselessandrestoredbalancetotheforce.
AndsobeganthelonghistoryofGoogleupdates—makingithardforspammers
togamethesystemandmakingrankinginGooglealittlemorecomplicatedfor
everyone.

Googleupdatesandhowtosurvivethem.
Fastforward15yearsandrankinginGooglehasbecomeextremelycompetitive
andconsiderablymorecomplex.
Simplyput,everybodywantstobeinGoogle.Googleisfightingtokeepits
searchenginerelevantandmustconstantlyevolvetocontinuedelivering
relevantresultstousers.
Thishasn'tbeenwithoutitschallenges.Justlikekeywordstuffing,webmasters
eventuallycluedontoanotherwayofgamingthesystembyhavingthemost
anchortextpointingtothepage.
Ifyouarenotfamiliarwiththisterm,anchortextisthetextcontainedinexternal
linkspointingtoapage.
Thiscreatedanotherloopholeexploitedbyspammers.Inmanycases,wellmeaningmarketersandbusinessownersusedthistactictoachievehighrankings
inthesearchresults.
AlongcameanewGoogleupdatein2012,thistimecalledPenguin.Google's
Penguinupdatepunishedsiteswithsuspiciousamountsoflinkswiththesame
anchortextpointingtoapage,bycompletelydelistingsitesfromthesearch
results.Manybusinessesthatreliedonsearchenginetrafficlostalloftheirsales
literallyovernight,justbecauseGooglebelievedsiteswithhundredsoflinks
containingjustonephrasedidn'tacquirethoselinksnaturally.Googlebelieved
thiswasasolidindicatorthesiteownercouldbegamingthesystem.
Ifyoufindthesechangesalarming,don't.Howtorecoverfromthesechanges,or
topreventbeingpenalizedbynewupdates,iscoveredinlaterchapters.Inthe

shorthistoryofGoogle'smajorupdates,wecandiscovertwopowerfullessons
forachievingtoprankingsinGoogle.
1.IfyouwanttostayatthetopofGoogle,neverrelyononetactic.
2.AlwaysensureyoursearchenginestrategiesrelyonSEObestpractices.

Authority,trust&relevance.ThreepowerfulSEO
strategiesexplained.
Googlehasevolvedconsiderablyfromitshumbleoriginsin1993.
EricSchmidt,formerCEOofGoogle,oncereportedthatGoogleconsidered
over200factorstodeterminewhichsitesrankhigherintheresults.
Today,Googlehaswellover200factors.Googleassesseshowmanylinksare
pointingtoyoursite,howtrustworthytheselinkingsitesare,howmanysocial
mentionsyourbrandhas,howrelevantyourpageis,howoldyoursiteis,how
fastyoursiteloads…andthelistgoeson.
Doesthismeanit'simpossibleordifficulttogettoprankingsinGoogle?
Nope.Infact,youcanhavetheadvantage.
Google’salgorithmiscomplex,butyoudon’thavetobearocketscientistto
understandhowitworks.Infact,itcanberidiculouslysimpleifyouremember
justthreeprinciples.Withthesethreeprinciples,youcandeterminewhyonesite
rankshigherthananother,ordiscoverwhatyouhavetodotopushyoursite
higherthanacompetitor.ThesethreeprinciplessummarizewhatGoogleare
focusingonintheiralgorithmnow,andarethemostpowerfulstrategiesSEO
professionalsareusingtotheiradvantagetogainrankings.
Thethreekeyprinciplesare:Trust,AuthorityandRelevance.
1.Trust.
TrustisattheverycoreofGoogle’smajorchangesandupdatesthepastseveral
years.Googlewantstokeeppoor-quality,untrustworthysitesoutofthesearch
results,andkeephigh-quality,legitsitesatthetop.Ifyoursitehashigh-quality
contentandbacklinksfromreputablesources,yoursiteismorelikelytobe
consideredatrustworthysource,andmorelikelytorankhigherinthesearch

results.


2.Authority
PreviouslythemostpopularSEOstrategy,authorityisstillpowerful,butnow
bestusedintandemwiththeothertwoprinciples.Authorityisyoursite’soverall
strengthinyourmarket.Authorityisalmostanumbersgame,forexample:if
yoursitehasonethousandsocialmediafollowersandbacklinks,andyour
competitorsonlyhavefiftysocialmediafollowersandbacklinks,you’re
probablygoingtorankhigher.
3.Relevance.
Googlelooksatthecontextualrelevanceofasiteandrewardsrelevantsiteswith
higherrankings.Thislevelstheplayingfieldabit,andmightexplainwhya
nichesiteorlocalbusinesscanoftenrankhigherthanaWikipediaarticle.You
canusethistoyouradvantagebybulkingoutthecontentofyoursitewith
relevantcontent,andusetheon-pageSEOtechniquesdescribedinlaterchapters
togiveGoogleanudgetoseethatyoursiteisrelevanttoyourmarket.Youcan
rankhigherwithlesslinksbyfocusingonbuildinglinksfromrelevantsites.
Increasingrelevancelikethisisapowerfulstrategyandcanleadtohigh
rankingsincompetitiveareas.

HowGooglerankssitesnow—Google’stop10
rankingfactorsrevealed.
YoumayhavewonderedifyoucanfindouttheexactfactorsGoogleusesin
theiralgorithm.
Fortunately,thereareahandfulofindustryleaderswhohavefigureditout,and
regularlypublishtheirfindingsontheInternet.Withthesepublications,youcan
getaworkingknowledgeofwhatfactorsGoogleusestoranksites.These
surveysaretypicallyupdatedeverysecondyear,butthesefactorsdon’tchange
often,soyoucanusethemtoyouradvantagebyknowingwhichareastofocus

on.
Here ’ sashortlistofsomeofthestrongestfactorsfoundinsitesrankinginthe
top10searchresults,inthemostrecentstudybySearchMetrics:
-Overallcontentrelevance.
-Click-through-rate.
-Time-on-site.
-Bouncerate(lowbounceratesarebetter).


-HTTPS—securitycertificateinstalledonsite.
-Fontsizeinmaincontentarea(presumablypeoplefindlargerfontsmore
readableandleadstohigherengagement).
-Numberofimages.
-Numberofinternallinks.
-Totalsocialmediaactivity.
-Numberofbacklinks.
Ifyourcompetitorshavemoreoftheabovefeaturesthanyours,thenit’slikely
theywillrankhigherthanyou.Ifyouhavemoreoftheabovefeaturesthan
competitors,thenitislikelyyouwillrankhigher.
CombinethisknowledgewithanunderstandingoftheGoogleupdatescovered
inlaterchapters,andyouwillknowwhatittakestoachievetoprankings.
TheabovefactorsarefromtheSearchMetricsGoogleRankingFactorsstudy
releasedin2016.Regrettably,afterreleasingthestudy,SearchMetricssaidthey
wouldstoppublishingtheirsearchrankingswhitepapersinthefuture,butyou
canbesurecontentrelevance,userengagement,socialactivity,links,site
security(HTTPS),andmostlikelymobilesupport,areamongcurrentranking
factors.Ifyouwantadeeperlookintothestudy,youcanbrowsethefullreport
byvisitingthelinkbelow.Icovermorerecentupdatestothealgorithminthe
GoogleAlgorithmupdateschapterlaterinthisbook.
SearchMetrics:GoogleRankingFactorsUS

/>Anotherwell-knownauthorityontheSEOindustry,calledMoz(previously
SEOmoz),releasesarankingsstudyeveryseveralyears.Mozalsopublishthis
informationforfree,andavailableatthefollowingpage.
MozRankingFactorsSurvey
/>
HowtostayaheadofGoogle’supdates.
Everynowandthen,Googlereleasesasignificantupdatetotheiralgorithm,
whichcanhaveamassiveimpactonbusinessesfromanyindustry.Tohoneyour
SEOchopsandmakesureyoursitedoesn'tfallintoGoogle'sbadbooks,it's
importanttostayinformedofGoogle’supdatesastheyarereleased.
Fortunately,almosteverytimeamajorupdateisreleased,thoseupdatesare


reportedonbytheentireSEOcommunityandsometimespubliclydiscussedand
confirmedbyGooglestaff.
Along-extendedhistoryofGoogle’supdateswouldfillthisentirebook,butwith
theresourcesbelow,youcanstayabreastofnewGoogleupdatesastheyare
rolledout.ThisisessentialknowledgeforanyonepracticingSEO,atabeginner
oranadvancedlevel.
Youcanevenkeepyoureartothegroundwiththesesourcesandoftenbe
forewarnedoffutureupdates.
GoogleUpdatesbySearchEngineRoundTable
/>SearchEngineRoundTableisoneoftheindustry’sleadingblogsonSEO.At
thepageabove,youcanbrowseallofthelatestarticlesonGoogleupdatesbya
leadingauthorityonthetopic.
SearchEngineJournal
/>SearchEngineJournalisanotherauthoritative,relevantandfrequentlyupdated
publicationabouteverythingSEO.Anindispensableresourceforkeeping
abreastofindustryeventsastheyhappen.
MozBlog

/>

Keywordresearch.Themost
importantstepofSEO.
Whyiskeywordresearchsoimportant?
KeywordresearchisthemostimportantstepofeverySEOprojectfortwo
reasons:
1.Ifyourankyoursitehighlyforthewrongkeywords,youcanendupspending
lotsoftimeandeffort,onlytodiscoverthekeywordsyouhavetargeteddoesn't
receiveanytraffic.
2.Ifyouhaven'tinvestigatedthecompetitivenessofyourkeywords,youcanend
upinvestinglotsoftimeandeffortintoaparticularkeyword,onlytofinditisfar
toocompetitivetorank,evenonthefirstpage.
ThesetwopitfallsareoftentheultimatedecideronhowsuccessfulanySEO
projectis.
Thischapterwillcoverhowtoavoidthesepitfallsandhowtofindthebest
keywords.First,wemustdefinewhatakeywordis.

Whatexactlyisakeyword?
IfyouareanSEOnewbie,youmaybewondering—whatisakeyword?
AkeywordisanyphraseyouwouldlikeyoursitetorankforinGoogle'ssearch
results.Akeywordcanbeasingleword,orakeywordcanalsobeacombination
ofwords.Ifyouaretryingtotargetasingleword,lookout!Youwillhaveyour
workcutoutforyou.Singlewordkeywordsareextremelycompetitive,and
difficulttorankhighlyforinthesearchresults.
Here’ssomedifferentkindsofkeywords:
Head-termkeywords:keywordswithonetotwowords,i.e.classicmovies.
Long-tailkeywords:keywordswiththreeormorephrases,i.e.classicAkira
Kurosawamovies.

Navigationalkeywords:keywordsusedtolocateaparticularbrandorwebsite.
ExampleswouldbeFacebook,YouTubeorGmail.
Informationalkeywords:keywordsusedtodiscoveronaparticulartopic.This
includeskeywordsbeginningwith“howto…”or“whatarethebest...”
Transactionalkeywords:keywordsenteredintoGooglebycustomerswantingto
completeacommercialaction,i.e.buyjacketsonline.
Inmostcases,targetinghead-termornavigationalkeywordsforotherbrandsis
competitiveandnotworththetimeoreffort.Despitetheirhightrafficnumbers,
theywillgenerallynotleadtoanysales.Ontheotherhand,long-tail,
informationalandtransactionalkeywordsaregoodkeywordsformostSEO
projects.Theywillleadtomorecustomers.

Howtogenerateamassivelistofkeywords.
Therearemanywaystoskinacat.Thesameistrueforfindingtheright
keywords.
BeforeyoucanfindkeywordswithloadsoftrafficinGoogle,youmustfirst
developalistofpotentialkeywordsrelevanttoyourbusiness.
Relevanceisvital.
Ifyouspendyourtimetryingtocasttoowideanet,youcanenduptargeting
keywordsirrelevanttoyouraudience.
Forexample,ifyouareanonlinefootballjacketretailerintheUnitedStates,
examplesofrelevantkeywordsmightbe:
Buyfootballjackets
Buyfootballjacketsonline
OnlinefootballjacketsstoreUSA
Irrelevantkeywordsmightbe:
Footballjacketphotos
Howtomakeyourownfootballjacket
Footballjacketmanufacturers

Howtodesignafootballjacket
Youcanseehowthefirstpoolofkeywordsaremorerelevanttothetarget


audienceoffootballjacketretailers,andthesecondpoolofkeywordsarerelated
butunlikelytoleadtocustomers.
Keepingrelevanceinmind,youmustdevelopalistofpotentialkeyword
combinationstouseasaresource,soyoucanthengoanduncoverthebest
keywordswithadecentamountoftrafficeachmonthinGoogle.
Followingaresomepowerfulstrategiesyoucanusetohelpwithgeneratingthis
list.
1.Stealkeywordsfromcompetitors.
Ifyou'refeelingsneaky,youcanletyourcompetitorsdotheheavyliftingfor
youandsnatchupkeywordsfromtheirsites.
Therearemanytoolsouttherecreatedforthissolepurpose.Asimpleandfree
toolistheKeywordDensityChecker.Ifyouenterapageintothistoolwithin
secondsitwillscrapealistofthekeywordsyourcompetitorhasoptimizedinto
theirpage.Youcanthenusethistobulkoutyourkeywordlist.
KeywordDensityChecker–SEOReviewTools
/>WhiletheKeywordDensityCheckerisagreat,simpletoolforrevealingthe
keywordsyourcompetitorshaveoptimizedintothepage,anotherpowerfultool
isAhrefsOrganicKeywordsreport.Thistoolestimatesthekeywordsthatare
sendingthelargestamountoftraffictoyourcompetitors’websites.The
estimatesarereasonablyaccurateandcanbeavaluableresourceforbulkingout
yourkeywordlists.
WhileAhrefsreportsarepowerful,theydocomeatacost.Youcanpreviewthe
first20-keywordsforfree,butifyouwantmoredata,theycurrentlyoffera7daytrialfor$7,andafteraninitialtrial,monthlybillingstartsat$99permonth.
Ahrefs– CompetitorResearchTools&BacklinkChecker

2.Brainstormyourownmasterlist.

Assumingcompetitorshavebeenthoroughwiththeirresearchisn'talwaysthe
beststrategy.Bybrainstormingcombinationsofkeywords,youcangeneratea
giantlistofpotentialkeywords.


Todothis,sketchoutagridofwordsyourtargetcustomermightuse.Splitthe
wordsintodifferentprefixesandsuffixes.Nextup,combinethemintoonegiant
listusingthefreeMergewordstool.Withthisstrategy,youcanquicklyand
easilybuildupamassivelistofrelevantkeywords.
Mergewords
/>Prefix
-buy
-wheredoIbuy
Middleword
-NFLjerseys
-NFLuniforms
-NFLjackets
Suffixes
-online
Combinedkeywords
-NFLjerseys
-NFLjerseysonline
-NFLuniforms
-NFLuniformsonline
-NFLjackets
-NFLjacketsonline
-buyNFLjerseys
-buyNFLjerseysonline
-buyNFLuniforms
-buyNFLuniformsonline

-buyNFLjackets
-buyNFLjacketsonline
-wheredoIbuyNFLjerseys
-wheredoIbuyNFLjerseysonline
-wheredoIbuyNFLuniforms
-wheredoIbuyNFLuniformsonline
-wheredoIbuyNFLjackets
-wheredoIbuyNFLjacketsonline
-NFLjerseys
-NFLjerseysonline


-NFLuniforms
-NFLuniformsonline
-NFLjackets
-NFLjacketsonline

Howtofindkeywordsthatwillsendtraffictoyour
site.
Nowyouhavealistofkeywords,youneedtounderstandhowmuchtrafficthese
keywordsreceiveinGoogle.Withoutsearchtrafficdata,youcouldendup
targetingkeywordswithzerosearches.Armedwiththerightknowledge,you
cantargetkeywordswithhundredsoreventhousandsofpotentialvisitorsevery
month.
Unfortunately,inrecentyearsGooglehasrestrictedaccesstothedatabehind
Google'ssearchbox,leavinguswithtwooptionsforfindingkeywordtraffic
data.
Firstly,ifyouhaveaGoogleAdscampaignrunningwithGoogleandarealready
spendingamodestamount,thenyou’reintheclear,youcanaccessthisinfofor
freeintheirKeywordPlannertool.Ifthisisn’tyou,theotheroptionistousea

paidkeywordresearchtoolforasmallmonthlyfee,suchaskeywordtool.io.Asa
resultofGooglemakingsearchdataunavailabletofreeusers,freekeywordtools
disappearedfromthemarket,makingpaidresearchtoolstheonlyviableoption
forfindingtrafficdataforkeywordsthesedays.
Ifyou'reonatightbudget,thenyoucansignupforapaidplanwithoneofthe
manypaidkeywordresearchtoolsonthemarketthenaskforarefundafter
doingyourresearch.It'snotnice,butit'sanoption—eitherway,youneedthe
trafficdatabehindyourkeywordsotherwiseyouarerunningblind.
1.EstimatingkeywordtrafficdatawithGoogle’sKeywordPlanner.
GoogleAdsKeywordPlanner
/
Asmentioned,toaccessallthejuicytrafficdataprovidedbytheGoogleAds
KeywordPlannertool,youneedanactiveGoogleAdscampaignrunning,and
mustbespendingatleastamodestamountofmoneyregularly.Ifthisisyou,
signin,clickonToolsinthetop-menu,clickon“KeywordPlanner”thenclick
on“Getsearchvolumedataandtrends”,copyandpasteyourkeywordsintothe


box.Selectyourcountry,andthenclicktheblue“Getsearchvolume”button.
Whenfinished,youwillhavetheexactamountoftimeseachkeywordwas
searchedforinGoogle.
Mmm.Freshdata.Thisisjustthekindofdataweneed.
Nowweknowwhichkeywordsreceivemoresearchesthanothers,andmore
importantly,weknowwhichkeywordsreceivenosearchesatall.

2.EstimatingkeywordtrafficdatawithapaidtoollikeKWFinder.


KWFinder
/>IfyouwantaresearchtoolwithastrongerSEOfocus,thenyoucanuseapaid

toolsuchasKWFinder.IlikeKWFinderforitseaseofuse,relevantkeyword
suggestions,andcompetitivedata,butyou'renotlimitedtothistool—there’s
manyalternativesfloatingaroundyoucanfindwithacoupleofGooglesearches
.
UsingKWFinderasanexample,aftercreatinganaccount,simplylogin,select
thelocalareayouaretargeting(i.e.LosAngeles,California,ifthatisyour
customerfocus),enteryourkeywordideasanddownloadthejuicydata.Now
youcanensureyouspendtimefocusingonkeywordswithtrafficpotential,as
opposedtochasingafterkeywordswithnotrafficandlittleopportunityfor
growingyourbusiness.

Howtofindkeywordsforeasyrankings.
Nowyouneedtofindouthowcompetitiveyourdesiredkeywordsare.Armed
withanunderstandingofthecompetitivenessofyourkeywords,youcan
discoverkeywordsyoucanrealisticallyrankforinGoogle.
Let’ssayyouareasecond-handbooksellerandyouwanttotarget“bookstore
online”.It'sunlikelyyouaregoingtobeatAmazonandBarnesandNoble.
But,maybethere’sagemhidinginyourkeywordlistfewpeoplearetargeting—
maybesomethinglike“antiquebookstoresonline”.
Youhavetheadvantageifyourcompetitorshaven'tthoughtoftargetingyour
keyword.YousimplyhavetodobetterSEOthantheyaredoingandyouhavea
reallygoodchanceatbeatingtheirrankings.Partofthisincludeshavingalarge
keywordlistforyourresearch.
Next,youneedtowashthislistandseparatetheridiculouslycompetitive
keywordsfromtheeasykeywordsnooneareaggressivelytargeting.
Therearemanyschoolsofthoughtonhowtofindthecompetitivenessofyour
keywords.Themostpopularpracticesarelistedbelow,withmythoughtson
each.
1.Manuallygoingthroughthelist,lookingattherankings,andcheckingif
low-qualitypagesareappearinginthetopresults.

Thisisgoodforaquickglancetoseehowcompetitiveamarketis.However,
unreliableandyouneedrealdatatorelyon.
2.LookathowmanysearchengineresultsarecomingupinGooglefor
yourkeyword.

Theamountofresultsislistedjustbelowthesearchboxafteryoutypeinyour
keyword.ThistacticiscommoninoutdatedcoursesteachingSEO,but
completelyunreliable.
Thereason?Theremaybeaverylownumberofcompetingpagesfora
particularkeyword,butthesitesrankedatthetopoftheresultscouldbe
unbeatable.
3.UsingthecompetitionscorefromtheGoogleAdsKeywordPlannertool.
Don'tbetempted.Thisisacommonbeginnersmistake,andsometimes
recommendedasaneasywaytojudgeSEOcompetitivenessforkeywordson
someblogs,anditjustsimplydoesn'twork!
ThecompetitionscoreincludedintheGoogleAdsKeywordResearchtoolis
intendedforGoogleAdsadvertisingcampaignsonly.Itisanindicationofhow
manyadvertisersarecompetingfortheparticularkeywordthroughpaid
advertising.CompletelyirrelevantforSEO.
4.Usingacompetitiveanalysistool,suchasKWFinder ’ sSEODifficulty
report.
Togetarealisticideaofyourchancesforrankinghighforaparticularkeyword,