Target high-volume, low competition keyword phrases
Posted: Tue Dec 24, 2024 7:12 am
Target high-volume, low competition keyword phrases whenever possible: The best options (especially for new bloggers) for keyword phrases to pursue are ones that are somewhat widely searched but have relatively low competition. If you can find a topic that people want to know about that comparatively few well-established sites have written extensively about, then you’ve found what might be the perfect subject matter for a blog post. These opportunities aren’t easy to find, so settling for medium-armenia phone number resources and medium to low competition keyword phrases like “how to build a personal fitness app” could be as good as it gets if you’re in a highly competitive niche like “software development“.
Use medium and long-tail keywords: At this point in the life of the Internet, it’s tough to rank for a single keyword (and often not very useful anymore, either). During the early years of the Internet and Google, you may have been able to rank #1 for a single word like blog or furniture or parenting. Today, there are far too many huge websites and great blog posts to easily rank for a single word. Instead, try to rank for a more specific keyword phrase (sometimes referred to as a medium or long-tail keyword). It’s easier to rank for longer terms, and it helps direct people to the exact answers they’re searching for. I may not rank first page for the word blog (at least today), but I rank well for terms like: how to name a blog, how to start a blog, how to pick a blog niche, blogging tools and many more relevant phrases in my niche that deliver substantial amounts of relevant readers when all combined together.
Think about season and region: Search volume for a given keyword phrase is rarely constant. Some keywords become popular for a time, only to phase out later in the year. The same line of thought can be used for regions around the world. What’s popular in December may not be popular in March, and what’s well searched for in California may not be that interesting to people living in Oklahoma. To better research these differences, you can use a free tool like Google Trends. Google Trends does more than just show you the average monthly viewers, it tells you what, where and when certain words or phrases actually spike. People who blog about gardening, for instance, will likely see a larger search volume during the spring and summer (when more people are gardening and looking for relevant advice):
Google Trends Screenshot for Gardening to Show Seasonality of Search Volume
Just like the term “US constitution” is most likely to be searched by people who live in the United States:
Screenshot of Google Trends Result for US Constitution (Example of Regionality in Search Volume)
After you’ve collected a selection of keyword phrases that you’d like to write about, you can compile them into a blog planner (or editorial calendar) to schedule when to write about them and post your new SEO-friendly content.
For more on the exact best practices you should follow when writing content for your blog, read my guide to on-page SEO best practices and implement the strategies I cover there.
Use medium and long-tail keywords: At this point in the life of the Internet, it’s tough to rank for a single keyword (and often not very useful anymore, either). During the early years of the Internet and Google, you may have been able to rank #1 for a single word like blog or furniture or parenting. Today, there are far too many huge websites and great blog posts to easily rank for a single word. Instead, try to rank for a more specific keyword phrase (sometimes referred to as a medium or long-tail keyword). It’s easier to rank for longer terms, and it helps direct people to the exact answers they’re searching for. I may not rank first page for the word blog (at least today), but I rank well for terms like: how to name a blog, how to start a blog, how to pick a blog niche, blogging tools and many more relevant phrases in my niche that deliver substantial amounts of relevant readers when all combined together.
Think about season and region: Search volume for a given keyword phrase is rarely constant. Some keywords become popular for a time, only to phase out later in the year. The same line of thought can be used for regions around the world. What’s popular in December may not be popular in March, and what’s well searched for in California may not be that interesting to people living in Oklahoma. To better research these differences, you can use a free tool like Google Trends. Google Trends does more than just show you the average monthly viewers, it tells you what, where and when certain words or phrases actually spike. People who blog about gardening, for instance, will likely see a larger search volume during the spring and summer (when more people are gardening and looking for relevant advice):
Google Trends Screenshot for Gardening to Show Seasonality of Search Volume
Just like the term “US constitution” is most likely to be searched by people who live in the United States:
Screenshot of Google Trends Result for US Constitution (Example of Regionality in Search Volume)
After you’ve collected a selection of keyword phrases that you’d like to write about, you can compile them into a blog planner (or editorial calendar) to schedule when to write about them and post your new SEO-friendly content.
For more on the exact best practices you should follow when writing content for your blog, read my guide to on-page SEO best practices and implement the strategies I cover there.