When it comes to search engines optimizing your business website, choosing the right keywords to target is essential. While boosting your site traffic stats should always be a priority, you also need to prioritize attracting targeted audiences. Any SEO Company will tell you that picking the best keywords and phrases in your niche requires research, but your time investment is certain to prove worthwhile.

Here are 5 tips for selecting the best keywords:

#1 TAKE ON A CUSTOMER MINDSET

When creating an initial keyword list, pin down your target audiences and place yourself in the customer’s shoes. What type of words or phrases would a person look to buy the products or services your business offers type into Google? At this point, it could be helpful to consult family members, friends, and maybe even some of your existing customers. If you own an online-only business, you could place an optional feedback box on the checkout page asking customers what words they searched for to find you.

#2 LEARN FROM YOUR COMPETITORS

SEO competition strategy
Entrepreneurs Strategizing Competition Keywords

Go to websites belonging to some of your main competitors and take a look at what targeted keywords they’ve optimized different site sections for. For speed, you can look at page metatags. Finding out what keywords your competitors are targeting will provide you with inspiration for your own list and help you discover audiences you might be forgetting.

#3 LONG-TAIL KEYWORD ARE VITAL

Long-tail keywords are 3+ word sentence fragments or phrases. They generally have lower search volumes but are known to attract more targeted easy-to-convert traffic. They also tend to have less competition, which means you can quickly increase your site’s SERP rankings for them. Did you know that around 70% of searches feature a long tail keyword? That’s why they’re vital for a successful SEO strategy in a competitive niche.

#4 KEYWORD RESEARCH TOOLS ARE YOUR FRIEND

Google’s free keyword tool helps you research potential keywords to target. You are probably already familiar with it if you use Google Ads. Other helpful tools include Raventools and SEMRUSH. The tools enable you to discover keyword trends, search volumes, competition levels, and related keywords.

#5 TRACK AND ANALYZE KEYWORD DATA

Once you’ve selected your keywords, you should monitor and analyze data about them continuously. You should always be on the lookout for trending keywords in your niche that you can capitalize on.

Remember to use your carefully chosen keywords as often as you can. Insert them into metatags, blog posts, website content, and social media updates. You need to use the keywords everywhere you can to increase the chances of your target audience finding your website.