How to Update Your Keyword Research Process for 2013 & Beyond

The SEO landscape has changed significantly over the last year. Google makes roughly 500 changes per year to its algorithm, requiring agile companies to change direction and strategy in real time.

In spite of the subsequent uncertainty and change, there are principles that remain at the core of every successful SEO campaign.

Keyword research is one core component embraced by companies that achieve sustained revenue and customer acquisition through organic search. While the principle itself is as old as Google, a new definition of success is emerging.

Performing keyword research in a silo, relying solely on Google’s keyword tool for direction, is a recipe for mediocrity. However, updating your keyword research process will ensure a sustainable SEO roadmap in 2013 and beyond.

Business Impact

A critical component to successful keyword selection is quantifying business impact. This requires a focus on incremental revenue and margin based decision making. Forecast the monthly value of each and every keyword in your program using the following formula:

Search Volume (Exact) X Target Position CTR X Conversion Rate X Conversion Value

“Target Position CTR” is the industry average click-through rate for goal position of each keyword. The click-through rates you assign each position are completely subjective.

As a starting point. review recent CTR studies from Optify, Chitika, and Slingshot SEO. To improve accuracy beyond industry data, review client specific click-through rates for various average positions using Google Webmaster Tools “search queries” report.

“Conversion Value” will vary depending on the goal of your SEO campaign. E-commerce sites should use average order value (AOV) here. Lead generation companies can ignore this attribute or attach a value associated with each lead.

Don’t be afraid to think outside the box. Input the lifetime value of a customer to forecast far into the future. Measure time on site if you have identified that this positively effects conversion rates.
If your goal is to drive newsletter signups, measure it. The value of each keyword is completely subjective based upon your goals. Utilize goal specific conversion rates and value to customize this formula to fit your needs.

Don’t Ignore Mobile

Mobile implications on organic site traffic and conversions are growing. Smart advertisers have begun customizing organic campaigns and content specific to mobile users. While every year seems to be the year of mobile, understanding mobile user behavior and incorporating this data into keyword research is crucial.
Analyze the impact of mobile on your site. What percentage of your organic traffic currently comes from mobile? Which keywords generate the most mobile visits? What experience do you currently serve these mobile users?


If the data suggests a positive business impact resulting from organic mobile visitors, utilize Google’s keyword tool to understand search behavior. Some keywords and user intent will be more prevalent on mobile devices.

Only 33 percent of advertisers have a mobile optimized site, according to a recent Google study. A mobile website and keyword selection strategy will prepare your business for the year of mobile, when it finally does arrive.

Monitor Social Platforms

Social media and SEO are becoming more integrated with social signals playing a noticeable role in smart link building campaigns. Although social signals have received all the attention, agile companies are utilizing social monitoring to improve their keyword search and content strategies.

Monitoring industries, themes, and competitors can improve your keyword research in real time. Everyone has heard the phrase “recent is the new relevant.” Common keyword research tools aren’t capable of delivering real time data. Utilize a robust social monitoring tool such as Brandwatch to uncover trending topics and keywords related to your business and industry. Use this intelligence to rank for keywords your competitors have yet to discover.

Be Competitive

In spite of countless Google algorithm updates, competitive insights will always prove valuable. Reverse engineering competitor keyword strategies and URL mapping is a critical part of any keyword research process.

Tools such as SEMRush can provide insight into which keywords competitors rank for. Filter this list in Excel by URL to reverse engineer which keywords individual URLs rank for. When performing keyword research for specific URLs or departments, analyzing keywords at the URL level is critical.

Parsing competitive keyword research by URL can prove challenging. This is especially true if the competition is selling in multiple categories such as Amazon, Staples, or Home Depot.

Traditional keyword research tools have a hard time dealing with these mega sites, but it isn't impossible. Say that your business, for example, sells office furniture and you have identified Staples as a key competitor. Use an enterprise SEO platform, such as BrightEdge, to reverse engineer Staples’ keyword strategy specific to office furniture.

Summary

Organic search is a continuously evolving channel, but it remains one of the most efficient ways to acquire customers online. Keyword research has been, and will continue to be, a critical core component in any SEO process.

Quantify the business impact, keep a pulse on mobile, monitor social platforms, and be competitive. Incorporate these principles into your keyword research process and position your SEO campaigns for sustained success.

Advantage of Google+ for SEO

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Hello Friends, it seems apart from being expert in their job Google engineers also have the ability to foresee the future this am saying because while developing Google+, they also developed an SEO carrier which governs search results better than made by other search engines. However going through the relevance of social networking websites like Facebook and Twitter as a latest trend of promoting your products, but both of them impede Google to access their data.  This results in restricting the effectiveness of their SEO campaign. But this problem does not happen with Google+.

Let me explain this with an example. For this search your name on Google+ and check first 100 results on SERP. Just view the graph shown below you will notice difference in the results:

However you can also use this example on Twitter and Facebook, in-fact I also conducted same research and I noticed that Google+ mainly controls the results. Even SEOmoz was taken into consideration by Google+. This was one example you can carry out the same example for huge million of people to understand relevance of Google+. To utilize benefits of SEO there are different ways, in today’s tutorial we shall be focusing on 10 different ways that will enable you take an advantage of SEO.

1. Follow Links of your profile:

Before performing this step I would suggest you to conduct this exercise on SEOmoz you will earn 200 Mozpoints . I would suggest you to provide qualitative comments before you earn these Mozpoint. Whereas Google+ enables the person to get it connected with other profiles. It also facilitates you to implant those links to your bio supported by content which you want to insert. The value of link displayed by Google+ comparative to other platforms is much better indeed. It is authorized by both page and domain.

2. Implant links of other posts:

Google + also enables the person to implant other links on your posts. For this you just need to mention the URL address and Google automatically formats as link.  The worth of links enhances every time whenever it is shared or linked. For this let us view the following example. It is a post posted by Alexia Tsotsis, it has Page Rank 3 and Google caches it at regular intervals by Google.

Now if your post becomes universal or is shared, the value of links also increases.

3. Optimizing Title Tags of G+:

The very first word written on Google+ post is considered as part of title of your post, that is apparently related with ranking and place an important role in determining ranking of your post. It is therefore suggested to make selected keywords very carefully. You should know that it will be the first impression of your post on others. This can be better understood with help of illustration mentioned below. It is one of the post that is posted by Danny Sullivan.

4. Superior Editing Features:

Google+ facilitates blog writers as their own blogging place. In simple words it facilitates blogger to amend his blog according to his choice as many as times he wishes. But this is not same with Facebook or Twitter. However Facebook provides you this facility but to certain extent on the other side Twitter provides you the facility to delete your tweet once you have posted your tweet. The relevance of this feature increases when your blog is universal and you want to update with latest information at regular intervals. You also have facility of editing title and any attached document also. All this is possible only with Google+.

5. Indexing new page rapidly:

If you post any new content on Google+, than Google will index that page instantly. There rumors that new URLs are instantly crawled by Google. This truly vouches the relevance of Google+ that is replacing twitter while performing Google’s search option.  In earlier times when you wished your website to be indexed, you had to fill an application form and wait for your turn. But this is time in current scenario but just clicking +1 button.

                           “Google+ is the new Google Submit URL box.”
                           – Rand Fishkin, GROW 2012 Source

6. Get connected with inspirers:

Google+ provides the facility of almost 17 different notifications options that facilitate you to get connected with the inspirers within your own circle. These notifications can be received in form of notification emails, SMS or through phone depending upon the requirement of person. The 17 notification which you may receive may be like this:

I. Mention them in a post

II.  Share a post with them directly

III. Share a post and you’re in a circle they subscribe to

IV. Comment on a post they created

V. Comment on a post after they comment on it

VI. Add them to a circle

VII. Suggest new people to add to their circles

VIII. Tag them in a photo

IX. Tag one of their photos

X. Suggest a profile photo for them

XI. Comment on a photo after they comment on it

XII. Comment on a photo they are tagged in

XIII. Comment on a photo they tagged

XIV. Start a conversation with them

XV. Send them an invitation or update an event

XVI. Remind them about events

XVII. Any activity on events they created

7. Optimization of your snap to grab traffic:

It is believed that optimization of your photo may also result in increasing traffic on your website. If you have an eye catching photo followed by superb author tag will undoubtedly enhance you to even lead over your contender.

8. Taste social media dashboard on Google+:

With its inception Google Analytics has progressed well followed by social media reports. But if traffic on your website decides your survival than you need to place any information at front and placed in center. Going through this requirement Adam Singer has developed a remarkable piece of art i.e., social media dashboard that can be used for free. This will expedite you to with every necessary information from Google+ traffic and other social networks Including:

•   On Site Social Actions, i.e. Google +1′s

•   Revenue per Visit by Social Network

•   Overall Traffic Stats by Social Source

9. Have a look to ranking of your Circle:

An interesting tool on Google+ is circle count. This can be carried out by pasting your Google+URL to chart that will display increase in number of your followers. This will enable you to compare your posts with other profiles on Google+.

10. Make Practice of early adopter:

Although Google+ has witnessed dynamic growth but still only 1 out 4 people uses Google+ in a month, although number of logging users is increasing but still very less log in. It is of none use until unless your circle member log in to Google + regular. Even 10 minutes of visiting Google+ daily resulting in increasing number of your circle. This can be done:

•  Press +1 option to expand meaningful comment;

•  Add comment on interesting thought;

•  Add +1 button for your own content;

•  Engage/commen/reshare/start a hangout/create an event;

•  Circle known people;

•  Make easy for other to circle around you. 

Source :: http://blog.ribbun.com/tactics-for-enjoying-advantage-google-for-seo/