Boise web design FALCON logo

Top 5 Reasons Keyword Research Is Critical for Business Websites

keyword research

First, what is keyword research?

In the world of online marketing, keywords are the specific words people are using online to search for what they want, and keyword research is to review the data from the use of specific keywords. When creating a business website or Google Ad, keyword research results should help form the backbone of any effective marketing strategy.

Keyword research and Google search.

Commonly, business websites are constructed solely from content provided by the business owner, without the backing of keyword research for their market. This often results in a website having poor search ranking, making it almost impossible for people to find their business online with Google search. Poor search ranking is only one of many pitfalls, here’s the top 5 reasons why keyword research is critical for business websites.

1. Gain a realistic understanding of your specific online market.

Keyword research reveals.

  • What prospects in your particular market are most interested in.
  • What exact or related keywords they are searching with.
  • What websites rank highest for the most popular keywords.
  • What is the volume of keyword searches in your market within any timeframe.

The combination of these metrics paints a realistic snapshot of where your market is currently at, which can then drive accurate decision making like…

  • Should we invest in Google Ads? 
  • Should we invest in Facebook ads? 
  • Would online ads make a difference? 
  • Should we restructure our website to be found easier by search engines?
  • Is investing in our website worth the ROI?
  • Should we make a blog post on a popular topic within our market?
  • Should we even be in this market?

To make decisions on any of the above questions without first performing keyword research would be guessing in the dark, which unfortunately leads to lighting money on fire. Far better grasp market demand and ROI first, before tossing money into online marketing.

2. Know what keywords are most important to your business.

Within every business market, you can find out the exact, and related, keywords customers use when searching that market online. For example, if I have a website, and I sell pet care products, keyword research might show…

  • 22,000 people a month are searching “non-toxic pet shampoo”.
  • 12,000 people a month are searching “pet shampoo”.

This data shows at least 2 important things, I need to start selling non-toxic pet shampoo, and I need a web page dedicated to “non-toxic pet shampoo”.

Any business with an online presence should know what keywords are most relevant to their market, and then use those keywords throughout the structure of their website. The absence of relevant keywords within website page titles, headlines, and text means a drastically lower search engine ranking, lower Google Ad positioning, and lower chance of appearing as relevant to potential customers. Every business should have a solid understanding of what keywords to focus on within their website, ideally before making the website, although new pages like blog posts can also be added to increase Google ranking.

3. Understanding your online market demand.

Understanding the real picture of online market demand helps a business know if their current website traffic is healthy or not. For example, a local business might have a website that has low traffic and wonder if that’s normal… If the top keywords for that business are rarely searched, then low traffic is to be expected. If that same local market has keywords with high search volumes, then the issue with the website is keyword performance, SEO, or lack of online advertising. Understanding demand can also influence bigger decisions like offering new products or services to match market demand, or if operating costs are too high, or if sales are too slow, knowing demand can reveal if it’s even worth continuing to do business in that market.

4. Understanding your market competition.

When performing keyword research, the top-ranking websites for the most popular keywords are shown. There are many factors behind these top sites, such as trust, authority, relevance, backlinks, and more. Reviewing each top site can offer insights into ways to increase the search ranking of your website to be more competitive within that market. Beyond SEO, reviewing competitor sites also shows their various marketing approaches, providing a perspective to compare your own business marketing and message.

5. Know the difficulty of ranking for keywords in your market.

Every website is ranked 1 (top result) to 100+ (never to be found) for any given keyword search. Understanding the difficulty to rank higher on keywords important for your search visibility determines what approach to take for increasing site traffic. A realtor, for example, would have a hard time organically ranking high for the keyword term (fill in their city) “ _____ homes for sale”. Knowing this, to get more potential leads coming through their website, a realtor would have to invest money into Google Ads to boost search visibility on vital keywords in order to increase website traffic.

Falcon Design can help with your keyword research.

Maybe you own a business with an existing website and are just now realizing the importance of keyword research, no worries, at Falcon Design we can help. Contact Nick at Falcon for a free website consultation, call (208) 807-2660, or email nick@falcon.design.