Before the dawn of search engine marketing, a keyword search was traditionally a substitute for a subject search when the reader did not know the subject heading. It is also useful to substitute information when there is only an incomplete title or author available. Guided Keyword search refers to the inclusion of fields or search elements such as metadata within the document.
Boolean Operators
Keyword searches are meant to return a diverse set of results that are the most likely to match based on the search criteria. The keyword search will almost always include boolean operators such as AND, OR, and NOT, to further filter or specify the results of the query.
The boolean operators controlling how the computers interpret human search queries have been standardized across the web since the dawn of the Internet, and within University Libraries prior to that. Less sophisticated database systems may ask for explicit data sets to be completed before the search can continue to help clearly describe the relationship with the keyword being used. Any software-aided search for words or metadata across an Electronic Document is considered Keyword Search.
Distilling Intent: Keyword Search
Even now in search engine marketing, Search Engine Optimization could be distilled into the process of collecting and processing data to match documents that contain one or more words specified by the user. Trying to capture the user-intent behind the keyword search has become more important than the keywords being used. With the evolution of the Internet and search engines, there is still plenty of time for the keyword search process to continue.
Long Tail Keyword Searches
- Long-tail keywords refer to the very specific, low-volume phrases that are high in intent and sometimes related to some measure of urgency
- From a keyword search perspective, optimizing for long tail keywords can be valuable as they tend to convert customers at a higher rate than generic search terms
- Exceptions can be made but the value of a long tail keyword can be measured by:
- Search volume
- Estimated Competition
- Price on Paid Media (CPC)
- Amount of words in a phrase
- How much clarity in the question
- Can it be solved as a specific problem
Geo-targeted Keyword Search
- These are typically keywords that include locations, such as “Best Bar in Hamilton”, or “Afterparty Toronto”
- Designed to serve keyword search results based on a specific geographical area
- Useful for local businesses, restaurants that are recognizable by location, proximity to neighborhoods or cities
It’s important to understand how users are interacting with technology to find the products or services related to your business. By asking the right questions to the marketing teams managing search engine optimization they will understand the specific demographic or local reasoning behind designing web pages. When dealing with technical challenges such as keyword search optimization, there is an opportunity to adapt and meet marketing goals.
The brand targeted Keyword Search
- Restrict results for searchers, remove non-brand data they don’t need
- Include results with a specific brand in mind
- Include trustworthy, authoritative results first
Creating an inventory of branded keywords being used in search engines can save time and effort when SEO performance needs to be measured. For branding, it is also important to know exactly where the organization is strongest, which pages appear for branded search terms and which ones do not.
All organizations should have an increase in branded search over time if they are growing as a business. While often overlooked, Branded Keyword Search is one of the easiest ways to produce content that fulfills prospective customer intent online.
Negative Keywords
Negative keywords are terms that you do not want to use in an Ads or marketing campaign. Think of negative keywords as phrases that you would not want to show up for, such as broad match keywords that include expensive long tail key phrases. Negative keyword search helps:
- Prevent bidding on specific keywords or phrases
- Allow keywords for related queries that don’t include negative keyword lists
- Can cause issues by overlapping with legitimate search keywords that should be included
Search Keywords Ideal for SEO
The best keywords for SEO are those that deal with low competition in the SERPs but also make sense from the perspective of your brand. This includes low hanging fruit keyword searches that target customer behaviour or uses when they are not looking for the specific product or brand offering. Some good examples of SEO search keywords are “How to do”, “What is”, “Where can I”, When can I”, etc.
Search Keywords Ideal for Paid Search
When paying for search keywords using PPC its important to make sure the right phrases are being targeted, taking into account negative keyword opportunities to prevent bidding on terms that are not wanted. If a customer is using buyer intent keywords or looking for the exact product that is being offered, paid search ads can provide the fastest route to capturing that customer’s interest.
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