Find Keywords
SEO

How To Find Keywords Without Expensive Software

Keywords are often spoken of as the ‘currency’ of SEO, with the most valuable keywords, that have tens of thousands of searches every month, being the keywords that bring the highest levels of traffic and visitors to a website.

Of course, in order to rank for those extremely valuable keywords, you are going to have to compete with a high level of competition, whether you operate nationally or locally.

That competition will be high both in terms of the number of competitors, and with the level of resources they have available in order to implement the SEO strategy necessary for them to rank for those premium keywords.

However, SEO Perth advise that just as not everyone is in the market for the most expensive cars, jewellery, or fashion, not every business will need to compete for the most sought-after keywords on Google.

If that includes your business, then the keyword research you do will focus specifically to the niche you are in, and most likely to the area in which your business operates.

There are lots of ways you can research those keywords, and most advice immediately recommends keyword research software. Whilst there is absolutely wrong with that advice, it needs pointing out that software is not the only way to discover excellent keywords.

Uncovering keywords by using a more ‘manual’ approach has many merits, mainly because you will be finding keywords that your competitors may not have even thought about.

The advantage that gives you is being able to rank highly for them and get the majority of traffic to your website that manifests as potential customers who have been searching for that term.

So, to get you started on your quest to find keywords without using software, here are three paths you can take.

Explore Your Own Website

This one might surprise you but looking close to home is a very underused method of discovering keywords that those searching within your niche might enter into the search bar on Google. The number will obviously vary depending on the type of business you are but the sorts things you want to be looking out for include:

  • Specific product names
  • Product model numbers
  • Product colour variations
  • Product sizes/specifications
  • Services and synonyms for those services

The key here is to imagine you are sitting in the same place as those searching for what your business has to offer. Think about the different ways they may enter a search for any of the products and services you offer. They are unlikely to just use a broad search term and more likely to enter the model number, type, size, or colour.

While your competitors are fighting over the broad term keywords and struggling to rank for them, you can be cleaning up all the customers whose more specific searches you have optimised your individual product and service pages for.

Spy On Your Competitors

By this, we do not mean following them around wearing a disguise and taking photographs of them with a hidden camera. Instead, it means scouring their websites looking for keyword ideas that you may have previously missed.

You can use tactics such as right-clicking on each page and pressing Ctrl and U. This will bring up the source code for the page, which you can then use the find function (Ctrl + F) to pinpoint the Title and Description of that page. Yes, it may be a bit time consuming, but it is time well invested if it uncovers some hidden keyword gems.

Another way you can find some keyword ideas on your competitors’ websites is to simply scroll through each page, and make a note of the header text, which is likely to be an H tag. Also look for some of the terms they use within their content to describe products, services, and other terms that relate to your niche.

Speak To Customers, Staff, Family and Friends

When you are looking for something or trying to find the answer to a problem, often the best way to get a resolution or an answer is to simply ask someone else.

In the case of trying to find additional keywords with which you can apply some SEO and rank for, the people closest to you and your business can be a great source of inspiration, and hopefully new keywords.

With customers, you could simply ask them, either face to face or via a survey how they found your website, and what, search terms they were using to try and find what they were looking for.

They may give some obvious ones, but the odd one may also provide you with a search term that you had never thought of ranking for, and which fits perfectly with your business.

Your staff may also be aware of terms and expressions relating to your business niche, that you had not previously considered before. This is especially true of those who come into contact with customers.

As for friends and family, it may not be the most scientific way of uncovering keywords, but you have nothing to lose by asking what they might enter into Google if they were looking to find a local business like yours.