by icrossingseo
SEO relevancy, the second component of an SEO marketing strategy, focuses on defining keywords and applying them to your site. Find out how keyword relevancy and understanding the Keyword Consumer Decision Process can help you connect with customers.
SEO Relevancy
Applied SEO marketing strategy to engage consumers with your business
The main components of any successful SEO campaign can be broken into three parts; Crawlability, Relevancy and Popularity.
The previous article, SEO Fundamentals, focused on the technical aspects of SEO - providing an overview of the major obstacles that affect web site crawlability.
Keyword Relevancy
Keywords provide the greatest insight into consumer behavior. The consumer is telling the world exactly what they are looking for by the search terms they use.
Researching keywords relevant to your website is the most critical component of SEO. This is where you will determine which search terms are critical for your business.
Keyword Consumer Decision Process
When researching keywords, it's important to consider your entire site structure and choose only keywords or phrases that are most relevant to each page. During this time it's tempting to use the same popular keyword on every page of your site, but it's a temptation that should be avoided. Instead, apply individual keywords as they would flow through the Keyword Consumer Decision Process (see graphic).
- General Interest: Keywords in this stage are usually most relevant for a home page or major category pages. Search terms typically have high search demand and tend to convert at a lower rate. Keyword example: Cookware
- Research: Keyword relevancy at this level is most applicable to category and sub-category pages. Although search demand will decrease at this stage in the keyword consumer decision process, they will convert at a higher rate. Keyword example: Frying pans
- Conversion: While search demand is at its lowest during this phase, conversion is at its highest. Product-level pages are the most common at this stage. Keyword example: 10-inch non-stick frying pan
Applying Your SEO Marketing Strategy
To achieve the highest-possible search-rank position, targeted keywords must be visible on the page and should represent each page's overall theme. When consumers visit your web site from search engines, the page must speak to keywords they searched. The following page elements are crucial for keyword integration:
Page title: A short phrase that describes the overall theme of the page. This is the main link from a search engine results page (SERP). Keywords should be integrated into the title and should be part of a compelling marketing message that entices users to click-thru. Page title example: Shop for Gourmet Cookware from Rita's Kitchen Store
Meta description: Displayed in the SERPs, a meta description provides a detailed description of the page theme. While it is not visible on the page, meta descriptions are visible in the page's HTML code. Meta description example: Rita's Kitchen Store offers gourmet cookware at low prices. Choose from a wide selection of cookware from your favorite brands. Free shipping is available on all orders over $100.
Page content: Applying keywords to the visible page elements is critical. Integrating targeted keywords into page headers, paragraph content, page links, etc. will help consumers and search engines understand that the page is about the targeted keywords. This helps ensure that your web site is relevant to a particular keyword and, over time, higher keyword rankings in search engines should reflect this.
Note: You should use no more than two to three keywords/keyword phrases on each page. To help you gauge keyword relevancy, use tools like Wordtracker, Keyword Discover or Google AdWords Keyword Tool when developing your SEO marketing strategy.
Crawlability and relevancy are the primary controllable factors of SEO. Eliminating technical obstacles and applying relevant keywords to your web site can create strong search engine visibility and engage a wider audience with your business.
The next article in this SEO Fundamentals series will cover popularity - the third phase of any successful SEO marketing strategy.
About the Author: Richard Chavez is an SEO Manager at iCrossing, a leading digital marketing agency, who develops search strategies for Fortune 500 clients in the financial services, publishing, CPG and pharmaceutical sectors. He is also a frequent search-industry conference speaker.
