What is the Benefit of Keyword Research in 2018 Onwards

In 2018 and beyond is there really a need for keyword research, some may ask. My response is ‘yes – keyword research continues to be important, particularly in terms of search engine optimization’.

In reality, benefits of keyword research are many in spite of the title of this post implying there is only one benefit to be reaped from keyword research.

In the role of a webmaster, author or simply the owner of a website it is more than interesting and beneficial to probe into the numerous components involved in the creation of content.

The practice of keyword research applies to both written content and images published on the internet. Examples of published content may be:

• Articles
• Blog posts
• Educational documents
• eBooks
• Essays
• PDF documents on selected subjects

Prior to the invention of the internet when the world population relied on hard copy books, magazines, newspapers or other publications, perhaps Keyword Research was not considered. But, think about what attracted people to some publications and not others.

The title of the publication was the leading attraction. Of course the reputation of the author influenced buyer interest. However, failure to include a quality keyword in the title to draw attention of customers within the bounds of a brick and mortar store, may have resulted in a lesser amount of interest and consequently a lower number of sales.

Of course brick and mortar sales still happen, although often influenced by searching the internet for the best product currently available.

Was that Really Keyword Research in Line with Today’s Practice?

Okay, that was not about keyword research for forthcoming content you will produce for your website. Rather, it is an example of using keywords and how important they are to all content you and I are producing for our websites.

The title of this post – what is the benefit of keyword research – is the one and only keyword included even though it is repeated at least once within the content. The keyword is for the purpose of attracting search engines and readers to this piece of content when published online.

Let’s Look at Multiple Benefits of Keyword Research

1. The ability to submit targeted keywords to search engines; e.g. Google, Bing, Yahoo
2. Search engine indexing of content, essential to your content being found by people searching the internet
3. Increases traffic/number-of-visitors arriving on your website
4. Item No. 3 contributes towards level of ranking in the search engines. e.g. Page 1 of Google being the focus.
5. Success of Items 1 to 4 increases overall achievement of website/online business.

It Starts with Relevant Content

Creating content relative to your keyword, included in the title of your post, is essential. In fact, it is a major aspect of success. Therefore, time needs to be spent ensuring that your chosen keyword and content are well related.

How Many Searches are Made Daily for Your Chosen Keyword?

Searching Google for what is the benefit of keyword research has just revealed ‘About 85,800,000 results (0.27 seconds)’ . These results are approximately the number of searches at a specific time for that keyword phrase.

That enormous result is proof of the huge interest that still exists around the use of Keyword Research. Therefore, with all that interest in this keyword how much chance do I have for this post, when published, to appear in a prominent position in the search engines. Prominent position meaning to be found on ‘Page 1 of Google’ or at least ‘Bing’ and Yahoo.

In answering my own question – I do have a good chance of this post appearing on Page 1 of Google when the keyword is entered into an internet browser. There is the possibility of gaining a fair ranking with part of the keyword such as – benefit of keyword research – or – keyword research. However, every aspect of search engine optimization of this post must be absolutely accurate for that to occur. I say ‘possibility’ particularly regarding the term keyword research in view of the high number of competing websites

Recognizing Ongoing Change

It is important to acknowledge that the technical aspect of search engine algorithms is complex and changes happen frequently. This is something we have no control over. Our content is at the mercy of the search engines, in respect to where it will appear on the internet.

Therefore, the very best we can do, as copy writers for our own websites is to use current advantages available such as keyword research relevant to SEO.

If there is one thing we can be certain of regarding SEO, it is the need for copy writers such as ourselves to keep informed with search engine changes. Approximately 7 to 8 years ago, writing content for websites focused on inserting as many different keywords as possible into one piece of content. This practice became known as ‘keyword stuffing’. It’s hard now to believe that practice actually happened. The moral of this story is that Google took the practice of keyword stuffing under control by banning it with algorithm changes in 2011 and 2013.

Now in 2018 and looking forward, who knows what SEO changes may occur! As online marketers, Google has a huge influence on our success. In saying that, it is within our own power and responsibility to keep informed of the workings and advancements of incredible resources given by Google to an enormous global online community.

Things to be Aware of In Finding Valuable Keywords

Before deciding on a keyword for a new post or article it is necessary to ensure your tentatively chosen keyword will meet the following values:

• Average number of searches the keyword is currently receiving per month. This indicates whether there is sufficient interest to proceed with creating content around that particular keyword

• Amount of competition for that keyword, meaning the number of websites currently ranking for the keyword. This greatly affects the success level likely to be obtained by using your tentatively chosen keyword.

One method to assist with a decision to proceed or not is to view the websites currently ranking on Page 1 of Google for your chosen keyword. These sites are your competition.

Ask yourself, are you able to produce content to a higher level that will cause a greater Google ranking? There is much to consider here!

Therefore, it makes sense to decide on a keyword that is known to be receiving regular monthly searches, and a comparatively low level of competition.

Ensure Your Chosen Keyword is Correct before Publishing

I frequently read the question ‘Can I change the keyword of a post on my website?’

My answer is: Ideally No! The reason for not changing the keyword after publication appears in the next two paragraphs:

• Benefit gained from a keyword relies greatly on that keyword being included in the title of the publication. Let’s look at the progress immediately after I publish this post on my website.

• If the procedure goes well, within a matter of minutes, Google, Bing and Yahoo algorithms will find this post and index it. Indexing means that the search engines considered the content fit to appear in a position on the internet. Reality is that the title, being the keyword of this particular post, is logged in for the entire life-time of my website.

What Will Happen If I Change the Keyword of this Post?

The result would be that a visitor clicking on the title of this post would receive a ‘404 Error Page Not Found’ message. How poorly that message reflects trustworthiness of this website!

Not only could this error message cause frustration to the visitor, the error would result in loss of search engine ranking.

Could the 404 Error Message Be Reversed?

Yes, it could be reversed by installing the ‘Redirection’ plugin on your website. Redirection is a free-to-use WordPress plugin that does work effectively, in my experience.

However, selection and ongoing use of a keyword is preferred practice to avoid any chance of broken links on a website.

Due to better judgment regarding the inclusion of keywords within the title of a publication on the internet, there is a strong need for carefully selecting an appropriate keyword for each individual post / article.

Rather than changing the keyword which is now published to your website, I recommend creating and publishing new content to your site using your newly preferred keyword. Not only will the new content provide interest for visitors to your site, it will also assist with SEO ranking.

Be assured that Google search engines respond well to discovering quality and frequently published content on websites, including your website. Ensure your content is interesting, relevant and adheres to SEO requirements. Attention to such details will contribute to growing success of your online business.

Improve Your Keywords Using Jaaxy Keyword Research Tool

There are many keyword research tools to be found on the internet. Some free to use. Others require a paid subscription. Over many years I have used a variety of tools for the purpose of keyword research.

In 2014, I discovered Jaaxy Keyword Research Tool. Since then, I’ve constantly used this tool to identify and select keywords  for each ‘next to-be-published’ post.

Jaaxy provides a free version, although limited to 30 searches. For anyone just starting a new online venture I’m not recommending Jaaxy unless, you have a budget to meet the cost.

For those who have experience of keyword research, together with a business budget, I highly recommend taking a look at Jaaxy. This tool saves me a great deal of time. Prior to discovering Jaaxy I went through years of moving from one keyword research tool to another. With Jaaxy, all my keyword research is done on the one platform. This saves me a huge amount of time.

This link will take you to my Review of Jaaxy where more information can be found

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