7 Tips for Local SEO Keyword Research

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Introduction to local SEO keyword research

By conducting local SEO keyword research, you can identify what potential customers are searching for when they are looking for products or services similar to yours. The more you understand what keywords are being used, the more likely it is that potential customers will find you when searching online.

Additionally, keyword research can give you insights into how your competition is performing and how you can improve your own SEO and marketing efforts.

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Keyword research for local SEO

The keyword research step is one of the most important aspects of an effective online marketing campaign. In order to make sure your website and marketing materials are as visible as possible to potential customers, you should take the time to understand the keywords most relevant to your business.

Make the most of every article, website page, and blog post you write for your audience by following these 7 tips and tool recommendations.

1. Use Google Keyword Planner

The Google Keyword Planner is a free tool for researching keywords related to your business. You can use it to discover new keywords and estimate how much traffic those keywords might bring.

One way to use Google Keyword Planner for keyword research is to use the “Keyword Ideas” tool to find new keywords to target. 

The “Keyword Planner” tool can also be used to get detailed information about how many people are searching for a particular keyword, how difficult it would be to rank for that keyword, and what the estimated click-through rate would be.

The click-through rate is the number of times a user clicks on a particular link divided by the number of times the link is displayed which is sometimes referred to as an “impression”

2. Use Google Trends

With Google Trends, you can see how interest in a keyword has changed over time and compare interest in different keywords. To use Google Trends, enter a keyword or phrase into the search bar at the top of the page. If you enter multiple terms into the “Compare” field, you will see a graph that illustrates how popular that keyword has been over time. Filtering your results by region, time period, category, and more is possible on the left side of the page.

3. Use Google Search Console

With Google Search Console, you can track your website’s ranking in Google search and get insights into how it appears in search results on a page-by-page basis. 

To use Search Console, you’ll need to add and verify your website with Google. To get started with Search Console, go to http://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/home. After you’ve added and verified your website, you can see which keywords are bringing people to it from the Search Traffic > Search Queries report.

In Search Console, you can also see how your site is performing in other ways, such as how many people are clicking through from search results and what types of errors your site is showing.

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4. Use Google Analytics

A free tool called Google Analytics lets you track how people interact with your website. You can use it to see which keywords are driving traffic to your website and to get insights into how people use your website, such as what pages they visit and how long they stay on each page. Analytics is a powerful tool for gaining insight into how your website generates traffic from targeted keywords.

Google Analytics is a free service offered by Google that generates detailed statistics about the visitors to a website. Google Analytics is not particularly difficult to set up, but there are a number of steps that must be followed in order to set it up correctly. The first step is to create a Google Analytics account. You can do this by visiting the Google Analytics website and clicking on the “Create an Account” button.

Once you have created an account, you will need to set up your website. To do this, you will need to add a piece of code to your website. This code is known as the “tracking code.” The tracking code is a small piece of JavaScript that is added to your website. This code is used to track the activity of visitors to your website.

Configuration panel for setting up Google Analytics Goal

The next step is to create a goal. A goal is a specific action that you want your visitors to take on your website. Goals can be anything from subscribing to a newsletter to making a purchase. Once you have created a goal, you will need to add the goal to your Google Analytics account. The final step is to add the Google Analytics tracking code to your website.

5. Focus on ranking for low-competition keywords

If you are just starting out, one of the best strategies is to concentrate on low-competition keywords, also known as “long tail keywords”. These are keywords that are highly specific and therefore have low competition. 

For example, instead of targeting the keyword “shoes”, you could target the keyword “men’s size 10 black leather shoes”.

You should be aware that if you are just getting started, your keywords will not generate a lot of traffic right away. It takes time for you to rank high in the search engines for your keywords. If you keep at it and continue to build links to your website, you will eventually start to see an increase in traffic.

6. Use a competitor analysis tool

In addition to Moz Competitive Analysis, SEMrush, and SpyFu, many competitor analysis tools are available. In addition to providing you with insight into the keywords that your competitors may already rank for, these competitor analysis tools also allow you to determine where you might be able to steal traffic from them. Competitor analysis tools are available in both paid and free versions. 

Remember if you ain’t first, you’re last! Haha

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7. Hire a local SEO expert

You may want to hire a local SEO expert if you are serious about ranking in local searches. From keyword research to link building to on-page optimization, a local SEO expert can help you with all aspects of your local SEO strategy. A local SEO expert also has a long track record and extensive experience, so you don’t have to guess and hope!

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Andrew Jenkins

After growing up in a family of business owners, I checked the boxes of traditional education graduating with a BS degree in Mechanical Engineering. Longing for new challenges I entered into the business arena failing several times and ultimately settling into helping small businesses supercharge their marketing efforts.

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