#80: [ModMarketing] How to do Keyword Research for AEC Online Marketing
In the last series episode, I talked about different content types that can fuel your [ModMarketing] program. Content is a crucial piece of attracting new potential clients to your firm as well as continuing to nurture and educate existing clients.
But, how do you know what to write about? And, how do you know that your targeted audience, aka, your ideal clients, even cares about your content?
You see, while I 100% agree you need to be producing content on a consistent basis. I don’t believe you should just be creating content to have something to publish. That’s just a waste of your time and your efforts. I want your work to be effective.
So, just how do you know what type or topics to write about for your marketing content? Well, that’s where keyword research comes in. In this episode, I am going to walk you through some old-school and new-school keyword research techniques to help you start brainstorming topic ideas for your content calendar.
HubSpot defines keyword research as this:
Keyword research is the process of finding and analyzing search terms that people enter into search engines with the goal of using that data for a specific purpose, often for search engine optimization (SEO) or general marketing. Keyword research can uncover queries to target, the popularity of these queries, their ranking difficulty, and more.
In other words, it’s the keywords, phrases, or questions your ideal clients are typing into Google. It’s the information they are looking for before they begin a project, look for funding options for a project, or a specific element or delivery method of a project. Or, if they need a specialty service in a specific area, that’s what that client is typing into google.
And, by doing some research to find these keywords and phrases, you can develop content that answers those questions, and set up the article using those keywords and phrases, your firm will be at the top of the search results when that ideal client is using Google or Bing, or their search engine of choice.
Episode highlights:
What is keyword research
Old-school keyword research techniques (spoiler they still work!)
New-school keyword research techniques
Keyword research tools I recommend
Walk through an example of a highway design firm
Example: Interstate Interchange for a Highway Design firm
Let’s say your firm is a highway design firm who works with DOTs and expressway authorities. You know there are several new highway interchanges coming up in the next few years. Maybe they are in the planning stages now. You’ve asked internally and the topics or conversations your staff is having with DOT clients is around the different types of interchanges and when to use which type of interchange.
Type that phrase into Google:
After typing that phrase into Google, take note of the search results and the “People also ask:” results.
Moz’s Keyword Overview Results:
After typing the phrase into Moz’s Keyword Overview tool, note the Difficulty, Organic CTR, and Priority scores.
Moz’s Keyword Suggestions:
Click on Keyword Suggestions from the left menu to drill down into other topics. You’ll want to note those keywords that have both high Relevancy and high Monthly Volume numbers. These will give you specific topic ideas under the umbrella topic of interstate interchange design.
Links mentioned in this episode:
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