Writing content for the internet is entirely different to other types of writing, and successful content creators have at least a basic knowledge of SEO.
What is SEO and why is it necessary?
SEO stands for “search engine optimization,” which refers to the various methods used to increase the likelihood a website will be high in the results returned by a search engine. You want this position because a study shows that the top result gets a click through rate (CTR) of 28.5%, while the result in tenth position has a CTR of only 2.5%. The click through rate refers to the percentage of people who click through to a website after seeing it in their search results.
Okay, so how do I get these high rankings?
Well, you could hire an expert to do it for you. Boom, done!
However, you might prefer to learn to do it yourself to understand more about the process, and to save the money you’d spend on a skilled technician. To succeed, you must figure out what people are looking for in a search. How? Use keywords search engines recognize.
Keywords are key
It may sound odd, but the best place to start is by studying your competitors, and what keywords they are using. If you are operating in the same niche, you should find out what’s working for them as it will work for you. Yes, you absolutely can use the same words; words are not copyrighted.
You need to be specific when you begin the process. If you are selling premium loose-leaf tea only, you need to look at other websites that also sell only loose-leaf tea. Websites that sell teapots, strainers and similar items will use different keywords.
What are the best SEO tools?
There are numerous tools available for this purpose, but we’ll look at the top results that were returned after a search for “tools to research competitors’ keywords.” The top non-sponsored result is Moz, which is not surprising, as it was arguably the first SEO company to appear, founded in 2004
The second result “The 8 Best Tools for Finding Competitor Keywords,” lists these platforms: WordStream, BuzzSumo, Semrush, Spyfu, Ahrefs, Google Auction Insights, Seed Keywords, and Tag Clouds.
Let’s look at Moz and Ahrefs in more detail since they are popular.
Moz has several products under its umbrella, but the one you want is its SEO Competitive Analysis Tool. When you plug in the URL of one of your competitors, the Moz True Competitor engine will reveal those sites that are truly your top search engine results page (SERP) rivals.
Start the process by selecting your preferred market from among Australia, Canada, the UK, and US, then choosing the type of domain you want to research (either subfolder, subdomain, or domain), and click “Find competitors.” At this point, “Your Domain” will appear, as will its “Domain Authority.” Domain Authority is a metric proprietary to Moz that predicts where Google will rank a domain.
You will also see the names of your Top 25 Competitors and their URLs, Domain Authority, the overlap (the percentage of keywords you and your competitor share), and Rivalry, a score from 1 to 100 that combines your Domain Authority with that of your competitors, along with your rankings, keyword volume, and overlap. The results are your most significant rivals and their keywords.
Another major player in SEO is Ahrefs, whose toolbox includes Keywords Explorer.
Keywords Explorer is slightly different to Moz, as the process starts when you enter a search term. From there, Explorer finds out how many times that precise string returns results, and comparable terms that return better results. The example used is “proper way to hold a wine glass” versus “how to hold a wine glass.” The second gets about five times the results of the first.
Once you have entered your search term, Explorer displays the overview report, which contains a lot of valuable information, including ad history and organic history. The most significant is the SERP overview, which gives you your competitor’s metrics for your search term, such as how many hits their site has achieved using these keywords, and where it ranks. This lets you understand how well your chosen keywords have worked for others and how to modify your own to achieve great results.
Finally!
So, once you know what keywords your strongest competitors are using, you have the knowledge to ensure your site is the one that comes up in a search. To do that, make yourself visible to the crawlers by using these keywords.
SEO is a vast, complex subject, and we’ve only scratched the surface. Fortunately, if you are interested in joining our team at Words of Worth, our technicians will handle the SEO for you.
All that to tell me you’re gonna do it?
Yep. But now you know more than you did when you started reading. Go forth and prosper!