Advanced Keyword Research Techniques: Using Long-Tail Keywords to Boost Your SEO Strategy

One of the most important parts of SEO will always be keywords. Keywords help internet users find relevant information, and they help content creators get Google’s attention and let it know what their content is all about. 

However, this doesn’t mean you should just fill your website and your content with keywords relevant to your business. Doing this is called ‘keyword stuffing,’ and it’s not as successful as many people would hope. Spamming keywords can make your content appear poorly generated and disingenuous. Keyword-stuffed blogs and articles look like low-quality content, and no one wants to take advice from low-quality content.

What can you do to find the best long-tail keywords for your New Zealand business? Continue reading to learn how and where to go for excellent SEO help in Auckland.

Clever Keyword Research Techniques

Keyword research is the process of identifying the words and phrases that people are most likely to use when searching for relevant information online. It’s an essential part of any SEO strategy because if you don’t hit the right keywords, you won’t gain the right attention.

The right keywords can help you create good content and get that content to the people who need it. Then, your relevant target audience is more likely to see it when it ranks highly on search engine results pages.

Specifically, we’re talking about long-tail keywords. Long-tail keywords are longer and much more specific than short-tail keywords. For example, a short-tail keyword might be ‘Auckland jewellery,’ but a long-tail keyword for the same company might be ‘handmade crystal jewellery in Auckland.’

Long-tail keywords are far easier to rank for, and they can help you attract more specific people to your website who are more likely to be looking for exactly what you’re offering.

Here are some advanced keyword research techniques that you can use to find long-tail keywords that work for your Auckland business:

Use Keyword Tools. There are a number of different keyword tools available, with some being free and some being paid for. Tools like Google Keyword Planner can help you find great long-tail keywords that are relevant to your niche and that have a high search volume.

When you use these tools, make sure you consider the following:

• Search Volume. The search volume of a long-tail keyword is the number of times a keyword is searched for each month. You want to choose good keywords with a high search volume, but not so high that they are too competitive.
• Keyword Difficulty. The keyword difficulty measures how difficult it is to rank for a particular keyword. You want to choose keywords with a low difficulty so that you can rank for them more easily.
• Competition. The competition of a keyword is the number of other websites that are ranking for it. You want to choose keywords with low competition so that you can have a better chance of ranking for them. The fewer competitors there are, the more likely you’ll score highly on search engine results pages.

Use Question-Based Keywords. People often use questions when they are searching for information online, especially when they use voice search. By using question-based keywords and including questions in your content, you can target people who are actively looking for answers to their questions. 

For example, instead of targeting the keyword ‘accounting,’ you could target the long-tail question-based keyword ‘how to find accounting help in Auckland’. Use Negative Keywords. Negative keywords are words or phrases that you don’t want your website to be associated with. They allow you to prevent your site from showing to people who are searching for keywords that are completely irrelevant to your business.

Negative keywords can stop your website from appearing for irrelevant searches that don’t quite match your business. For example, if you’re a plumber, then you might want to use the negative keyword ‘free.’ This will prevent your site from showing up if people search for ‘free plumbing Auckland,’ and can prevent people from calling you and asking for free services.

It’s a very smart idea to use negative keywords of services or goods that customers could come looking for but that you don’t provide. If you’re an architectural company that only works on new builds, then you can use ‘renovation’ or ‘alteration’ as a negative keyword. If you’re a vegan business that doesn’t use animal products, then you can use ‘meat’ or ‘pescatarian’ as negative keywords. 

Use Related Keywords. Related keywords are keywords, or phrases, that are closely related to your target keyword. By using related keywords, you can expand your reach even more and attract more traffic to your website. 

For instance, if your target keyword is ‘accounting,’ then you might also be able to use ‘bookkeeping,’ ‘tax preparation,’ ‘financial planning’ and anything else that’s related to accounting.

Of course, make sure that all of your related keywords are both related and relevant. If you’re a specific type of Auckland business that doesn’t provide services regarding related topics, you shouldn’t mention those related topics.

Use Keyword Clustering. Keyword clustering is the inventive process of grouping related keywords together. By clustering several keywords, you can create more targeted content and improve your SEO results. 

For example, if you’re a company that sells candle-making supplies, you could create a blog post about ‘creating soy candles at home’ that includes keywords such as ‘homemade candles,’ ‘essential oils’ and ‘crafts.’

Do Your Research And Define Your Target Audience. It’s important to do your research and understand your target audience before you start keyword research. This can help you identify the keywords that they are most likely to use, so will help you know what keywords to use. 

Even if you know who you’re trying to appeal to, if you don’t use the right keywords, you might not reach them.

One Simple Way To Enhance Your Auckland Website’s SEO Like Never Before

Keyword research may seem difficult and confusing at first, but when you work with Kiwi Website Design, SEO will be easy. We’re thrilled to have helped so many wonderful Auckland businesses with their website design and SEO, and we’d love to help you as well.

If you’re interested in our services, we welcome you to call us on 0800 932 669 or use our contact page to get in touch.

Master your keywords and reach your target audience, work with Kiwi Website Design.