Lazy keyword research techniques can be more effective than careful, energetic keyword research techniques. The typical approach is to use some kind of online tool to get suggestions based on information that the search engines provide. I prefer to use more of a longtail strategy.
If you want to be an indolent search engine optimizer like me, then start thinking in terms of topics and subtopics instead of thinking in terms of keywords and keyword phrases. Then just write articles or blog posts or discussion forum posts about those topics and subtopics. Pay attention to your analytics for the keyword phrases that people are using to actually find your content, then focus on creating more content.
You don’t have to spend hours typing in core phrases into a piece of software and then sorting those phrases by how much traffic they’re projected to get. In fact, that’s probably the worst use of your time. If you use the same keyword research tools as everyone else in your niche, then you’ll wind up with a menu that’s almost identical to your competitors.
1 – PUBLISH SOMETHING RANDOM EVERYDAY
For example, let’s assume you operate an independent bookstore. Commit to posting to your site’s blog five days a week. Every day, write a blog post about what you’re reading or what you’ve read. Or post about what books are popular and what your customers are saying about them. Then analyze your analytics once a month. You’ll be amazed at what you learn.
Suppose you write a post about the scariest books you’ve ever read, and you learn that you’re getting traffic for the phrase “best horror books,” even though you didn’t really target the phrase. Heck, maybe you’re ranked #11 in Google for that phrase, and people aren’t finding what they want on the first page of the results. It’s no problem to write a new post targeting the phrase “best horror books” more aggressively. If you were getting traffic for the phrase without trying, imagine how much more traffic you can receive when you start trying.
2 – SEEK INSPIRATION IN THE MOST BORING WAY
Another lazy approach to keyword research is to use a thesaurus. Look at the common modifiers or adjectives that people are using to find your content, then write more content on the same subject using synonyms for those adjectives. For example, let’s say you’re writing about designing websites, and you get traffic for phrases related to “attractive website design.”
Using a thesaurus, you can find dozens of synonyms for “attractive.” You can then write articles about “beautiful website designs,” “pretty website designs,” and “appealing website designs.”
3 – ADD QUALIFIERS TO YOUR WRITING TOPICS
You don’t have to limit yourself to synonyms for adjectives either. Suppose you’re writing about “gift ideas.” You should expand your phrasing to include words like “presents” and “souvenirs.” Synonyms for “ideas” include words like “brainstorm,” “guess,” and “hint.”
Not only will these three approaches to keyword generation save you time and effort, they’ll make your content more interesting, because you’ll generate ideas just by looking at some of the unusual words and phrases that you might not have otherwise thought of.
Read More about Search Engine Optimization
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