It was another typical day at the office. I was on my 3rd cup of nitro cold brew coffee and was just starting to research what types of keywords would be best for Striventa. I wanted to find the right keywords to speak directly to small business owners and how they would find a company in order to build their website.
After playing around with a few different keywords and their variations, I told my Google Assistant on my phone, “ I need a website ”. Even though this was more in jest to test my Google Assistant, I surprisingly found that it actually makes for a decent keyword.
Not only did this turn out to be a great keyword, but I hadn’t thought about this particular keyword variation like this before as I was thinking about it from the perspective of traditional search and not with a voice search application. But by trying to place myself in a local business owner’s shoes, the real question is, how do I use this?
As Content Director for Striventa, it’s my job to combine the unique efforts of marketing automation, design, content, and SEO holistically in order to present the best message for our clients. It’s in this process that analyzing keywords and deciding which of those keywords would help us the most in accomplishing our main goal.
Attracting the right customers to our website is of the utmost importance. This process is what is known as a keyword strategy. An effective keyword strategy relies on getting inside the mind of your customer and predicting what words they will most likely type into a Google search.
What Makes “I need a website” a Good Keyword for Striventa?
When I develop a keyword strategy, I go through a certain matrix of questions in my head as I am in the research phase. Those questions are usually a mix of the following but aren’t limited to:
- Is this keyword relevant to my client’s services, products, or offerings?
- Is it being used as a search term at a high volume relative to my client’s industry?
- Does my client have a chance to rank on the first page for this search term?
- If my client’s audience is local, does this term trigger a local search?
Much to my surprise, “ I need a website ” met my criteria on all fronts for my own company, Striventa (The local search is triggered when using Google Assistant).
At Striventa, we offer a wide range of digital marketing services, including SEO and content marketing. However, a key foundational component of all of those services is web design and development.
When meeting with new clients, it’s one of the core services we offer, as it allows us to set the stage for everything else we do. So attracting clients that need a website built or enhanced is pivotal to our strategy. It was at this moment that I realized this was a great keyword for us.
Long Tail Keywords Like “I need a website” are the Future of SEO Keyword Strategy
If you’re not familiar with what a long tail keyword is, here is my general definition:
Long tail keywords are longer keywords that are used when people are looking for answers to an issue, finding a specific product or service, or when they’re using voice search.
The last part is key because voice search is the future of search, period.
You see, long-tail keywords are just how people would talk to other people. While I’m not saying that Siri, Alexa, and Google’s unnamed assistant are people, they do have a personality.
Because of this, users talk to their phones and devices as if they were people. They’re even typing into the search bar as if it’s a person. In the case of “ I need a website ”, our potential customers, blunt as they may be, are telling the search device what they need, and Google is giving it to them.
This will no doubt increase as the use of voice search is trending upward. According to Comscore,
“50% of all searches will be voice searches by 2020”.
The Local SEO Factor
Going back to my criteria, Striventa has many clients based out of Arizona. More specifically, the metro Phoenix Area. Therefore, it’s important that in my keyword strategy, I choose specific keywords that trigger local search. My goal is to have Striventa rank for local and relevant keywords right on the first page and at the top of Google Maps.
A keyword like “I need a website” presents this opportunity. It triggers a local search when prompting Google Assistant (I’m an Android guy). Positioning our brand to utilize search terms that could be used by voice searchers is crucial.
The Conversion Factor
One of the best parts about attracting someone who would use the search term “I need a website” is the sense of urgency they have. Someone who uses this term in this manner isn’t playing around. They know what they want, and they want it now. By optimizing a blog or a page for this keyword, you are already pre-qualifying the user.
They don’t just want a website, they need a website.
And our website, if done well enough, will show them how and where to get one. We’ll also show them why we’re better than all the other companies that show up on the first page. And with the local search trigger, they’ll also know that we’re able to meet face to face. Businesses like that. It helps develop trust and confidence.
There’s a Catch….For Now
So you’re ready to start using long-tail keywords, now all you have to do is find the right one. Easy, right?
Well….
You see, the fact that “ I need a website ” has a decent amount of search volume for a niche keyword isn’t typical of long-tail keywords. While most people are using long-tail keywords, they aren’t all using the same variation.
For instance, “How to build a website” triggers different results than “How to make a website ”
VS.
The featured snippet is the same on both terms, as are the first few results, but the “People also ask” results and the results lower down the first page is different.
This is because, while getting better year after year, Google’s search AI isn’t there yet. At least not in terms of matching related content with different but related search keywords. IE has the same results for “build” and “make.” However, the more and more Google refines its algorithm, the better it will be at having the same results for terms that are different in terms but the same in user intent.
It’s not just about one blog, it’s about the whole strategy year after year. While I illustrated an example of one long tail keyword that makes sense for Striventa to write towards, there are millions of other variations in the sea of keywords. This is why developing a keyword strategy is critical in the development of your online strategy.
If you or someone you know is looking for a keyword strategy, tell them to hit us up. We love our keywords, but more importantly, love how keywords can help drive real business when used in a holistic process.
Also, click here for a handy keyword template you can use to score, organize and prioritize your keywords. We use this same template for our keyword strategy planning.
Well, that’s it for now, don’t be afraid to give us a follow on Instagram and Facebook for more tips like this.
Lastly, for those of you wondering, yes, this blog did target “I need a website” for us.
Sneaky sneaky eh?