How to Master Local Keyword Research in 2020

Welcome to the world of competitive SEO, consistent keyword analysis, and ambitious rankings. Whether you are just starting an e-commerce business or have been hosting online sites for years now, mastering local keyword research is a must to succeed in the digital world.

If you want your business and content in front of the people who are searching for your products and services, developing a strong keyword strategy is something you have to do right.

Understanding when and how to use specific keywords so that Google will rank you higher in its search engine results is not an easy task. Sooner or later, you’ll need help from a reputable Dallas SEO expert like our firm called theSOULwithin LLC.

However, until then, it pays to know how to build the traffic and authority to rank your content and company name.

Why Is Keyword Research Essential for Local SEO?

Keyword research defines every SEO task you perform, including content promotion, finding new topics, email outreach, and more. Keywords serve as a compass for your local SEO campaigns – they show you where to go, what direction to take, and whether you are making progress.

Google uses advanced machine learning technology to understand content and to search queries with impressive accuracy. The algorithm scans content, going through HTML and other resources, then indicating keywords to determine its meaning. Google uses keywords to define search queries and determine the searcher’s needs (are they looking to learn, buy, explore, or have fun?).

A strong keyword strategy can help businesses target the words that best characterize their brand and product.

5 Keyword Research Tips to Boost Local SEO Rankings

Recent Google algorithm modifications have made local SEO even more powerful for SERPs (search engine results pages). It is time to put yourself in the customers’ shoes and think about SEO in Dallas, TX, and what keywords best relate to your niche, products, or services.

Write down everything that comes to your mind, and then turn these ideas into robust strategies. Here are five keyword research tips to make your local SEO a success in 2020 and drive web and mobile traffic to your brand. 

Get Specific

You are unlikely to rank high and achieve success if you use broad keywords. There is too much competition for topics such as “travel,” “real estate,” or “fashion store.” You will have better results with specific phrases and words. For example:

• Combine keywords with local places and geographic identifiers
• Combine phrases with products, services, or features that make your offerings stand out
• Focus on seasons. Have any holiday ideas? As the seasons change, so do searchers’ queries

One strategy for getting specific is researching long-tail keywords. Instead of searching for a “real estate agent,” a potential customer may enter “real estate agent Dallas, TX,” or “real estate agent near me.” More than 70% of Google searches are long phrases or long-tail words.

Check the Competition

Checking out your competitors should be an essential part of your keyword research plan. Whether you are in the real estate or lawn care business, it is vital to know how your competition is raking.

Believe it or not, competitor analysis can reveal mistakes in your content and opportunities you didn’t know existed.

While you can take some ideas from your competitors, you should never use the same content or keywords. Duplicate content is not allowed by Google and will only harm your website’s ranking. You won’t trick Google into ranking with your competitor’s content.

Let Tools do The Job For You

Researching keywords, creating a strategy, and making a plan are all part of ranking better on Google. However, you don’t have to do it all by yourself. To ease the process, you can use tools for local SEO and keyword research. While there are many free and premium tools, some of the best and most efficient ones are:

• Keywords Everywhere
• Google Keyword Planner
• Ahrefs
• SEMRush
• Ubersuggest

These tools can save you time and boost your brainstorming process.

Focus on Relevance

Relevant keywords perform better than irrelevant ones. While this may seem obvious, some business owners and marketers lose focus along the way and don’t consider search volume, popular keyword phrases, or local search engine optimization and attempt to rank for keywords irrelevant to their audience.

Irrelevant keywords hurt your local SEO and your conversion rate. They consume time, money, and other resources that you could allocate to more meaningful and productive phrases.

Instead of getting lost in the keyword research process and starting to use not-so-relevant words for your business, focus on local opportunities essential for your customers to provide the most value for them. These keywords will help increase your conversions and brand yourself as a business that understands customers’ needs and cares about their interests.

Try to understand what your customers’ concerns and desires are. The more you know your local audience, the easier it will be to differentiate relevant from irrelevant keywords.

Study Your Analytics

Once you’ve identified your long-tail keywords and added them to your content strategy plan, take time to analyze the results. Rely on Google Analytics to explore the outcome and determine what keywords effectively drive potential customers to your website. Ideally, it is best to review your results weekly to evaluate your local SEO campaign’s success and adjust your keywords properly.

To get in-depth data on your strategy and campaigns, you can also combine your Google Analytics with Google Search Console (it is also a free tool). By combining these two, you will get a powerful keyword research tool to improve your local SEO strategy and target the right audience.

Google Analytics and Google Search Console will provide you with a comprehensive analysis of popular phrases—including average position, clicks, CTR, and so on—from which you can obtain keywords for your local SEO content.

Google Search Console is also an excellent tool for analyzing your competitors and how they rank on Google. Using this tool, you can see which keywords your competitors rank for and how they compare to you.

Where to Add Your Keywords?

Among other keyword research tips, it is essential to consider where you’ll include the key phrases. According to our experts for SEO in Dallas, TX, you should incorporate your local keywords in the:

• Headline
• Meta description
• Subheadings
• Content
• Title tag
• Alt text
• Link anchor text

You can use variations of your keywords to avoid repetition. Google values quality and user experience, and you can only satisfy your audience by providing them with five-star content.

The Importance of Local SEO: Conclusion

Local SEO has become an essential component of a company’s SEM strategy in 2020. Every business should look for ways to improve the keyword research process and local SEO strategy in order to expand its reach.

Mastering keyword research can set your business apart from the competition and make it simpler for you to get the traffic and customers you deserve. Keyword research can also lead to new ideas for your company and overall digital marketing strategy improvement.

Need a Dallas SEO expert to help you with your keyword research or local SEO strategy? At theSOULwithin LLC, we can help.

Our professional SEO service providers are dedicated SEO specialists who understand keyword research, are familiar with the latest trends, and keep up with the latest Google updates.

At theSOULwithin LLC, our professionals in local SEO are eager to help you research the right keywords, increase your site rankings, and attract traffic to your website. Our team of SEO experts, led by founder and CEO Joe Edakkunnathu, is always ready to boost your presence and increase your profit.

Please contact us today to talk to our SEO consultants in Dallas and explore your options. We offer a free SEO Audit and Keywords Ranking Report, and you can see the SEO rankings of companies that are our clients.