Affiliates are always finding ways of improving their marketing strategies, and one of the most effective methods is improving your keyword strategy to match what consumers are searching for. While this sounds easy, the process itself can be quite convoluted and difficult for newcomers.
But the concept behind the idea is quite simple. By targeting keywords that are closer to actual user intent, affiliates can reach much more interested buyers who are genuinely looking for solutions to their problems. And this in turn increases the likelihood of users interacting with your content and converting down the line!
What Are Keywords And How Should You Use Them?
Keywords are one the most important parts of online marketing. They define what search terms you want to rank for, and an effective keyword strategy is vital to ensuring that your content gets seen by potential customers.
A well-planned keyword strategy should be thought out before beginning any sort of written or video-based content creation. This means identifying what keywords will help promote your affiliate offer, how you're going to target them, and then finally publishing this information in a simple document that can be referred back to often throughout the process.
And each time you create content, whether it's a long-form blog post or short-form article, you should re-evaluate your keywords to make sure they still make sense for your users!
What Is User Intent?
User intent is the desire that a customer has when they enter a query into a search engine. In other words, it describes why users are searching for certain keywords and phrases. The idea here is that you want to target those terms, as those people have an interest in what you have to offer!
For this sort of user behavior analysis to make sense, affiliates need to think about human psychology and how we interact with the Internet and search engines every day. You should aim to please your readers by giving them information that's relevant and useful – ultimately speaking their language – so they keep coming back for more!
By understanding why users enter certain keywords into the search engine, you can devise effective strategies to target those phrases.
How Can You Find The Right Keywords?
One of the best ways to find relevant keywords is by using Google's own Ad platform. The reason is that it allows affiliates to use a variety of different tools – such as keyword research – to help figure out which search queries have the best potential for their content.
It's important to remember, however, that Google is a search engine first and foremost! While this fact may seem obvious, it isn't to everyone. And so if you're going to set up an account on Google Ads, then there are a few things that need to be kept in mind before moving forward.
First off, Google doesn't want people viewing irrelevant results for common phrases like "affiliate marketing" or "best affiliate programs". This is prone to happen if your campaigns aren't set up properly from the start. This is why it's crucially important for your keywords to match your content, and if they don't then you need to go back and reconsider what you're doing.
Secondly, this type of advertising is very expensive! You may be tempted to jump in right away because the costs are low, but remember that Google is one of the most widely used search engines in existence. If a website ranks on page 1 for a popular keyword phrase, you can bet that a ton of people will be clicking on their result page!
Additionally, affiliates need to take into account the fact that user intent varies from search engine to search engine. For example, if someone types "buy health insurance" into Google or "health insurance quotes" into Yahoo, the intent behind their search can be perceived differently.
As such, it's important to take keyword phrases like these and break them up according to how they're served by the major search engines. For instance, Google is obviously going to return more specific results than other sites like Bing or DuckDuckGo. So using specialized tools that can help you identify what people are searching for on each platform is a good idea!
What Can You Do To Optimize Keywords For User Intent?
The first step towards optimizing your search terms is to understand how each of the major platforms works. By doing so, you can take your keywords and tailor them to fit the specific needs that Google, Bing, Yahoo, etc. are looking for.
Once you've broken your keywords up into their individual phrases, it's time to go back and take another look at your content. If you're struggling with this part then it could be because the wording on your site is off or because your pages are lacking readability.
You should always aim to write content that speaks directly to its reader! For instance, if you're writing about affiliate marketing for lifestyle bloggers then make sure that your tone matches theirs; keep it upbeat and fun, not stiff. Try including some images or other graphics as well – anything that will help draw attention to what you have to say.
After you feel good about the way your page looks and sounds, go back and review your keyword list. This is where you need to ask yourself whether the keywords still fit the content – and remember that they may be completely different depending on which search engine you're using!
For instance, if someone types in "affiliate marketing programs" then this is a phrase that Google will respond to differently than Bing. Why? Because it's used as an exact match for a very popular keyword phrase (the term itself has over 300 million results on Google). However, if they type in "what are affiliate programs" then their intent might be more along the lines of looking for educational resources rather than something directly related to making money online.
A Couple Of Quick Tips On How To Optimize Keywords For User Intent!
The idea behind improving the way your terms are optimized is to make them as relevant to each search engine's needs as possible. This can be done in a few different ways, including:
- Research what your users are searching for
- See what keywords have high search volumes but are easy to rank for
- Make sure your content is well-formatted and uses keywords throughout it
- Ensure that your keywords are matching what people are searching for
- Start With The Long Tail
- Learn SEO basics
- Use Google Trends as a tool to help with SEO
Is Focusing On Keywords For User Intent Really That Important?
Short answer, absolutely yes!
We already know that Google hates irrelevant results, so it's in the best interests of the affiliate websites to structure their content around user intent. That way there's a much higher chance that people will find what they're looking for and click on your site!
If you can't offer anything related to what people are searching for then why would they bother sticking around? They're already well aware that you aren't going to give them any information about what they want; this is something that you need to take into account when optimizing keywords and writing copy.
And if you think about it in terms of cost vs benefit, it only makes sense to focus on user intent anyway because these phrases convert better!
Do Your Research Before Committing To Keywords
Not all keywords are that great. Focusing on keywords that are already oversaturated, have no search volume, or are incredibly difficult to rank for is just a pure waste of time and money.
Before committing to keywords do yourself a favor and do a thorough investigation of what the best keywords for your audience are and how those KW's rank across the web. Don't settle for less than what you know is possible.
Keyword research is at once highly challenging and also immensely satisfying. When you find that one perfect, low competition keyword your traffic will skyrocket! So if you are spending more time on this step of the process then I would re-evaluate your priorities. Don't waste time with keywords that don't convert, rather spend that same amount of time optimizing the ones that already do!
To Conclude Things!
Doing keyword research can be quite fun! Record your observations and take some notes as you go. Try breaking your keywords up into different groupings and see what kind of patterns or statistics you find in comparison across the various platforms. Maybe certain kinds of KW's work better on Bing while others perform better on Google? Or maybe there are certain kinds of phrases that will blow away social media results! The main thing is to keep an open mind and try things out for yourself rather than relying on second-hand information without testing it firsthand.
How do you optimize your keywords? What methods do you use to determine user intent? Share your experience with us in the comments below!
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