The Key First Step in any SEO Keyword Identification Effort? Put Yourself in Your Customer’s Shoes

As a provider of SEO in Miami, we work closely with local businesses to develop a strategy that, over time, improves the firm’s results on search engines. And one of the first things we look at is their keyword strategy.

Your firm’s keywords can make-or-break your SEO campaign. Think of SEO Keyword Identification like going to the doctor’s office with a cold, only to be treated as if you had a broken arm: you end up spending time, money, and resources to fix a problem or address a need that wasn’t there in the first place. So spending time to understand your keyword strategy is a critical first step.

So what does this involve? For starters, this means putting yourself in your customer’s shoes. This sounds intuitive, but often times, businesses are so intimately involved with their work, it can be difficult to remove themselves and objectively view it as an outsider. Therefore, it’s important to ask questions like, “How do current customers find you?” “What search terms have customers used to find you?”

For both questions, you can get concrete answers via examining your Web analytics. And that’s a great first step.

When it Comes to SEO, Quality Trumps Quantity Every Time

The adage of “quality over quantity” applies to many things in life, particularly your firm’s social media and SEO strategy. For example, experts argue that the average person can only truly handle, say 500 “Friends” on Facebook. One you exceed that amount, the argument goes, you start reaping diminishing returns.

There’s also the role of “social media influencers.” Like or not, certain individuals, blogs, and sites within an industry can have a disproportionately influential impact on your business versus others. So your social media marketing strategy needs to be targeted to these people first: local and regional outlets, partners, and other key “taste-takers”

Lastly – and perhaps most importantly – is the need for quality blog and Web content to drive your search engine optimization strategy.  Search engines like Google Search punish sites who re-publish content and reward those who publish original, unique content.  A handful of excellent, original blog posts that are shared across social media networks will do far more for your SEO campaign than publishing 100 cut-and-pasted articles.

As a provider of SEO in Miami, this commitment to quality content defines our highly successful SEO engagements.