Keyword research is the foundation of SEO, and if you’re writing about something people aren’t searching for, then why are you writing?
What most SEOs don’t realize is that keywords are basically of 4 types, based on their buying intent. When you understand these 4 types and their buying intent, you’ll get a better idea of which keyword category you should target in your research.
That’s why a digital marketing agency that sells SEO services doesn’t fall behind in keyword research. But if you’re on a budget or simply want to do it yourself, this blog post is going to help you out!
If you’re looking to learn more about digital marketing and it’s intricacies, you can read our guide to digital marketing in the US.
What Are Keywords?
Keywords are phrases or terms internet users type on search engines like Google, Yahoo, and Bing to find what they are looking for. Among all search engines, Google has the lion’s share.
So most SEO practices are centered towards ranking your site on Google. To accomplish this, digital marketing agencies use top-of-the-line tools to find “keywords” your target audience might be searching to find your business.
Why Do I Need to Add Keywords on My Website?
Adding keywords is the first step to SEO. We’ve already established that. However, the primary reason behind adding keywords is to inform Google about your business.
Google doesn’t know what your business is about and its crawlers don’t read like humans. They track keywords. These keywords also help your target audience find your business. The more keywords you have on your site the better. But if these keywords aren’t ranking, you won’t find any business.
4 Types of Keywords a Digital Marketing Agency Would Target
Keyword research can be as simple as doing a Google search or be as complicated as understanding the searcher’s intent behind the keyword. The latter is a great way for sustainable search engine optimization.
And it isn’t easy to decipher what a person sitting thousands of miles away from you might be thinking while searching for “Coffee in the morning.” However, learning the 4 different types of keywords would help you understand search intent.
Informational
Navigational
Commercial
Transactional
Informational Keywords
Informational keywords are searched with the intent of learning about a product or a service. In some cases, informational keywords are used with modifiers like “what, why, how, tips, ideas, etc.” these modifiers enhance search results and also help Google understand the logic behind these keyword searches.
Information keywords are usually long-tail. These are easy to rank for and are mostly used in blog posts. However, informational keyword research done right can greatly benefit your site in terms of generating traffic.
Informational keywords are on the “Awareness” stage of the AIDA marketing funnel. This means that expecting sales from informational keywords isn’t a wise decision. However, Information keywords build your site authority and backlink profile.
An example of informational keywords for a digital marketing agency would be “What is digital marketing? Benefits of outsourcing digital marketing, digital marketing future?”
Navigational Keywords
Navigational keywords are at the 2nd stage of the AIDA funnel – Interest. At this stage, the searchers already know about a brand they are willing to buy from. This is where you want your site to be, and to get to this point, you need a thorough informational keyword research team.
Nevertheless, navigational keywords can sometimes also be a comparison between two products or services. And that’s where you can place your business. For example, if someone is looking to buy a laptop, their navigational keyword research would be “Lenovo Laptop i3.”
Commercial Keywords
Commercial keyword research intent indicates that a user is interested in buying a product but may be ready to go ahead with the purchase. This type of keyword is often accompanied by modifiers like “best, top, etc.”
These modifiers add more depth to the search intent proving that the buyer is looking to find the best in their category. For instance, if someone is looking to buy a laptop and they’re in the commercial keyword phase, they’d type “best laptops, best i5 laptops, best Lenovo laptops” All three keywords indicate a solid purchase intent but not an urgent buying need.
Commercial keywords are comparatively difficult to rank because they have a high difficulty and a lot of competition. However, some commercial keywords are easier to rank because they fall under the commercial information intent. This intent is driven by the urge to learn more about a service but not willing to buy yet. In simple terms, commercial keyword intent is like window shopping, looking and saving for now, buying later.
Transactional Keywords
Transactional keywords have the highest buying intent of all 4 categories. These keywords are often used in Google ads, but some high DA/DR websites have the authority to rank their content on these keywords.
Transactional keywords are often considered short-tail like “buy shoes” but thanks to local SEO services, transactional keywords have become long-tail, for example, “coffee places near me” Sometimes, transactional keywords can be confusing.
For instance, if a site is trying to rank for “digital marketing agency, SEO service or local SEO service” they’d have a hard time converting traffic to leads. That’s because the search intent behind these keywords isn’t 100% transactional. After all, a searcher might be looking to read blogs.
A Word for the Wise
Keyword research is all about understanding search intent and writing content according to it. All 4 types of keywords have their mind. You need to understand what these keywords stand for and how you can incorporate them into your content.
Tools like Ahrefs and SEMrush are great for finding high-value keywords with low difficulty. You can also check the SERP through these tools.
However, tools won’t get you far unless you put your marketing mind to work. The only thing to remember while performing keyword research is to step into your target audience’s mind. Think about what they would search to find your business and use those keywords.