The Importance of Keyword Research for Manufacturers

Keyword research, link building, and content marketing are all important SEO factors. One of the most important factors in gaining organic search results is the quality of the keywords that you use. Popular keyword research tools can help your business find related markets, rank well on search engines, and promote your products or services by enhancing your marketing effectiveness.

What is a keyword?

A keyword is a specific word that someone types into a search engine to find a topic they are looking for.

Example

“SEO” would be considered a single keyword phrase. When typed into a search engine, such as Google, a large number of search results around “SEO” would be displayed. The data is ranked on who has the most link equity, sometimes called link juice, and content quality. Link equity is assigned by search engine services based on how algorithms rate a page's link quality. 

While content quality is measured by search engines crawling a website for popular keywords. Results are ranked in terms of who would give the best answer to a search query.

Types of Keywords

Generic Keywords

Generic keywords are oftentimes referred to as simple keywords or uncomplex keywords. These unique keywords are often 1-2 words in length and difficult to rank for. There is a high competition on these words because they are so simple and often common language. 

Example

• Animal Shelters
• Colleges
• Painting Company
• 55-Gallon Drum 
• Linear Actuator 

These keywords are difficult to rank for because they have no qualifiers, such as geographic locations or purposes attached to them. The best use of generic keywords is inside a web pages copy or in heading tags.

Broad Match Keywords

Broad match keywords are more specific than general keywords. These unique keywords are general keywords with qualifiers, such as geographic locations or purposes attached to them.

Example

• Animal Shelters in Florida 
• Best Mid-Sized Colleges 
• Veteran Owned Painting Company 
• 55-Gallon Drum Repurpose Uses
• Linear Actuator Manufacturer in Ohio  

While they are suitable in copy and headings to help narrow search results, broad match keywords are best used in pay-per-click (ppc) advertising. Because there is limited competition and decent monthly search traffic, broad match keywords often have a lower cost-per-click (cpc). Keywords with a lower cost are able to save your company money in paid traffic searches. 

Long-Tail Keywords

Long-tail keywords are full string thoughts. A search like “What college is great for engineering?” is a long-tail keyword.

Example

• What Animal Shelters in Florida are having an adoption day?
• Which are the Best Mid-Sized Colleges for non-traditional students?
• Is there a Veteran Owned Painting Company near me?
• What are popular ways I can repurpose a 55-Gallon Drum.
• Which Linear Actuator Manufacturer in Ohio has the best reviews? 

In contrast, long-tailed keywords are not a popular search term, resulting in little competition and a high ability to rank. Additionally, users who search long-tail keywords are often pre-qualified buyers, who will look through your website and engage with your content. 

However, the use of long-tail keywords are popular black hat or unethical SEO practices. Back hat SEO tactics include link farming, keyword stuffing, purchasing equity, and mining EDU backlinks. Unethical practices are used to manipulate search engine rank and appear on the first page. If a company is caught conducting black hat SEO practices, they are taken off major search engines and run the risk of getting their website shutdown. 

Using long-tail keywords does not assign a company, which might be practicing white hat or ethical seo practices, a Google Penalty. However, it can mean other search results are generic and low quality, resulting in visitors closing out a search or bouncing off a website frustrated when their question is not answered. 

Google has implemented its latest algorithm update BERT to limit unethical SEO practices. BERT utilizes natural language processing (NLP) software to favor linguistic searches. BERT is additionally useful for artificial intelligence searches, such as using iPhone Siri and Amazon Alexa to make search inquiries. Google searches are now ranked heavily to favor websites that use linguistically friendly long-tail keywords.

Keyword Research Tools

There are many useful keyword research tools available.

Google Keyword Planner

If your business is signed up with a Google Analytics account, then you already have access to Google Keyword Planner. Google Keyword Planner is a free and simple tool to help your business plan content and collect basic insight on keywords.

Google Trends

Google Trends will help you see the relative popularity of keywords and provide valuable data on regional variations. Trends is a free tool that can be used to evaluate seasonal trends and changes with search volume for specific keywords over time.

AnswerThePublic

AnswerThePublic has both free and paid versions of their tool. With it, they offer visualizations of questions and phrases asked around a particular root keyword. The related phrases are useful for research and ideation. 

Soovle

Soovle will generate a quick list of top terms for Wikipedia, Google, Amazon, answers.com, YouTube, Bing, and Yahoo. Soovle will compile a visual list of popular keywords on the various platforms. This tool is a great way to discover broad match keywords.

Why Is It Important for Manufacturers?

For manufacturing companies, the recent influx of competitive industry players, technological advancements, and marketing investments have made SEO critically important across many sectors. Additionally, the greater visibility you hold in search results, the greater chance you have to convert new customers. 93% of online sales begin with a search inquiry. To remain relevant in the digital landscape, it is important for your business to establish a strong online presence.

It is critical to find out whether or not your keywords rank well on search engines. Organic search is responsible for 50% of a company's organic sales. If you are able to decide what your consumers are searching for, you are able to stand apart from your competitors. Partnering with an agency is a great way to ensure your SEO tactics do not go to waste. ManoByte is skilled at maximizing SEO potential and ensuring your company leverages the best tools for growth. Contact our team to learn how we can help you stand out.