The biggest struggles I see people having with DIY SEO are 1) not knowing what to blog about, and 2) which text to use when optimizing websites and blogs. Since text is such a key component of SEO (a.k.a. getting your kick-butt awesome business/brand found online), I wanted to share a few additional ways you can get creative and find new keywords for your business.
8 Ways to Find New Keywords for Any Small Business
- 1. Google Suggest. So, Mr. Google can actually give us some insight on how people are searching and to help us think more like the client of your industry? Wait for it…. You simply start typing something in Google and a list pops up.
Did you know that this list represents what has been searched for before and what is popular? So, get your main keyword (it can be a word or phrase you want to be found for) and start typing it into the Google search bar. Then take note of what is coming up. For example, my blog caters to DIY SEO for solopreneurs, but first I will type in just “DIY SEO” and see what Google is suggesting: See below.
Next, I can check how many results were displayed for that initial term I wanted which is over 2 million results.
I noticed that “DIY SEO for small business” came up, which speaks more to my audience and my target, so now I will do a new search for that term. I see less results, (less than 1 million) but I am taking notes and adding that to my keyword list as well.
Then at the bottom of the results on search, they also make suggestions.
This is where I always learn some new ways of saying the keywords I originally wanted. It’s necessary to do some research and not just stick with our main keyword ideas all the time, too, because trendy terms your clients pick up can change the whole game, and you want to be on top of those changes to get found. Here is an additional 7 ways to find new keywords for your site.
- SEMrush. This is great for checking on your competition for organic local keywords for your business. I am usually not too keen on being obsessed with competition, but I do like to research and study new keywords to add for myself. So the goal is not to outrank this person but it’s to rank in search results and get new bookings for my business, service or products. And you probably wouldn’t notice the way a term is being used to help your competitor which could also help you.
- Keyword Planner. This used to be a great tool by Google Adwords, but hey, it still works… it’s just not as grandiose as before. Basically, you don’t need to be paying for Adwords to use this free tool. Go here, and from Adwords dashboard, you type in a keyword and it will show you results for keyword ideas and exact keywords. Remember to be on the lookout for low/medium competition and avoid the high ones if you can.
- Pinterest. I feel like a broken record every time I mention that Pinterest is a wealth of SEO knowledge. Seriously, stop right now, go to Pinterest and do a search. Watch the words that show up below in tabs, and this will give you so many other ideas about your keywords. THEN check the articles that are popping up. Look at their text copy and at the hashtags and the descriptions. This will open up a wealth of information that you can add to your list as well. I have done a few videos on Pinterest on my youtube channel so check it out here.
- Ask your clients and past clients. As a solopreneur, we tend to really be sucked into a vacuum because it is a lonely thing to work from home or the occasional Starbucks. We start to think too much from the business side of our industry and forget how everyday people converse and search. No, truly, we do. Stop and do a quick survey to ask your blog readers, newsletter folks or even social media audience what terms they would use to search for X keyword, then sit back and see if you learn anything new. You may be surprised.
- ÜberSuggest. This tool sometimes has some weird results, but there may be some nuggets in there. Also, it’s free to use, so it’s worth checking out. They give you results in ABC of keyword variations, and you can export the results. I tend to retain only a little of what I find, but I do use it once in a while.
- Online forums and groups. Not only can you check how and what folks are talking about regarding a specific topic, but you can also plug the URL of the forum into the keyword planner and see what terms keep coming up. For example, you can use the advanced search for Twitter and see the language that’s being used around the keywords you want to be found for. Then go back to Keyword planner and see if any new results comes up.
- Amazon book titles. I’ll bet you didn’t expect this one here, huh! Amazon is huge, right? It’s like its own mini search engine, so take your topic and plug it into Amazon to see which book titles come up. You may find some new interesting keywords for your business. This will show you what the current thought leaders are saying about that specific topic, and I’d even read some of the top reviews of the favorite titles you find to see if there are keywords and phrases there that you haven’t thought about before.
Time for a Freebie! Download this PDF cheat sheet so you can do your own research and find extra keywords to help your small business get found online.
Check off each tool you have used and what you have found. Remember, you should be always compiling your master worksheet or a place where you store your main and alternative keyword lists. If you have no idea what I am talking about when I say keywords, start here!