Using competitor’s keywords from a site that is already high-ranking in Google is an excellent strategy. The alternative is the often-used tactic of entering random keywords into whatever “tool de jour” is popular today. We prefer the simpler and more successful reverse engineering technique explained below. Especially since those keywords are already proven to be successful.
Continue reading to learn how finding the right keywords for your organic SEO campaign is critical and how to find great ones for your business.
Step-By-Step Instructions on ‘Borrowing’ Keywords
Stealing might be a bit too strong of a word, so let’s call it ‘borrowing’ keywords from competitors. Here’s the breakdown:
First, search Google for a competing site that is ranking in the 1st five spots in Google, since these sites get 89% of all organic clicks. According to an Ignite Visibility study, the top three spots get 60% of these clicks. The power of being in the top five spots is enormous.
In our previous blog, we mentioned dry eyes, so let us continue with that example. AllAboutVision is a site that often is ranking high in Google. In fact, when searching “dry eyes,” they come up in the #1 and #2 spots, so we are definitely interested in their SEO.
Then, let’s conduct organic research on allaboutvision.com into my SEO tool. There are many different ones out there such as SEMRush, Spyfu, and MOZ. You will get a list of keywords that are already proven to be ranked on their page.
Finally, look for those keywords pertaining to your particular site. Focus on those keywords that make sense to your audience and brand. Sort by monthly search volume to find low-competition keywords that will benefit your search engine marketing.
Simple, right?
A Friendly Word of Advice
A word of caution: Don’t rush to include as many of these keywords as you possibly can into your page. If readers don’t find what they are looking for quickly on your page, the “Dwell Time” will be dismal to send your page down instead of up.
Instead, try to target keywords that mind-blowing content can be created around.
In a later blog, we will discuss how this topical content can be leveraged for SEO.