5 Rules for Your Sub-Brand Keyword Strategy

If you’ve tried Coca-Cola, you’ve probably had a Diet Coke.

If you use Google as your preferred search engine, chances are you have a Gmail account.

What’s the link between the two? Both are high-profile companies with high-profile sub-brands.

Think of a sub-brand as a room in a house and the house as your brand. Successful sub-branding means targeting the right audience with the right product.

If sub-brands are part of your company’s brand architecture, a well-defined sub-brand SEO strategy helps keep the lines clear.

Brands like Coca-Cola and Google do this well, making it clear how their sub-brands are related to but different from the parent brand. From an SEO perspective, this makes for an ideal keyword strategy.

I want to help you do the same with your brand architecture.

These five rules will help keep your sub-brand SEO keyword strategy true to your brand image while allowing your sub-brands to uniquely stand out.

Why Do Businesses Create Sub-Brands?

To sub-brand or not to sub-brand?

That is the question.

As you build your business’ brand, it’s tempting—and often strategic—to widen your footprint over time.

Companies across all industries have portfolios with multiple brands. Sometimes they develop these brands themselves. Sometimes they acquire them.

There are a lot of good reasons to create a sub-brand. Here are a few:

To Target Specific Audiences

In some cases, a business might want to distinguish between its flagship brand and sub-brands that target more specific audiences.

Take the car brand Toyota and its luxury sub-brand Lexus, for example. The brands operate independently under the Toyota umbrella, but they market to different target audiences. Having separate brands allows them to connect with each on a deeper level.

To Tap Into New Markets

Sub-brands are an opportunity to reach new audiences. Appealing to a new niche allows the parent brand to:

Build a stronger bond with their current customer base
Attract new customers
Expand into a new, profitable revenue stream

Another approach might be for product expansion. Companies can use sub-brands to test a product on the market under a different brand name.

Who can say where they might end up?

To Uniquely Market Different Products

Whatever the motivations, sub-brands should stay true to the parent brand’s mission as they develop.

Each product has its own personality, feel, and set of features even though they are all separate items under the same umbrella company. This also means each sub-brand needs a separate budget for marketing and promotion.

So, of course, your sub-brand SEO keyword strategy needs to be sharp to support it.

Influencing search engines will take time, but it pays off when the conversions your strategy drives show up in audience and revenue.

#1: Think About the Audiences for Your Main and Sub-Brands

Look at the demand of your audience and prospective audience. How are you going to meet their needs with a sub-brand?

To answer this question, you must determine their search intent. Use keyword research to formulate this strategy.

Your content needs to provide them with the information they need. From your branding to your content, you want to spark a unique relationship with your target audience.

As I’ve said in the past, brand-loyal people want to find a brand to be loyal to.

The company’s business goals should serve as the cornerstone of the choice to expand. How you go about your sub-brand SEO strategies is unique to your desired outcome.

For example, I bet you didn’t know Converse was a sub-brand of Nike.

Well, if you’re on Converse’s marketing team, using “running shoe” as the sub-brand’s SEO keyword would be “off brand.” A more fitting keyword for the strategy would be “high top sneakers.”

So, while Converse is a sub-brand of Nike, their keyword strategy sets them apart from the parent company to see self-sustaining conversions.

You’ll notice when the right combination of keywords serves the company and sub-brand’s goals.

How will you know you hit that sweet spot?

Your audience will tell you.

Insights from your content performance metrics and ROI will reveal a wealth of resources. Then, you can sustain those wins by following that same strategy, adjusting as needed.

#2: Keep an Eye on Your Competition

You’ll need to keep an eye out for the competition as you expand. A strong sense of your audience and competitors will help differentiate your sub-brand.

Say you want to step into a market and challenge the industry norms.

Think of some of your favorite parent companies. Now, think of some of their spin-off ideas that have been successful.

Who did you think of?

I thought of Apple.

For instance, Apple offers a variety of tech products. These products bear the Apple logo and support the parent company.

Apple is not a product in and of itself, but each sub-brand leverages Apple’s brand value and appeals to various market niches.

When Apple first started, they wanted to be perceived as the alternative to the mainstream. Sub-brands help carry out this plan. Think about how users proudly declare their loyalty to Apple products: “No PCs for me; I am a Mac guy.” “I don’t have an MP3 player; I have an iPod.” “It’s not a Blackberry; it’s an iPhone.”

Sub-brands allow Apple to stand out from the competition in completely different markets. Google’s algorithm favors domain diversity, meaning that you’re not likely to see a ton of pages from the same domain in a given SERP. This means that when talking sub-brands, you want to use as many domains as possible.

While the previous examples leveraged Apple’s brand equity, the company has also had success with sub-brands that stand alone.

A multi-domain SEO strategy, not to be confused with subdomain, helps them market Shazam as a sub-brand under the Apple brand. While branded as an individual product, Shazam is set up as a separate domain that drives traffic back to Apple’s domain. It feeds in users through Apple Music.

While it’s not a go-to SEO technique like keyword optimization, a multiple-domain SEO strategy is an out-of-the-box play that doubles your chance to rank for multiple domains.

With sub-brand SEO, you can implement a multiple-domain strategy without devaluing the brand by strengthening its approach to their audience and against competitors.

#3: Avoid Keyword Cannibalization at All Costs

Before you make your way down sub-brand SEO street, don’t take a wrong turn with your content due to keyword cannibalization.

If more than one of your pages pop up for the same search query, you’re competing against yourself. Because they target the same keywords, your pages eat into each other’s performance (hint: why we call it cannibalization).

Keyword cannibalization problems don’t come with a “one-size-fits-all” solution. There are unique approaches to address different cannibalization issues.

Those approaches include:

Merging Page Topics: Try to merge pages with similar topics that are getting in the way of how the page is competing among others.

Page Re-optimization: Taking another stab at the topic by re-optimizing pages helps set clear intentions for the page.

Redirect lesser-performing content: Once you determine which of the cannibalizing pages is the strongest, remove other pages and broken links you no longer need. From here, you can perform regular content audits. You’ll want to make your topics come first and have your keywords work for them.

Fix cannibalization issues and you’ll pull in your audience, further establishing brand authority in your industry.

#4 Be Realistic About Keyword Difficulty

Estimating keyword difficulty reveals how hard it will be to rank first on Google. As you brainstorm the “keyword bank” you want to use for your sub-brand, remember it needs to be realistic and profitable.

The difficulty of a keyword is determined by variables like domain authority, page authority, and content quality. So, use these points to guide you toward the ones that fit your sub-brand best.

Say your sub-brand is a dog treat expansion from your main dog food line:

An SEO tool like Ubersuggest tells you which keywords are most difficult to rank for. An easy keyword difficulty score lands between 0 and 29. From the list above, you can see they all rank over 30, meaning the competition is tough. This report also gives you a sense of the keywords your competition is targeting.

Another helpful highlight is user search intent. Before stepping into a particular market, this helps see how your potential audience might benefit from using your sub-brand as their solution.

Sub-brand SEO optimization is like a marathon and may not reach its full potential overnight.

However, targeting a term with a high keyword difficulty like “dog treats” is still worthwhile. If the ROI is good enough and the potential conversion rate is acceptable, go for it!

Even if a keyword has a low difficulty rating, is it really worth targeting if the ROI shows that there is little chance of making money from it and that it is not frequently searched for?

#5: Think About Brand Architecture at All Times

You are placing your company in danger if you don’t keep a sub-brand in step with its parent company. You’re not taking full advantage of the parent brand’s equity if you implement a sub-brand’s strategy in isolation.

This could potentially hurt the parent brand’s credibility. We saw this when Old Navy overtook the Gap as a sub-brand by strategizing in isolation.

A crucial component of the brand architecture “home” is the strategy it takes to build out a room (a sub-brand). Remember the house example I explained to you earlier? With a sub-brand, you have to think about the layout and how it fits within the parent company, or “home.”

Examine the brand strategy of your parent company while keeping in mind the prospect of future sub-brands. How can you expand to offer more solutions to your audience? What new markets do you want to conquer?

FAQs

What is a sub-brand?

A sub-brand is formed when a brand extends to one or more new individual product categories. Based on the outcomes of this expansion, sub-brands can be an effective marketing tool.

A sub-brand uses a unique name to develop its own brand, though that name sometimes complements or plays off the name of the parent brand. A sub-brand also has its own client expectations and personalities distinct from the parent company.

What does a sub-brand mean?

A sub-brand is created when a primary brand expands. Take Diet Coke for instance. It has a unique color code, yet it incorporates the iconic Coca-Cola logo with the recognizable bottle shape.

Sub-brands are frequently developed as a way to connect with untapped markets. Sub-brands can then establish themselves in the new market on behalf of the parent company.

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Conclusion

The idea of sub-branding is not new.

Through sub-branding and brand extensions, iconic companies have discovered how to increase brand recognition and “go global” over the years.

Maintaining your parent brand’s vision for the future is easier if you map out how the sub-brand’s growth will affect it, and vice versa.

Your brand is only as strong as your brand architecture. So, be strategic about how you build out your “home”—from parent company to sub-brand(s).

Sub-brand SEO helps you be deliberate with how you build out this idea.

The more in-tune you are with your long-term goals, the easier it is to figure out your initial direction for a new product line.

Keep your intentions clear at all times, making sure that each new entity has a stand-alone personality and functions within the larger framework of your parent company.

Are you considering launching a sub-brand? Do you need to review your brand architecture so your SEO efforts work in your favor? Get in touch with my team and we will help you brainstorm your options.

How To Use Google Keyword Planner

Worried about your first steps into SEO? There’s a lot to think about, that’s for sure.

For example, you may be thinking keyword research is essential, but a drag on your workflow.

You’re not entirely wrong, but I can make sure you have the tools to speed the research time up.

The Google Keyword Planner (you probably remember it as the Google Keyword Tool) is a fantastic optimization option that you may not be making the most out of.

Trying to reach the front page in Google searches? Understanding the Keyword Planner is essential.

Most people don’t use a tool without looking at a manual.

But it’s even better if someone can explain it to you.

I want to make sure you know how to use Google Keyword Planner to its full potential.

Let me give you that insight, starting with the basics.

What is Google Keyword Planner?

Google Keyword Planner (GKP) is an SEO tool designed to find keywords with sufficient search volume. Finding keywords with enough search volume allows a website to be indexed and ranked.

Whether you are in charge of an active website, blog, or e-commerce site, you can use GKP to

generate more traffic, promote apps, and create paid campaigns, among other uses.

Why is Google Keyword Planner Useful?

The main attraction of Google Keyword Planner is that it is developed by Google itself. You can’t get much better than that in the search engine segment.

“But Neil, aren’t there other keyword planners that do the same?”

Of course, and with great features, but not as complete as Keyword Planner.

The more you explore the tool, the more value you find.

Here’s why it’s an above-average tool.

Accessing Google Keyword Planner

What’s great is you don’t have to spend a dime to gain access and get started.

But you do have to create a Google Ads account first.

Even if you’re not planning on exploring ads on Google, you’ll need to create an account to use Keyword Planner.

AdWords just takes a couple minutes to set up. Then, you’re ready to start planning.

Following the ‘Google Ads Account’ prompts, you’ll want to ‘Create a campaign without a goal’s guidance.’

After you confirm your business details, find the ‘Tools & Settings’ icon to reveal the menu for ‘Keyword Planner.’

Google Ads overview page for a campaign.

Now that you’re ready to use the Keyword Planner, let’s put it to work.

How To Use Google Keyword Planner Step-By-Step

You’ll start from this screen and decide if you want to ‘Discover new keywords’ or “Get search volume and forecasts.”

Since I want to show you some new ideas, let’s click ‘Discover new keywords.’

When looking for new opportunities, you can gain insight into what your potential audience or customers are searching for.

Getting specific will help you hit your target audience in a way that feels natural.

These new terms make the start of your campaign.

These new terms will be the basis of your new content.

Step 1: Keyword Discovery

From “Discover new keywords,’ you have the option to ‘start with keywords’ or ‘start with a website.’

A keyword discovery feature of Google Ads.

Say you’re a sterling silver jewelry brand and want to compete for new keywords. Let’s see what new content you can rank for.

Step 2: Organic Keyword Search

Under ‘Enter products or services closely related to your business,’ let’s play around with keyword possibilities. You can change the language and location or choose not to include brand names in the results.

I would skip ‘Enter a domain to use as a filter’ so we’re not limited in our results.

Let’s test out some broad keywords.

Think of the key products or services in relation to your business. From here, we’ll see if they have some high-yielding opportunities.

The discovery feature in Google Ads with an example term of "Jewelry" highlighted.

Step 3: Analyze Keyword Results

Many keyword results will load. Based on what’s presented, here’s what we have:

Keep note of how being broad yet specific to your business offerings will show users’ search intent. You can even see which factors change over time. Maybe everyone is searching for jewelry near Christmas time. With this information, you can use these keyword variations to meet their needs.

The more insight you have, the more strategic you can be. You will know to order more of a certain item or see where you can expand your product offerings.

This is what everyone loves about GKP.

What To Do With Your Google Keyword Planner Results

How you use the Google Keyword Planner tool will depend on what you need to know.

Based on your inputs, let’s analyze the results together.

We can filter the list now, aiming for keywords best for you from the ‘Keywords Results Page.’

Keyword ideas for the term jewelry, provided by Google Ads.

You can break things down like this based on these features: locations, language, search networks, and desired date(s).

What does this mean?

‘Locations’ is easy. This pertains to which country or region(s) you consider your target market.

‘Language’ pertains to the native tongue of that country or region(s) you consider your target market. You’ll need to make sure the language and context you use in your content is accurate to the area.

‘Search networks’ pertains to where you want to have your ads displayed. I think Google is the option that makes the most sense. This also includes Google’s search partners, like YouTube.

‘Desired date(s)’ will depend on the period you want to review. The last 12 months is a good starting point unless you have a special search need.

Once you filter from here, you can analyze keyword ideas.

Using the Google Keyword Planner tool for desired keywords looks like this: keyword (by relevance), average monthly searches, and competition. A bonus is the top of page bid, which assesses that keyword’s potential for monetization. The higher the bid, the more likely heavy traffic it’s driving in.

But let’s break down these points.

Keyword (by relevance) results pertain to what Google says is most relevant in relation to the keyword or URL you input.

Average monthly searches pertain to the range of the search volume. Think of this as a rough estimate until you plan your campaign and review the impressions. Impressions will show you the exact number you will likely yield.

Competition pertains to those bidding on the same keyword(s) as you. Keep this number in mind when analyzing any user search intent. Your potential leads are within these results.

Get your technique together because these results will be how you beat your competition.

Ubersuggest vs Google Keyword Planner

Your SEO keyword planner options only get better.

There are many SEO tools that are just as effective and free like the Google Keyword Planner.

In fact, there are tools like Ubersuggest that have the same features ⁠— if not more.

But don’t take my word for it.

Let’s compare the two.

Every tool comes with pros and cons.

Some common downfalls of the GKP include average search volumes. Remember how I told you really have to look close at impressions for the exact number? This confuses users and makes them question the value of these results.

In comparison to the GKP, Ubersuggest is recommended for keyword results when generating content ideas. There’s a wide range of options within the features to find more and more ideas. This is something Google Keyword Planner couldn’t sustain, leading to the removal of the ‘Closely Related Ideas’ feature. Since this feature is no longer available, users are turning to website filtering through GKP. But it is lacking in delivering an array of keywords to create content topics from.

Ubersuggest picks up where GKP lacks ⁠⁠— offering keyword ideas. The keywords are formed from similar websites, packaged in content ideas, and even keyword clusters. From clusters of keywords, you can broaden your reach and still stick to one general keyword idea.

Keyword ideas for the term "pet groomer", provided by Ubersuggest.

I also enjoy the newest keyword feature, ‘Keyword Visualization.’ Meaning you can discover how people word things for their search and stem out to other options.

With Ubersuggest, you don’t have to miss these opportunities (which many have complained about with GKP). This happens because insights aren’t visible at the time of the search, or are based on the ads running.

When you have to make predictions, this isn’t helpful in your planning phase.

While Google Keyword Planner is a great tool, sometimes, you have to use one too many hacks for it to work in your favor.

I want to get you acting on your results faster.

Ubersuggest Free Features

You want a keyword planner that’s going to work with your goals.

It’s even better if the tool can expand on them.

That’s what Ubersuggest does.

Keyword and content ideas provided by Ubersuggest.

These results for ‘sterling silver jewelry’ are immediate and expansive.

GKP, by comparison, takes a little more time for you to get used to the tool in order to yield the information you need.

Use the results from Ubersuggest to generate traffic and ultimately form content strategies.

Use them wisely in headlines and articles and watch your audience grow with quality.

This is what makes Ubersuggest worth it.

Plus, if you need quick and accurate results, this tool gets the job done.

FAQs

Is Google Keyword Planner still free?

Yes, it is still free. All you need is a Google Ads account. If you don’t have one, sign up and follow the on-screen prompts. Go to “Tools” located at the top right of the screen to “Discover new keywords” or “Get search volume forecasts.” Now, you can get to work on your SEO-driven keywords search.

Can you use Google Keyword Planner for SEO?

Yes, under “Discover new keywords,” you can start finding keywords that closely relate to your product or service. You can even enter a domain you want to review. You will then be able to filter and sort through the data you need to analyze which keyword ideas will benefit you.

Conclusion

Google Keyword Planner is a fantastic tool, and it only gets better the more you master it.

Despite being tied to the ad platform, it remains a great choice for top- and middle-funnel content marketing strategies.

Although the tool has its drawbacks, other tools can assist you to get around them. Make sure you have the exact data you need to decide how to proceed with your efforts.

If you’re looking for that supplementary tool, Ubersuggest can help you extract exact data.

I want you to have a leg up on your competition. This will be possible with the new agent to draw the data points you need for success.

So, give Ubersuggest a try against or with Google Keyword Planner and tell me what you think.

What has your experience with Google Keyword Planner been like? Have you tried Ubersuggest’s free capabilities as well? Tell me which one you prefer.

Local SEO Keyword Research (Step-by-Step Guide)

Have you heard the line ‘ if you build it, they will come’? In case you don’t know, it’s from the late 80s Kevin Costner movie ‘Field of Dreams.’

It’s an inspiring quote, but when local business owners set up their websites, it doesn’t really hold true. They believe once they’re set up online, prospects start flocking to their doors wanting quotes, making orders, or signing up for their mailing lists. However, that isn’t the case for many people.

That’s not just conjecture on my part. Research shows that 77.23 percent of local business owners surveyed struggled to get online visibility.

According to the same survey, 42.85 percent believe that Google favors larger brands. Now, don’t get me wrong. High-profile businesses do tend to perform better online simply because more people are looking for them. However, that doesn’t mean your local company website can’t compete for local keywords.

All it takes is some careful local keyword research and a detailed local SEO strategy, and that’s exactly what I’m going to talk about today.

Why Is Local SEO Important?

Local SEO is valuable because it helps small companies reach potential customers who are looking for products or services in their area.

For example, if you own a home repair business, you would want to target people in your local area who may need your services. In other words, local keyword research targets potential customers who are already interested in what you have to offer.

When done correctly, local keyword research:

Generates more leads and sales.
Helps you rank higher in local search results, increasing website traffic.
Makes it easier for searchers to find you when they’re searching for local businesses on their mobile devices.
Builds trust and credibility with potential customers through reviews.

Research also supports the importance of local SEO. According to Statista, 35 percent of consumers go online multiple times weekly to find local businesses.

That’s not all, though. The research shows that 21 percent of consumers use the internet daily to find local businesses.

These stats demonstrate that as a local business, you need to be visible online, but perhaps you need some more evidence? Okay, here goes.

There are plenty of case studies showing how small businesses can benefit from local keyword research and SEO optimization. Just search for ‘local SEO case studies’, and you can see what I mean.

What Makes Local Keyword Research Unique

As I’ve already detailed, the main focus of local SEO and local keyword research is attracting more leads and gaining more customers.

However, aside from using local SEO to target a particular geographic area, there’s plenty more that makes local SEO different.

The most obvious is Google’s ranking factors. With local searches, the search engine giant considers several vital areas, such as:

The searcher’s location
The sentiment and keywords in online reviews
Name, address, and phone number quotations
A Google My Business profile and relevant keywords
Your Google Maps star rating
Social media interest

To improve your local SEO further, Google offers these tips:

Verify your location, to help improve visibility in local search.
Keep your opening hours up to date, especially around holiday times. This lets local consumers know you’re open, so they don’t have a wasted visit.
Manage/respond to reviews, to show you appreciate and act on feedback. Review management is also essential as positive reviews inspire consumer confidence, and can enhance business visibility.
Add photos and in-store listings. Images showcase your store and products, to give customers a deeper understanding of what you’re selling and whether the products are right for them.

Google also considers relevance, distance, and prominence (your overall web presence), including content, backlinks, and directory listings.

Another factor that makes local keyword research unique is the emphasis on modifiers. The search terms you integrate into writing must be super specific to your location. For example, if you’re a business in Austin, Texas, you would want to use keywords like ‘Austin restaurants’ rather than just ‘restaurants.’

Additionally, voice search is essential to local SEO. Research shows that 74 percent of people use voice search at least weekly to find local businesses, while 76 percent of voice search users choose smart speakers at least once a week, with most searching daily.

A further survey from SEMrush suggests optimizing voice search for each smart speaker (Alexa, Siri, Google Assistant, etc.) and has some helpful tips to enable you to do this:

Infographic from SEMrush showing facts about leveraging voice search for local businesses.

The above graphic also includes some useful tips you can introduce into your local keyword research strategy.

How To Find The Best Local Keywords

You know the importance of local keyword research, but how do you discover the best ones to use? Fortunately, it’s not as complicated as it may seem. Just follow these tips.

Find Industry-Related Local Keywords

To do this, first, consider what you offer and what services or products you want to promote; then brainstorm a list of keywords related to your business.

Alternatively, a simple way to find local-based keywords is using Google search results. Type in your main keyword and scroll down to the bottom of the page. There, you’ll see a section called ‘related searches.’ For example, a small business located in Miami could target the keyword ‘Miami dentist.’

Then:

Once you have a list of keywords, do online research to see how popular they are. You can use tools like Ubersuggest, Google Keyword Planner, or Google Trends to get this information. You could also use tools like Ubersuggest to analyze competitor keywords and see if it’s feasible to overtake them in the rankings.
Another way is to type a keyword into the Google search bar and watch as the autocomplete suggestions appear, giving you some great ideas for related local keywords.

Use Keyword Modifiers

Using keyword modifiers lets you focus your efforts on specific areas or types of searches for targeted traffic and better results from your local SEO efforts.

These modifiers can include location-based terms like ‘near me,’ ‘in my area,’ or ‘local.’ Or you might use ‘car mechanic Cincinnati’ or ‘local mechanic Cincinnati.’

Again, use Autosuggest, related search, or competitive keyword research to see the terms others are using.

Consider Keyword Intent

What are your prospects looking for? Are they looking to buy a product or service, find out more information, or just browsing? Once you know the searcher’s intent, you can better target your keywords and content to meet their needs. Use the same techniques, like Autosuggest, to get an idea of the keywords users are typing in.

Google Places Search Bar

Another great tool for finding local keywords is the Google Places search bar.

A map of Sydney, Australia from Google Maps.

When you do a geographical search by entering a location in the search bar, you get a ‘pick list,’ which includes places and likely search terms.

Once you have a list of keywords, it’s essential to analyze them and determine which ones are the best fit for your business.

Implicit Vs. Explicit Local Keywords

When doing local keyword research, there are two main ways to target your audience: implicit and explicit.

Implicit targeting is when a user searches for a term like ‘hardware store’ or ‘DIY.’ but doesn’t include specifics like location.

In simple terms, Google basically guesses what you’re looking for and offers your location-based results.

To find out what implicit local keywords might be important to your business, do some research online and talk to your customers. Ask them how they would search for a company like yours if they were looking for one in their area.

On the other hand, explicit local keyword targeting involves search terms that people use when looking for your product or service. For example, ‘Dentist in Santa Barbara’ or ‘Hairdresser in Venice Beach.’

How To Use Your Competition In Your Local Keyword Research

Can you really steal your competitors’ keywords? Absolutely! Just use a tool to conduct competitive research to find out what keywords they’re using.

There are a few ways to assess and use your competition in your local keyword research:

1. Look at the keywords they are targeting and see if there are any that you’re also targeting. Chances are, if your competitors are targeting a keyword, it’s because it’s profitable and has a lot of search volume.

2. See what their website looks like and how they rank for their target keywords. This can give you ideas on how to improve your website and rank higher for your target keywords. For less competition, you could take the opposite approach and target keywords your rivals aren’t using. Just make sure they’ve got a worthwhile search volume.

3. Review what content they are creating around their target keywords.

4. Look at the SERPs and pay attention to keywords. These terms are usually in bold.

Now let’s look at some tools to make your local keyword research easier.

The Best Local SEO Keyword Research Tools

I’ve already referenced my tool. Ubersuggest, but it’s worthy of another mention here. It’s an easy-to-use tool that delivers:

Keyword and content ideas
Keywords by traffic
Similar websites
And plenty more besides

For example, if I search for ‘digital marketing agencies California,’ I get:

Keyword ideas from Ubersuggest about digital marketing.

You can also choose from ‘prepositions,’ ‘related,’ ‘comparisons,’ and ‘questions,’ to get a better idea of search intent.

Other tools to consider:

Google Keyword Planner. With this tool, you can see competitive keywords and get ideas for other related keywords.
Moz Local to get a free listing score and see where you stand.
SERPStat to help you further analyze your competition and for SEO purposes.

Ultimately, the best way to find the right keywords for your business is to experiment with different tools and techniques and analyze what works for you.

FAQs

What is Local Keyword Research?

Local keyword research aims to identify relevant keywords that people are likely to use when searching for businesses like yours online.

How do I research keywords for local SEO?

Using the right tools is essential. After all, if potential customers can’t find you in your area, you’re missing out on a lot of business. Ubersuggest, Google Keyword Planner, and Moz’s Keyword Planner all get you off to a great start. Then there’s competitive analysis, viewing the SERPs to see what’s ranking, and using autocomplete.

How do I find the best local keywords?

When it comes to doing local keyword research, there are a few things you need to keep in mind. Consider what your customers might search for when they want to find your business and brainstorm. Then, conduct local keyword research with tools like Ubersuggest, Google’s Autosuggest, or People Also Ask. You can also view the SERPs and look for keywords.

Conclusion

Local keyword research should be an essential part of any small business marketing plan.

By understanding the keywords people in your area are searching for, you can create content and advertising that speaks to them directly, and by using the right tools like Ubersuggest, it’s easy to find out what those keywords are.

Search intent is also a vital part of online visibility, so don’t overlook that area if you want local customers to discover you online.

Do you use local keyword research? Share how you got your business on the map below.

Preventing Keyword Cannibalization with Ubersuggest

The name of the SEO game has changed so much since I started in the industry.

Driven by sales made on social media and social ecommerce booming earlier than expected, along with businesses wanting to bulk up their online presence, search volumes have increased tremendously over the years.

These days, Google processes over 100,000 searches per second, every day. Chances are, people are looking for all types of businesses, from a digital marketing agency to the newest brunch spot in their area.

Users are demanding relevant content. So, keywords play a critical role in your page rank.

While a steady stream of relevant content is helpful to your audience, keyword cannibalization could threaten your content’s performance.

You don’t want to weaken your content production engine by having a weak SEO keyword strategy or focusing too much on the same topics.

The words you choose will dictate not only who will see your content, but how it performs. If you’re consistently adding to your site, you may need an audit. This is important so you don’t showcase similar topics, causing keyword cannibalization.

Is your content taking a bite out of your chances for high-ranking opportunities?

You can’t have your high Google rank and eat it too.

So, don’t make this big SEO mistake.

Let’s break down why keyword cannibalization is harmful to your site and how I can help you fix it with the right tool.

What Is Keyword Cannibalization?

Believe it or not, this is a common problem with SEO.

Having multiple pages on your website optimized for the same or similar search query can result in all pages ranking poorly.

Keyword cannibalization is when you become your own competition for the top-ranking position, but this isn’t a good thing.

These pages are eating away at each other’s organic performance, hurting your search rankings.

The issue of keyword cannibalization confuses search engines as well as users.

You’ll need to switch up your SEO keyword strategy to not lose page authority, slate your relevant pages, or waste your crawl budget.

If this term doesn’t sound familiar to you, check out my explanation on “what is keyword cannibalization?” to sharpen your keyword strategy.

What Do Site Owners Get Wrong With Keyword Strategies That Leads to Keyword Cannibalization?

After laying the foundation for your online presence, you may find issues with your content and your SEO keyword strategy. With so much content, you’re bound to cover topics more than once.

For example, WP Engine has multiple content categories, but by using keywords to shape or refresh their content, they can avoid cannibalization issues.

To avoid SEO missteps, figure out how to avoid keyword cannibalization.

It’s likely to be resolved by reimagining your keyword strategy. Even if you’re a new brand, it is good to keep this practice in mind.

Don’t feel bad about this happening on your site.

Targeting similar keywords on multiple pages will reveal the flaw to this formula – and may even cost you your page rank. So, what goes wrong in a keyword strategy to lead to this?

Not Having a Targeted Keyword Strategy

Simply put: a targeted keyword strategy is the steps taken to find keywords in your research, content planned based on those keywords, and tracking of the keywords’ results.

How you target those keywords is what’s important. So, I suggest you look into keywords in relation to your product and what your competitors are doing for more opportunity.

Your insights from these results show how you make informed decisions with your efforts.
Don’t ruin your chances for potential leads by not having a targeted keyword strategy.

If you’re just getting started or conducting an SEO audit, creating your keyword strategy will be a good start to organizing search marketing tactics.

After all, being accessible in the SERPs is what will be valuable and profitable to your brand.

Not Having Keyword Tracking in Place

Choosing the right SEO keywords to optimize is key, but how will you know which words or phrases to pick without a plan?

I recommend you get an actionable flow going.

Start with monitoring the rankings of your site and your competitors on a daily to weekly basis. Active keyword tracking lets you see where your competitors are having success and if you’re missing out on potential opportunities. You can see the below example of how this looks on Ubersuggest.

A screenshot of Ubersuggest's analytics features, showing which keywords are ranking through a keyword strategy.

Knowing this information, you can make informed movements to maintain performance and outrank the competition for target keywords.

With an understanding of your competition, you can increase your visibility as well. Having a share of voice on your target keywords will reveal which keywords are the right fit for you.

You will then increase client visibility of your content. However, this isn’t our only goal.

Once you’re tracking your keyword position regularly, you can measure SEO or PPC efforts. This will extend your lens of overall visibility to pinpoint customer defining keywords.

Getting this detail-oriented with keyword tracking will help you analyze search intent. This step will save your content marketing efforts because you won’t be “getting lucky.”

Analytics will show you why people search for certain keywords, so you don’t have to guess.

Conducting these searches on Google will show you the intent behind the search, and why it’s relevant to your products, services, or content.

Building Content Around Keywords, Not Topics

No more guessing means you can build content around keywords and not topics.

Expanding from a keyword is what will make your SEO keyword strategy tactical. Content based on topics may not be what your audience wants. Remember to watch the metrics to see the response to keywords in your content.

Topics can keep your content organized, but keywords will suggest the direction to take content for ideal engagement and responses. Different types of keywords can work towards different goals in search engines. While short-tail keywords may have high search volume, long-tail keywords are more focused, which could mean a higher conversion rate.

A little secret is getting short-tail keywords worked into your long-tail keywords.

For example, say you’re a copywriter coach, and your long-tail keyword is SEO website copywriter coach. You have at least three short-tail keywords within this long-tail keyword to help you reach your intended audience.

Keywords being divided into categories helps with reach as well. From geo-targeting to contextual keywords, search engines can put you in front of exactly who’s looking for you.

So, you see, it’s not the topic, but the keyword that will work to your advantage.

Having Too Many Smaller Pages on Similar Topics

Here’s the deal: Pages have to be unique to perform well.

There are a few things you can do for these smaller pages to eliminate keyword cannibalization:

Combine the content: If the topics are similar, fold them into one piece. This way, you can design an updated and robust long-form piece.
Analyze backlink opportunities: Once you see where you can backlink to, you will know what topics you have already covered. This way, you can keep a wide range of content with intentional keyword usage.
Use a keyword research tool: Google Analytics or Search Console can help you track keywords. You can also do a site search on Google using a simple formula. Type Site: YourDomain.com Keyword and you can see your page rank for these specific keywords.

A screenshot of a keyword research tool showing which keywords a given domain is ranking for.

However, I have another advanced keyword research tool you can put to the test.

Building a Content Strategy With Ubersuggest: Step-by-Step

Remember: we’re trying to get comprehensive data for your SEO keyword strategy.

The data reveals the topic’s importance to your audience. This way your content can successfully convert based on the keyword and spark further topic ideas.

To do so, it is best we use a keyword research tool to prevent cannibalization.

Using a keyword research tool like Ubersuggest will simplify things for you. All from one dashboard, you’ll be able to organize your effort to find keyword cannibalization quickly and spot competing pages on your site.

Let’s assess this from a clear overview of risk management for keyword cannibalization:

Scout Competitor Strategies

To optimize your online presence, conduct a competitor analysis. See where your competitors are ranking and aim to outrank them. Capitalize on an angle they missed for an opportunity to perform against their keywords.

So, let’s put Academy into Ubersuggest and see what keywords their competitors are ranking for.

A screenshot of Ubersuggest's analytics feature that displays the number of monthly traffic to a website.

We can now see the similar domains to Academy as well as their monthly traffic for the past year. If we scroll through the results, we can see Walmart is in the top ranking of all the competitors with similar domains.

A screenshot of Ubersuggest's analytics feature that showcases keywords that a given website is ranking for with a keyword strategy.

From this data, Academy can review the keyword ‘kayak’ and a couple others they can apply to their SEO keyword strategy based on what makes sense for their company.

They can conduct a competitive analysis and plan how to outrank Walmart for these keywords. This will make their page authority stronger and get them in front of more customers.

Find Keywords With Strong Search Volume That Are Relevant to Your Audience

Continuing with this search for Academy, look at the relevant keywords for their audience.

Would it make sense to use ‘shells’ as a keyword if you’re Academy, just because Walmart is high ranking for it?

No. Old El Paso taco shells aren’t a product Academy offers and wouldn’t make sense under their umbrella for “sports and outdoors” items.

However, footwear like the keywords ‘Crocs’ and ‘Converse’ follow the brand’s product offerings. The keyword ‘kayak’ applies as well, tying to the brand’s distribution of outdoor equipment.

These keywords have a strong search volume, where Academy has the chance to rank higher against competitors.

With Ubersuggest, the approach to content with keywords accurate to your content is a game-changer.

Regularly review the flow of your page URL, SEO title, and meta description to keywords. The analytics will speak for your audience through organic traffic and conversions.

Listen to the analytics. It’ll ultimately show the most valuable content on your site.

Create Solid Content Ideas That Incorporates the Keywords, Not the Other Way Around

Converting copy is the goal.

You’re not writing for readability alone. This is your chance to establish brand credibility.

Solid content copy matches your audience’s search intent with the goals of your keyword strategy. Keeping your content refreshed and orderly seals the package for attractive content delivered to your audience.

You will achieve the results you’re looking for with the help of incorporating aligning keywords.

Content copy in line with the keywords will make it easier for customers to find you. They will use keywords that you satisfy in content-rich pages that describe what they need.

You’ll know your keyword strategy is supporting your marketing strategy when these results materialize.

Build Your SEO Keyword Strategy Around Data From Ubersuggest

Use your data visualizations to guide you.

Build your best SEO keyword strategy on progression you make shown in graphs and other analytics. When you can see your visibility amongst customers, distribution, or even traffic, you can make data-driven decisions.

You don’t have to rely solely on Google for data, either. The Chrome extension for Ubersuggest allows you to get personal with the data. Insights from your backlinks, keywords, and traffic overview reveal new opportunities. With this information tailored to your site, you can get new content and keyword ideas to keep creating unique content.

That’s what really matters with SEO.

Users have reported the detailed charts have allowed them to reposition their rank. They did so by paying attention to keyword search volumes to guide their content creation.

The dashboard can be set based on your preferences and we regularly update to make sure we present the most accurate numbers for you to follow.

We make it easy for you to draw data and refine your keyword strategy.

Create and Establish a Tracking Plan

An effective keyword research tool like Ubersuggest can help you come up with a plan.

Your content relies on your keyword monitoring.

With a tracking plan, you’ll have metrics that show your rankings in search engines in relation to your choice keywords. From this overview of your site’s search engine presence, you can make adjustments where your SEO keyword strategy needs it.

You can group keywords to form topic clusters or content clusters. Grouping the content will help you rank high and have deep-rooted page authority. You can even establish which clusters will have a higher priority within your content.

Make sure your ideation reflects the keywords, so they have purpose in the content.

With our Keyword Lists feature, you can keep up with the progress and success of a keyword set.

A screenshot of Ubersuggest's keyword lists feature that helps you target keywords you want to rank for.

After using our Keyword Ideas feature, come to the Lists section and add in keywords to curate your list.

After adding in keywords to your list, let’s look at the results.

Now, you can see how the keywords input performs in search volume, average cost per click, paid difficulty, and SEO difficulty.

From here, you can establish which keywords will work best for you or reimagine your ideas.

Within your plan, you can even export this data to see how the data changes over time. As things change, you can continue to make adjustments to create a strong keyword strategy.

FAQs

How to avoid keyword cannibalization?

Each of your pages should have unique content. If not, you will struggle with keyword cannibalization. Having a batch of similar keywords and reviewing your backlink opportunities will reveal topics that may have been duplicated. Your SEO keyword strategy can’t help you rank if your content is siphoning traffic from itself. Having relevant content on the page that matches your keywords will help your content convert.

Keyword cannibalization examples

<h3> Keyword cannibalization examples </h3>
Let’s keep it simple: if two pages are targeting the same keyword, the one ranked the highest is “eating” traffic from the content on the other page. For example, if the URL rankings are always changing, it’s because Google is confused about which to rank higher. That fluctuating rank may cause the wrong post to rank higher. The keywords you aimed to rank for may also cause the piece to struggle. Your content must align with user search intent to avoid cannibalization.

How to fix keyword cannibalization?

Start with a search through Google using “Site: YourDomain.com Keyword” to see what information comes up from your site. If there are similar variations using these keywords, you can fix these keywords by combining the content. Additionally, batching all similar keywords in one piece and doing backlink research can curb this situation in the future.

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Conclusion

Once you have checked your site for keyword cannibalization, you can get back to driving conversions.

As I mentioned, this concept is a common SEO mistake. However, it’s also something that can be avoided.

Search algorithms are getting smarter every day when assigning ranks. Regularly audit your content to keep your keyword strategy in good shape as things change over time.

I don’t want to see your content falling victim to keyword cannibalization.

That’s why I made Ubersuggest so businesses can be more aware. With the Chrome extension, you can be even better prepared to make pivots at any time.

Using my approach and this keyword research tool, you can rid your site of keyword cannibalization.

Keep your content at the top of the page and constantly converting.

What other steps do you take to avoid keyword cannibalization?

Keyword Research: How to Do It, Tips, Tools & Examples

68 percent of online activity begins with queries in search engines like Google or Bing.

That’s why keyword research should be the basis of any online marketing campaign.

The goal of keyword research is to find out what your target audience is searching for online and determine what it will take to actually rank in search engines for those keywords.

Without knowing what keywords you should be targeting, how will you effectively optimize your website, target phrases for link building, or know what content to develop for your audience?

In this first section, we’ll go through setting up a spreadsheet for your keyword research and discover the best keywords for both your main website’s search engine optimization and topics for content development.

In the next section, we’ll discuss what data will help you choose the best keywords to target.

The final section will be a compilation of the top posts on keyword research.

What Is Keyword Research?

Keyword research refers to the process of discovering what search terms your target audience is entering in search engines to find businesses and websites like yours and optimizing your content so you appear in the search engine results.

For example, my target audience for this blog is primarily marketers and small businesses looking for help with their SEO and digital marketing strategies. This means I want pages from my website to appear in the SERPs when my audience searches for terms related to SEO and digital marketing.

Let’s say someone in my target audience is searching for “what is SEO?” I want to make sure I have content on my website that comes up early in the results for that search term. Luckily, I do! Here are some of the top results for the phrase:

Why Is Keyword Research Important?

If you want your audience to find your website–whether’s it to your blog, e-commerce website, or for local services like lawn care–you must develop a strategy to help them find you. That’s where keyword research comes in.

The top result in the Google search results for a given search query (aka “keyword”) gets the most traffic 49 percent of the time. The second results get the most traffic 22 percent of the time. By the time you get to the second page of Google, users click on each result less than one percent of the time.

In order to drive your audience to the website, you must identify the keywords they are searching for, and create content that matches their search intent.

How to Do Keyword Research

There are many methods and tools you can use for keyword research. We’ll outline some of those methods and tools below, so you can pick and choose what works best for you.

Prework: Spreadsheet Set Up

The first thing you will want to do is set up a spreadsheet to record your data.

I’ve set up a basic spreadsheet that you can access. This document has columns for data using all tools mentioned in the first two parts of this blog post.

You can add or delete columns as you wish in order to match your keyword research needs. The columns included are as follows.

Keyword
GAKT – Competition (Google Ads Keyword Planner)
GAKT – Global Monthly Searches (Google Ads Keyword Planner)
GAKT – Local Monthly Searches (Google Ads Keyword Planner)
GAKT – Approximate CPC (Google Ads Keyword Planner)
SEOmoz KA – Difficulty (Moz Keyword Explorer)
SEOmoz KA – Competitor 1 (Moz Keyword Explorer)
SEOmoz KA – Competitor 1 DA (Moz Keyword Explorer)
SEOmoz KA – Competitor 1 RDLRD (Moz Keyword Explorer)
SEOmoz KA – Competitor 2 (Moz Keyword Explorer)
SEOmoz KA – Competitor 2 DA (Moz Keyword Explorer)
SEOmoz KA – Competitor 2 RDLRD (Moz Keyword Explorer)
SEOmoz KA – Competitor 3 (Moz Keyword Explorer)
SEOmoz KA – Competitor 3 DA (Moz Keyword Explorer)
SEOmoz KA – Competitor 3 RDLRD (Moz Keyword Explorer)

In this section, we’ll cover filling up the columns with keyword and Google Ads Keyword Tool data.

In the following section, we’ll look at how to narrow down those keywords using the Moz Keyword Analysis tool (or some alternative methods if you are not a Pro member).

Saving the Google Docs Version

If you are signed into your Google account, simply use the File > Save option to save the spreadsheet to your documents and start filling it in with your information.

Downloading Excel and Open Office Versions

If you don’t have Google Docs, or would prefer to save it on your local machine, go to the Google Docs version and use the File > Download As to save it as your desired file type. I’d suggest Excel for best possible functionality.

Step 1: Keyword Discovery

The first phase of keyword research involves coming up with new keyword ideas.

Sometimes this is the most difficult part of the process as many people unfamiliar with keyword competition will select very broad target words such as pizza, hotel, or Los Angeles.

Others will pick obscure phrases that no one will likely search such as SEO/Link Building/Social Media (yes, I’ve seen people trying to similarly over-punctuated phrases).

So the first thing you will need to do is find suitable, related phrases for their business.

You can always start with some simple brainstorming. Look at the main topics on your website and jot down keywords associated with those topics.

I would suggest doing so in Microsoft Excel or another spreadsheet application.

Then, whenever you’re ready to expand on those ideas, continue to some great keyword tools.

Keyword Discovery Tools

The following are a great collection of free and premium tools that will help you discover new keywords related to your website or business.

Ubersuggest

Ubersuggest is great for helping you discover new keywords.

To get started, simply enter the keyword or phrase in the tool.

Let’s say we’re researching Social Media Marketing.

Input the phrase and click Search.

You’ll get a breakdown that looks like this:

keyword breakdown in ubersuggest for keyword research

Search volume – number of searches the keyword has during a month
SEO difficulty – estimated competition in organic search
Paid difficulty – estimated competition in paid search
Cost per click – average cost per click for a Google Ad

You’re also provided an overview of what it takes, on average, in terms of backlinks and domain score, to reach the first page of Google for the keyword. This is located above a chart displaying the keyword search volume, both for desktop and mobile, over the past 12 months.

You’ll also be able to scroll down and see different variations of your keyword phrase.

keywords ideas in ubersuggest for keyword research

This gives you a wider view of what you can strive to rank for.

For low budgets, you may want to optimize a low competition, low cost per click option that still gets good results. For example, “jobs with social media marketing” fits the mold.

Or, you can pick multiple and A/B test them for the best results.

However you use it, this is a great tool to start with.

Ubersuggest Search Suggestions

Once you have some basic ideas, you can expand upon them by using the five keyword idea variables in Ubersuggest:

Suggestions
Related
Questions
Prepositions
Comparisons

In the screenshot above, “suggestions” is highlighted by default. But if you’re searching for the largest list of keywords that contain your phrase, click “Related.”

"related" in ubersuggest for keyword research

Every keyword on the list now includes your seed keyword, “social media marketing.”

From there, you can experiment with the other search types. Here are some examples of the keyword phrases you’ll uncover for each one:

Questions
- is social media marketing dead?
- is social media marketing worth it?
- is social media marketing effective?
Prepositions
- guide to social media marketing
- help with social media marketing
- problems with social media marketing
Comparisons
- social media marketing vs digital marketing
- social media marketing vs traditional marketing
- social media marketing and SEO

Alternative Search Suggestions

Looking for alternative suggested search boxes?

The following search engines have similar suggested search options that appear below the search box when you start typing in keywords.

Depending on your keyword, each search engine will offer different suggestions.

Most people stick with Google as it is the most-visited web platform in the world, but it still doesn’t hurt to get additional keyword ideas from elsewhere.

Google Ads Keyword Tool

The next tool up is the commonly referenced Google Ads Keyword Planner.

If you have a Google account and, better yet, an Ads account, I would suggest signing in to those once you arrive on the Google Ads Keyword Tool to get better results.

To give you an idea, I searched for social media when I was not logged into my account and received 100 keyword ideas.

I searched for it again when logged in and received more than 600.

add all keywords to google ads keyword tool for keyword research

My suggestion is if you are looking for keywords just for your static website and not interested in the cost per click pricing (CPC), go with the results without logging into Google Ads.

If you are interested in the CPC pricing and also getting keyword ideas to help with content development, go with the results while logged into Google Ads.

Here is what each of the columns displayed in the Google Ads Keyword Tool will tell you about each of the keyword ideas displayed.

Competition – “The Competition column gives you a sense of how many advertisers are bidding for a particular keyword. This data can help you determine how competitive the ad placement is.”
Global Monthly Searches – “The approximate 12-month average of user queries for the keyword on Google search.”
Local Monthly Searches – “If you specified a country or language for your search, this is the approximate 12-month average number of user queries for the keyword for those countries and languages.”
Approximate CPC – “This is the approximate cost-per-click you might pay if you were to bid on the keyword. The CPC is averaged over all the ad positions.”

You can learn more about the search traffic statistics shown in this tool in Google Ads Help.

If you want a simple method to see a broader or narrower range of keywords, you can select this option in the filters on the left side of your screen.

You can also select specific Match Types by clicking the “Modify search” tab and scrolling down to the “Plan your budget and get forecasts” option.

using google ads for keyword research - budget and forecasts

Inputting your search term with the added punctuation will change the traffic volume for Global and Local Monthly Searches based on the approximation of traffic that a keyword gets on Google.

Broad – The sum of the search volumes for the keyword idea, related grammatical forms, synonyms, and related words. If you were doing PPC and targeted the broad match for social media, ads would show with any searches including social or media. Organic results would include the same.
[Exact] The search volume for that keyword idea. If you were doing PPC and targeted the exact match for social media, ads would only show if someone typed in social media but not any other variation of that phrase.
“Phrase” – The sum of the search volumes for all terms that include that whole phrase. If you were doing PPC and targeted the phrase match for pizza dough, ads would show for anyone who typed in social media, with or without additional keywords such as social media marketing or about social media. Organic results would include only results including the exact phrase social media.

You can learn more about match types (and some additional ones not on this list) in Ads Help.

You can also see the difference in data based on the three match types using the phrase social media in order of broad, “phrase,” and [exact].

social media keyword planner for keyword research

And if you were to use these match types in a search, you would get 419 million results for a broad match search for social media and only 304 million results for a phrase match search for “social media.”

Going back to the generic term social media, you might want to remove certain words from the keyword ideas.

For example, you may not want to target anything about social media jobs, so you could add the word job under the Negative Keywords tab on the left side of the screen.

Now, you’ll need to export your data.

To do so, simply use the Download button under the Review Plan tab and export to your preferred format.

download your plan in google ads for keyword research

You can then copy the data from the exported spreadsheet to your keyword research spreadsheet.

You can also get this data for the keyword ideas you generated using SEMrush and suggested search by copying and pasting those keywords into the Word or phrase box and checking the box to only show ideas closely related to my search terms.

Then export the data for those keywords and phrases by checking the boxes next to them under the Search Terms section.

At this point, you probably have a lot of great keyword ideas.

In the next section, I will cover how to use the Moz Keyword Analysis Tool (or an alternative method to get the same information if you are not a Pro member) to get additional data and then narrow down your keywords to the ones that you should most likely focus upon for your online marketing strategy.

Step 2 – Analyzing and Choosing the Best Keywords

Now that you have a base spreadsheet to use for keyword data entry, let’s look at what’s next.

I want to show you some ways to get even more data about each keyword and further narrow down your results.

Please note that this data will take a bit of time to compile, so you might want to run through the keyword list and remove any obvious ones that you don’t want.

I usually go with no more than 100 keywords for this part of the process.

Keyword Analysis with Ubersuggest

Ubersuggest is a great tool for analyzing which keywords to use and what websites to examine for ideas.

For example, when we search for social media marketing in Ubersuggest, you can see a list of “content ideas”:

ubersuggest content ideas for keyword research

As you can see, a list of pages that rank for the keyword “social media marketing” appears. You can also see how many visits the page gets from the keyword, how many backlinks the page has, and how many shares it has on Facebook, Pinterest, and Reddit.

You can poke around the most successful websites and use that as a jumping-off point for what to include on your own page to rank for the keyword.

Keyword Analysis with Moz

You can get other important data to help you narrow down your target keywords with Moz.

If you have a Pro membership with Moz (you can always get a 30-day free trial if you have just one keyword research project to do), then you have access to a very nice little tool called Keyword Difficulty & SERP Analysis.

This tool will show you the percentage of difficulty for each keyword, giving you an idea of how hard it will be to rank highly for it.

You will also see the top ten sites ranked for each keyword, each listed with its domain authority and the number of root domains linking to it.

The latter is really the information that will help you decide which keywords to target.

You can put in five words at a time, and you can now pick between keyword, root domain, subdomain, or page.

Using our keyword phrase “social media management,” you can see the results of the difficulty assessment, search volume, organic click-through rates, and the balance of ranking ease and end results (Priority).

social media management keyword overview

While this information is helpful, it’s not really anything we don’t already know. We’ve already decided we like this keyword phrase.

If anything, this is just a double-check that confirms the basics you found in the Ads Keyword Tool.

Below this information, you’ll find more keyword suggestions and a SERP analysis of the keyword.

The suggestions are fine for more brainstorming, but we’ll come back to the SERP analysis. That’s the real goldmine.

You can also find a short list of mentions for your keyword at the bottom of the page.

This is useful in letting you know who is using the keyword and how recently they created content with it.

While this information is nice, the real competitor information can be seen when you click on the SERP full analysis for each keyword, such as these results for a social media company.

I like to open them in new tabs for convenience.

This is the part where you can learn a few things.

First off, you can see who you will be trying to beat.

If your website comes up in this list of the top ten, then congratulations – you’re on the first page for a keyword phrase with a highly competitive keyword difficulty of 61%.

If you’re not in these results, you can compare your own website’s domain authority and linking root domains to the stats of the sites ranking in the top ten.

Domain authority is a score from 1 to 100. The higher a website’s domain authority, the more likely it is to rank for the keywords it is optimized for.

The linking root domains is the number of unique domains linking to a website.

You can see that the site with the highest authority and linking root domains doesn’t necessarily win the top spot.

But if you want to make #1, your site may need a domain authority of 28 or higher and hundreds of linking root domains to beat the competition.

Another thing you can learn from this is whether a keyword is drawing commercial or informational results.

This means that you will learn whether your keyword is being searched for commercial purposes (meaning that someone wants to find a product or service) or whether it is being searched for informational purposes (meaning that people are looking for information, not a product or service).

For social media company, the results include seven actual social media consulting companies and agencies.

lyfe marketing moz data for keyword research

Comparatively, if I do a full analysis of the keyword phrase “what is social media” you will see that the first page of results is purely informational. All of the results are from highly authoritative domains.

So if you are a social media company, you will probably want to target the phrase social media companies for your main business homepage.

You will also want to create some content based around the phrase what is social media and place it on highly authoritative domains such as YouTube and SlideShare to see if you can get it into the rankings for a phrase searched potentially by a million people monthly.

Alternative to the Moz Tool

If you’re not interested in a premium tool, then you can simply look up each keyword and look at websites ranking on the first page of the results.

If you’re interested in the domain authority stats, you can get some using another Moz tool called Open Site Explorer. You’ll get a limited amount of stats for free accounts though.

Or, you can use the free version of the SEOmoz toolbar – just use that and compare it to your own website’s domain authority.

At least with this information, you can still determine the commercial vs. informational usage of a keyword plus some basic stats to compare against your own website.

Step 3: Putting It Together in the Spreadsheet

The final part of the process is taking the spreadsheet and interpreting the data.

I like to use the Conditional Formatting in Excel to highlight cells a certain color based on the numerical value in the cell.

You simply highlight the cell range you want to compare, then go to Conditional Formatting > New Rule.

Select the 3-Color Scale Format Style, and change the Lowest Value / Highest Value color when applicable.

Certain fields in your spreadsheet will need to display the fact that a higher number is good whereas a lower number is bad.

For those fields (global & local monthly searches), you will want to leave the color settings as default, as shown below.

Other fields in your spreadsheet will need to display the fact that a higher number is bad whereas a lower number is good.

For those fields (GAKT – Competition, GAKT – Approximate CPC, SEOmoz KA – Difficulty, SEOmoz KA – Competitor DA, SEOmoz KA – Competitor RDLRD), you will want to change the lowest value color setting to green and the highest value color setting to red, as shown below.

keyword research excel conditional formatting

Once you’re finished, you can highlight the top row and add a filter by applying the Sort & Filter > Filter option.

I like to start with selecting the filter for the SEOmoz KA – Difficulty column and sorting it from smallest to largest.

This way you get the following (click on the image below to see a larger view):

As you can imagine, having the highlighting and sorting options would be very valuable when looking at a spreadsheet with up to 100 keywords.

You could quickly see which keywords have the most searches and least competition or the least competition but most searches.

You could then move over and look at the actual competition for each keyword if you were shooting for #1 rankings.

Step 4: Making the Final Keyword Choices

My suggestion when making the final choice of keywords is as follows:

If your website is commercial (offering products or services), go with keywords that seem to have the most commercial intent based on the current ranking websites. If your website is informational (blogs come to mind), go with keywords that have the most informational intent.
Look for a “sweet spot” of high search volume in conjunction with low-difficulty/competition.
Look at keywords with high search volume with top competitors that have lower domain authority and backlinks.
If your website is already ranking on the first page, but not in the top 5 spots (or beneath other search result areas such as images, local results, etc.) and the keyword has good search volume, focus on getting those keywords and phrases to move up.

Sometimes, it’s not the actual decision that is the most difficult – it is actually compiling the data that takes the most time! Also, don’t forget to take the keywords that are more informational and use them for content topic ideas!

This concludes our method of discovering keyword ideas, analyzing them, and then choosing the best for your website.

We have noticed that there are many various ways to perform keyword research, and you have to try out different analysis methods to see which ones speak to you the best when deciding on keywords.

Keyword Research Resources

A New Way to Do Keyword Research: This article and video walk you through another way to complete keyword research.
SEO Unlocked: Keyword Research Part 1: In this video, I walk you through the basics of keyword research.
SEO Unlocked: Keyword Research Part 2: This is the continuation of my keyword research walk-through videos. Be sure to check out the keyword research PDF for a more detailed walk-through than this post!

Keyword Research Frequently Asked Questions

How do I know what keywords to target for my website?

Think about the topics related to your industry or business that your audience is likely to search on the Internet. Use a tool like Ubersuggest to find and select the best keywords for those topics.

Are there free keyword research tools?

Tools like Ubersuggest and Moz have free versions of keyword tools you can use, though you will unlock additional data and features when you select a paid version.

Should you do keyword research for paid campaigns?

You should do keyword research for your organic and your paid marketing.

How does keyword research relate to SEO?

SEO is the process of optimizing your website to rank in the search results for specific terms related to your business.

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Conclusion: Keyword Research

Completing thorough keyword research is crucial if you want to drive traffic to your website.

There are many keyword research methods to try in addition to those I outlined in this post. As you get more experienced with keyword research, you may want to try out some additional methods.

There are also a plethora of keyword research tools at your disposal. My favorite (biased though I may be) is Ubersuggest. Our team is continually rolling out new features to provide you with better data that other tools don’t provide.

If you don’t want to do your own keyword research, SEO, or digital marketing, you can reach out to my agency for help.

What is your favorite method of keyword research?

What are your favorite keyword research tools?

Supercharge Your SEO with A Keyword Generator

SEO keywords are vital to building high-quality content. Plus, you can get to know your target market better and give you valuable search data. Simplify your keyword research process now with an seo keyword generator. You will learn: Understand seo keywords, from what it is to their importance Know how to use an seo keyword … Continue reading Supercharge Your SEO with A Keyword Generator

What Is Dynamic Keyword Insertion: What It Is & How to Use It

Paid ad costs are rising. In highly competitive industries, you can expect to pay $50 or more per click. As a result, many businesses are looking to lower paid ad costs by increasing ad relevance.

Dynamic keyword insertion is an ideal strategy to improve relevancy and lower paid ad costs. When used correctly, it can help deliver highly relevant ads with little extra work.

If you aren’t sure what dynamic keyword insertion is or how to make the most of it, you are in the right place.

Today, we’ll cover everything you need to know about dynamic keyword insertion, including what platforms offer it, how it works, and best practices to make the most of them.

What Is Dynamic Keyword Insertion?

Dynamic keyword insertion is a paid ad feature that uses machine learning or AI to customize online ads to match users’ search queries.

For example, if you create an ad for a shoe store, you could use dynamic keyword insertion to add “women’s running shoe” or “red women’s running shoe” to display ads that use the exact same words the user searched.

Using the same terms users type into a search engine assures users you have exactly the product they are looking for.

Here’s how Google text ads using dynamic keyword insertion might look:

example of how dynamic keyword insertions works in Google ads

Dynamic ads can change nearly every aspect of your ads, including the main keyword, images, CTA button, and even the landing page users are sent to.

Several ad platforms offer dynamic keyword insertions, including Google Ads and Facebook.

Why Should You Use Dynamic Keyword Insertion? Pros and Cons

Figuring out how to set up PPC ad campaigns is hard enough. Should you worry about dynamic keyword insertion? There are definite pros and cons to this strategy. Here’s what you need to know.

The benefits of dynamic keyword insertion include:

Increase ad relevance: Matching your ads to searchers’ queries makes your ad more relevant to users.
Dynamic ads stand out: Google bolds dynamically inserted terms, making them more visible to users and may increase the click-through rate.
Improve your quality score: Dynamic ads are more relevant, which can increase their quality score and help you reach more users.
Effective for retargeting: Retargeting users with the exact item they already looked at can be highly effective for recovering lost shopping carts and building brand trust.
Less to manage: Dynamic ads allow you to target several related keywords with one ad. While it may take slightly longer to set up, you’ll have fewer ads to manage overall.

Dynamic ads are easier to manage, more relevant, and can improve click-through rates. Sounds great, right? There are a few cons you should be aware of before diving in.

The cons of dynamic keyword insertion include:

Longer keywords might not display correctly: Long-tail keywords can indicate buyer intent, but they may not display correctly in dynamic ads. In this example, the ad displays “chocolate” because the target keyword is too long to fit in the ad.
Can create awkward ads if you aren’t careful: Ads are generated automatically based on a list of keywords you create. If you don’t make sure all the terms match every version of your ad, it could create awkward wording, such as “Great prices on Couch!” (This, of course, can be prevented by being careful with your keyword list.)
Possible trademark issues: If you bid on competitors’ brand name or trademarked products, your ads could be pulled for trademark infringements.

Dynamic Keyword Insertion Best Practices & Tips for Marketers

Dynamic keyword insertion is an ideal strategy to stand out in a competitive PPC environment. By matching users’ search queries, your business can lower your cost per click, improve your quality score, and deliver highly targeted ads.

However, the process might seem complicated, especially if you are newer to the world of PPC. Here are four best practices to help you create effective dynamic ads.

1. Don’t Use Broad Match Keywords

Dynamic ads are used to create highly relevant ads, so using broad keywords isn’t effective.

For example, if you want to create an ad for a broad term like “body wash,” there’s no point in using a dynamic ad. On the other hand, if you want to target a precise term like “orange scented body wash for sensitive skin,” dynamic ads are a great choice.

There are two reasons for this: using broad keywords can create awkward ads, and it can also cause your ads to show up for terms that just aren’t relevant.

Instead, reserve dynamic keyword insertion for longer, precise keywords. Here are a few examples of keywords that would be a good fit for dynamic ads:

women’s red rain boots
black Oakley Holbrook
certified organic face wash

These are very precise terms that indicate buyer intent, making them ideal for dynamic keyword insertion.

2. Make Sure Asset Options Make Sense Together

Dynamic ads allow you to create multiple versions of an ad, but they don’t just plug different keywords into the exact same ad. Instead, you can upload multiple assets for each part of your ad.

For example, Facebook allows you to add multiple text, headlines, images, link descriptions, and CTA options.

facebook example dynamic keyword insertion

Options are great, but they can also cause issues.

Take a look at the ad example above. Let’s say the business decided to target Swiss chocolate, chocolate-covered cherries, and taffy in the same ad and uploaded a picture of each. Their chocolate-covered cherry image could end up displayed next to text promoting their Swiss chocolate.

Poorly designed dynamic ads can create awkward (and even funny) ads, but they also reduce trust in your brand and decrease conversions.

Ensure all assets make sense together, no matter which headline, image, or CTA is displayed.

You’ll also want to check grammar. For example, say you create an ad with the headline “Stop by to check out our top….” If your keyword list includes the term “Couch,” you could end up with an ad that reads, “Stop by to check out our top Couch.” Pay special attention to plural and singular words.

3. A/B Test Ads for Maximum CTR

Dynamic ads allow you to create multiple versions of the same ad, but that doesn’t mean you should ignore A/B testing. In fact, dynamic ads enable you to test even more options.

For example, you could test:

headlines
link descriptions
CTA buttons
text
images
keywords

To test dynamic ads, create multiple versions of the same ads targeting the same keywords, then change one element.

For example, you could create two versions of an ad targeting running shoes and use multiple images in one ad, and a single image with text overlay in the other. Run the ads for at least two weeks and see which version drives the most clicks and conversions.

This guide to A/B testing will help you get started.

4. Keep Ad Groups Tightly Targeted

Dynamic keyword insertions are designed to create highly relevant ads, so make sure each ad group is closely related. For example, you might create an ad for different colors of the same product, but you wouldn’t use different products in the same dynamic ad group.

A restaurant might use “bacon burger,” “double cheeseburger,” and “bleu cheeseburger” in the same ad group, but they wouldn’t want to use “bacon cheeseburger,” “wings,” and “onion rings” in the same ad group.

Instead, make sure each ad group targets one group of closely related products or services.

How Do I Create a Dynamic Inserted Keyword?

Several paid ad platforms offer dynamic keyword insertion, including Google and Facebook. While the exact process can vary by platform, this guide will help you get started no matter where you create your ads.

Create a list of target keywords for your dynamic ad group

Perform keyword research to see what terms users search in your industry. Make sure the terms are specific and related. For example, cheese pizza, pepperoni pizza, sausage pizza. Avoid short and broad keywords.
Set a goal for your ad

What do you want your ad to do? For example, you might want to increase app downloads, drive sales, or generate leads. Facebook and Google Ads both offer different ad formats based on your goal. Facebook ad goals include catalog sales, app installs, lead generation, conversions, traffic, and messages.
Choose assets (and make sure they match!)

Dynamic ads don’t just plug in a different keyword to the exact same ad. You can also upload several images, videos, headlines, CTAs, and landing pages. Select several versions of each asset, but make sure each version can work in every configuration.

Create different ads for plural and singular search terms, so your ads are grammatically correct. Also, make sure that your ad text and headlines are within the character limit for the platform.

Launch your ads and track the results

Once your ads are created and you’ve made sure all configurations make sense, it is time to launch your ad. Track KPIs that matter to your brand, such as click-through rates or conversions. Keep an eye on quality scores as well. A low-quality score can raise your CTR.

Dynamic Keyword Insertion Frequently Asked Questions

How Does Dynamic Keyword Insertion Work?

KI works by using machine learning or AI to insert terms that match users’ search queries to deliver more relevant ads. This allows businesses to deliver highly relevant ads without spending hours creating different ads for each possible search query.

Should I Use Dynamic Keyword Insertion?

If you are using paid ads, absolutely. They are relatively easy to set up and can increase click-through rates and conversions.

What Are Dynamic Ads?

Dynamic ads are ads that change based on the users’ search queries. For example, a user searching for Nike shoes will see an ad for a Nike shoe, while a user searching Adidas will see an ad for Adidas. You might think they are different ads, but they might be the same dynamic ad that automatically replaces the text and image to match your search.

What's the Difference Between Static and Dynamic Ads?

Static ads stay the same no matter what search the user types in. Dynamic ads change to match searchers’ queries. They may change their ad copy, image, or even the landing page.

When Should You Not Use Dynamic Keyword Insertion?

Do not use dynamic keyword insertion for broad match keywords or unrelated search terms. Broad match terms (like shoes or couches) and unrelated search terms (think wings and burgers in the same ad) can create awkward ads and lack the relevancy that is important for dynamic ad success.

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Dynamic Keyword Insertion: Conclusion

Are you struggling to create successful paid ads? Dynamic keyword insertion might be the silver bullet you’ve been looking for. By matching ads to searchers’ queries, you can create highly relevant ads that cost less and are more likely to drive clicks.

Several ad platforms offer dynamic ads, including Google Ads and Facebook. If you have trouble getting your ads set up, our team would be happy to help.

Are you considering dynamic keyword insertion in your paid ads? What challenges are you facing?

How to Find Paid Social Media Keyword Ideas From Top Hashtags

In the world of digital marketing, content is king. And keywords hold the keys to that kingdom.

They unlock connections to your target market—people who are looking for what you’re trying to sell.

When you’re setting up paid social media campaigns, keywords can help you make those critical connections and ensure your campaign’s success.

Knowing which keywords to use throughout the copy of your campaign can be a pain. If you’re not sure which ones are right, you might miss the mark and, by extension, your audience.

Popular hashtags can be the source of inspiration that gets your paid social media campaigns off the ground.

The Importance of Hashtags in Paid Social Media Campaigns

Why are the top hashtags important for inspiration and keyword ideas? Because they can provide a lot of information if you know how to look for it.

Here are the questions you should ask when looking for hashtags:

What are people talking about?
What’s the demand for a particular product or service?
Is there a rise in interest? Or is the trend on the decline?
Who is using those hashtags?
What’s the context of those conversations?

Researching popular hashtags can provide relevant insights into the conversations happening around a topic. Their power is in the data you can mine from real-life, real-time sources.

Top hashtags can also lead to other hashtags and keywords you may not have considered. As you continue to dig deeper, you may start to see some patterns to add to your campaigns.

Be on the lookout for:

New or up-and-coming hashtags
Hashtags used by other relevant target markets
Questions or concerns people are expressing
Phrases in the associated content that come up often

How to Use Trending Hashtags for Your Paid Social Media Campaigns

First, you have to find the top hashtags. Begin with what’s trending in your industry and go from there. We’ll go into more specifics on different social media platforms later.

As you dive in, explore the content surrounding the hashtags.

How do you use the information you found? It’s all about inspiration. The hashtags, phrases, and keywords you find can inform your paid social media campaigns in the following ways:

For text: What you’ve learned can be a launching point for your ad’s language. Look at the posts’ content in addition to the hashtags, and incorporate the language people in your target market use. Knowing how people talk about things can teach you how to best speak to the pain points they face and the solutions they love.
For images: What kinds of images are those hashtags often associated with? Whether you plan to use a stock image in your ad or create your own, let what you find attached to hashtags help determine the type of images you use. You may even find a meme that you can join in on, making your social media ad more engaging.
For target audiences: Use the hashtag research to inform the parameters of your social ad reach. Who is using these hashtags? Where do they live? How old are they? What else are they interested in? These stats can help you narrow the ad reach to your target audience.
For sponsored post research: In addition to helping your paid social ad content be more relevant, hashtags may also help pinpoint a recent post to put cash behind. Experiment with different top hashtags in your posts on each social platform you use. Those hashtags may help your posts perform well organically, and then you can choose to boost them with sponsorship.

Using Facebook Top Hashtags for Paid Ads

Let’s start with Facebook, one of the most popular platforms for online marketing.

With over two billion users per month, there’s got to be some great data out there for your hashtag research.

You are probably only connected with a tiny number of those people, but don’t let that stop you. In fact, you can choose who sees your Facebook ads:

Using Facebook Top Hashtags Screenshot of Facebook ad target market options

But, before you create the ad, you need to find the right words to use that are getting the most visibility. This is where hashtags come into play.

A quick search for #tacos on Facebook shows some drool-worthy meals from strangers around the world who made their posts public as well as from brand pages. You do this from your search bar.

Top Hasthags Facebook providing alternatives to the popular hashtag Tacos

That list shows you what words most commonly follow that hashtag. Additionally, when you submit the hashtag you’re searching for, Facebook shows you on the top of the next page how many people are talking about that topic:

Top Hashtags Facebook view of the popular hashtag Tacos

When you type in the hashtag that interests you, Facebook also auto-fills other hashtag options to explore.

You can also explore the bookmarks that Facebook makes available, including local events, crisis response, or other timely topics. These can provide insights into why people are using this hashtag.

Using Instagram Top Hashtags for Paid Ads

Instagram is a hashtag-heavy environment, making it ideal for top hashtag research.

Much like on Facebook, you can start by typing your hashtag ideas into the search bar. Instagram not only auto-fills suggestions but also shows you how popular those hashtags are based on how many posts include them.

Using Instagram Top Hashtags Instagram providing recommendations for hashtags about puppies

Instagram Explore

Are you still looking for more hashtags to dig into? Head to Instagram’s “Explore” section, with the compass icon, to see top posts related to content you have interacted with in the past. You may discover new or emerging hashtags that you didn’t know about.

Now is an excellent time to stop and talk about how hashtags don’t always translate directly into keywords and phrases for paid social media campaigns. You may have to convert from a succinct hashtag to a robust, natural way of talking. Here are a few tips for doing that:

Listen to What Influencers are Saying With Those Hashtags: Take some time to watch the video posts and Instagram stories associated with the hashtags you’re researching. Hear how they talk about the subject. What are some key phrases that come up often?
Read and Take Some Notes About What the Hashtags are Saying: Now it’s time to turn off the videos and read the actual content. What are they using those character counts to say? This is where you can learn about key phrases that everyone is using and the meat behind the hashtag topics you are researching. For instance, a top hashtag may be “#cleanbeauty,” but it’s not about skin cleanliness—it’s about toxicity in beauty products, congressional oversight, regulations in the industry, and how to know what’s safe for your family’s skin. Learning about the issues and conversations behind the topics can help you frame paid social media content in a usable way.
Talk Out Loud Using the Instagram Hashtags: Hopefully, you’re working by yourself because this could get a little awkward: It’s time to start talking to yourself. Go ahead. As you’re writing down ideas that we talked about earlier and starting to craft your social media ad content, actually saying it out loud may help disconnect you from “internet speak” and get you into using a more natural tone.

Using Twitter Top Hashtags for Paid Ads

If you’re using Twitter on your mobile device, you can hit the magnifying glass icon at the bottom of your screen to see what’s trending. If you’re on your desktop, hit “#Explore” on the left side of the screen, then click “Trending” to see currently popular hashtags.

You can see what topics Twitter thinks are important now based on their editorial board and algorithms, as well as how many tweets are using those hashtags. Keep in mind some of these are promoted hashtags, not organic ones, though—they are labeled, as you can see with “#Godfall” at the top of this screenshot.

To learn more, click on “Show More” or the “Explore” section on the desktop layout to see more about these topics and find more currently in use.

You may need to dig deep to find hashtags that are relevant to your niche. When you see a conversation or post around topics pertinent to your industry, check out those hashtags.

Don’t be afraid to see a spark of inspiration, such as a new hashtag that’s just starting to catch fire, and get onboard that topic before it becomes a wildfire.

Using LinkedIn Top Hashtags for Paid Ads

Where do you go to find the top hashtags on LinkedIn? There are a couple of different ways to start your research.

You can look up hashtags in the search bar at the top, just as you do on other social media platforms:

Linkedin Top Hasthags LinkedIn recommendations for hashtags about fitness

And like other platforms, LinkedIn will auto-recommend other options.

When you choose a hashtag, LinkedIn shows how many people are currently following that hashtag. This data can help you understand how many people may see your posts that incorporate that hashtag. You will also see top posts with that hashtag.

LinkedIn Top Hasthags LinkedIn option for following the fitness hashtag

When you follow a hashtag you’re interested in, you can click on the three dots on the right of your followed hashtags and choose “Discover new hashtags.”

Now you’ll see all kinds of popular hashtags to inspire you.

LinkedIn Top Hasthags screen of other hashtags LinkedIn recommends

If you want to skip those steps and just start exploring, you can go straight to LinkedIn’s Follow Fresh Perspectives tab to see the top hashtags, accounts, and companies LinkedIn recommends to you.

Context Is Key When it Comes to Using LinkedIn

Here’s the critical thing to remember about LinkedIn: It’s a popular platform for content, but it’s also very specific in its contextual use. LinkedIn is generally about professional or career conversations.

Using Pinterest Top Hashtags for Paid Ads

Are you trying to reach a creative, DIY crowd with your paid social media ads? Pinterest can show you what’s hot right now.

With Pinterest, hashtags aren’t as critical and promoted as they are on other platforms. Keywords in a post seem to be just as crucial for searching.

Here is a search for the popular term “Hygge:”

Pinterest Top Hasthags Top posts on Pinterest for the search Hygge

And a search for “#Hygge:”

Pinterest Top Hashtags Top results for the hashtag Hygge on Pinterest

You’ll notice similar results. So, just searching around for popular topics on Pinterest and exploring the top posts may prove just as useful.

However, if you are looking for top hashtags, there is a workaround. You can log in to the mobile app, click to create a new pin, and type a hashtag into the description section. This will give you a listing of top alternatives and stats for how popular they are.

More Tools For Finding Hashtags

If you’re still looking for the right hashtag, you may want to try one of the many hashtag search tools. These online and app tools allow you to plug in hashtags you’re using, and find related and popular hashtags. A few options include:

Hashtagify
All Hashtag Generator
#HashMe app for Apple devices
Hashtag Expert app
Ritetag app or Chrome extension

Conclusion

The key to using hashtags for paid social media is to use them as a launching point. They should inspire relevant content for your very specific target market. Hashtags can help you understand who they are, what they care about, and how they talk online.

Popular hashtags can also open the door to new opportunities for your social media strategy as you join fresh, ongoing conversations happening online and reach out to new markets.

Which popular hashtags will you be analyzing to inform your next social media ad campaign?

The post How to Find Paid Social Media Keyword Ideas From Top Hashtags appeared first on Neil Patel.

Ubersuggest Chrome Extension 2.0: The Ultimate Keyword Research Tool

Please note: Once you install the extension, all you have to do is go to Google and perform a search. That is where you’ll see data.

I promised that I would release a new version of the Ubersuggest Chrome Extension today, and now it’s out.

You can go here to install it.

If you are wondering what’s new… well, let’s just say the changes have made keyword research much better and a lot easier. And on top of that, later in this post, I’ll even give you a sneak peek at the new changes that we are making to the extension that will be released within 30 days.

So, what’s new?

Who says keyword research should be limited to Google?

What most people don’t know is that YouTube is the second most popular search engine and has been exploding.

On top of that, Amazon is the largest e-commerce site in the world and SEOs are doing Amazon SEO and Amazon ads… so why not have access to keyword research there, too?

Now, when you go to YouTube and perform a search you’ll see data on suggested keywords as you perform a search.

And if you want more details on any given keyword you searched for, just click “view all” next to the search bar and you’ll see something like this:

It breaks down search volume over the last 12 months as well as shows you if a keyword has any seasonal trends.

You can also see how competitive a keyword is to rank for, its cost per click data, how many people even click on any of the listings, and even the age range of the people who search for that term.

Also, what’s interesting is that you can see data on whether a keyword is searched more on mobile or desktop devices and the breakdown. This is important because mobile searches tend to not convert as well… so ideally you want to go after keywords that have more desktop searches when possible.

Now on the right side of any YouTube search listings page, you will also see more keyword suggestions.

It’s pretty similar to what the extension already shows on Google… this is more so our version for YouTube.

But with Amazon, we didn’t want to impact your user experience too much, so we decided to provide keyword data in the most unobtrusive way possible…

Anytime you perform a search on Amazon, you’ll see keyword data on the suggestions.

So now anytime you want to do keyword research for social media or e-commerce, you can easily do so with the Ubersuggest Chrome extension.

But wait, there is more…

There is also one other important change made to the extension that you may have already noticed if you use Google on a regular basis.

When you search on Google, there is now traffic estimations under each URL.

This traffic estimation is for organic search traffic and it is done on a domain level. Eventually, we will tweak it to be page-based and even show you the other keywords each page ranks for… but for now, we are providing you with organic traffic estimates for each domain.

And if you are more of a visual person, in the right-hand sidebar you can also see the traffic estimation for any result in the top 10.

So if you want to know traffic data in addition to keyword suggestions when you perform a Google search, make sure you install the Ubersuggest Chrome Extension.

But the best is still to come…

My goal is to make major releases to Ubersuggest every month if possible… every other month if all doesn’t go as planned.

The next big one is introducing competitor analysis features within the extension.

Right now if you click on the “Ubersuggest” logo within your Chrome browser you see something like this:

Now, that’s not really useful.

So, within the next 30 days when you click on the “Ubersuggest” logo within Chrome, I am thinking of showing something like this:

For any domain you’ll be able to see the following metrics:

Domain metrics – you’ll see a quick overview of each domain. From the number of organic keywords a site ranks for to their estimated organic traffic, domain score, and even number of backlinks.
Historical traffic – you’ll see an organic traffic chart of the last 6 months to any given site.
Top pages by country – want to know the most popular pages on your competitor’s site? This table will show you just that.
Top keywords by country – you’ll also be able to see the most popular keywords that drive traffic to that site.

Conclusion

If you already have the Ubersuggest Chrome extension installed, you may need to reinstall it because we now show you data on YouTube and Amazon. That means you’ll have to grant Ubersuggest permission to show you data on those two sites.

If you don’t have the extension installed, you can do so by going here.

Let me know what you think about the new extension, the upcoming releases, and if you want me to add any other features. 🙂

The post Ubersuggest Chrome Extension 2.0: The Ultimate Keyword Research Tool appeared first on Neil Patel.

The Big Keyword Research Guide for SEO

The Big Keyword Research Guide for SEO Why is Keyword Research So Important to SEO? The Right Keywords Leads You to Potential Buyers Keyword Analysis can Inform Your Marketing and Writing Expand Your Funnel By Understanding Leads & Their Interests Keyword Research Boost SEOPressor’s Traffic What is Keyword Research? Keyword Research Definition How to Find …

The post The Big Keyword Research Guide for SEO appeared first on Buy It At A Bargain – Deals And Reviews.

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