SEO Keyword Research
-
Hi,
We are SEO beginners so please bear with us!
We are trying to promote "Web based Invoicing Software". The SEO company we have signed with offer us 5 keywords for the package we are on with them. They have suggested\offered us:
1. Invoicing Software - Fine
2. Online Invoicing - Fine
3. Online Invoicing Software - Covered by 1 and 2
4. Small Business Invoicing Software - Covered by 1
5. Invoice Template - Fine. Will Invoice templateS be covered on this one too?My question is does number 3 cover number 1,2 & 4 anyway? If so I am thinking to not go for 1,2, & 4 just keep 3 and choose three other new keywords. Would this be a better strategy and "more for our money?" Or, keep 1 and 2 and lose 3 and 4, would that be a good option. So, in summary options are (all assuming keeping number 5)
1. Keep all
2. Keep 1 & 2 - Lose 3 & 4
3. Keep 3 - Lose 1,2 & 44. Any other combo you can suggest?
Any advice welcomed
Thanks
nutnut
-
Totally normal. For me, what I keep in mind, is that there''s so much great information out there and awesome boards like this where people share experiences, and there's several plans of attack. Long tail can help rank for some short tail but I'd never recommend expecting it to be interchangeable.
For example, "software" is way, way more competitive to rank for since it's everything that falls under software - Microsoft Office, Amazon, Wiki, PCMag, New Egg - and so general that it's hard to get high rankings on that word alone. There's also a HUGE difference in user intent on "software" (I want Windows 8; or, what's new in the software world) and "online invoicing software" (I need software that lets me do invoicing online). Sometimes with long tail, you capture a better/more accurate audience to then give you better conversions.
Good luck
-
Thanks for the response, thats very helpful insight for us. We thought long tail did cover short tail so we may have to rethink our keywords altogether now. Maybe we should go for the easier long tail to start with and work up to the short tail. Is that a normal plan for a start up with limited budget?
Thanks
-
Good for you for checking to see if what you are being offered may be worthy. First, how did they get these words? The reason I ask is because the biggest keyword battle I fight is figuring out how our SEARCHERS search, not what we think our customers/potentials use.
What do I mean? I'll use an example. "Benchtop printer" is the company term but people are searching for a "desktop printer." Optimize for benchtop printer and you'll never connect.
So, make sure that whatever you pick maps back to your users/customers. If you don't know, then you are risking everyone on nothing.
As far as this list goes, assuming it's vetted, there's a difference between head, or short tail "software" and long tail "online invoicing software" keywords - long tail DO NOT automatically cover short tail. Even plural terms aren't interchangeable with singular. Head, or short tail, terms are usually way harder and competitive to rank for.
Beyond that, because I don't know how you are grouping your site content or what your hierarchy will look like, I won't comment on what to keep or what to leave. Just picking keywords in no way ensures good SEO.
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
Improving SEO for a Niche Blog - Seeking Advice
I am a college student studying Information Sciences and was "hired" by my uncle over the summer to work and maintain his baseball-related website, which he started in 2016. His posts provide very in-depth information but were created without a focus on SEO. I've noticed that a competing site, which seems to have started as an e-commerce site, is ranking higher than my uncle's site for the query "how much does a baseball weigh." Interestingly, this competing site ranks for keywords like "mass of baseball," even though these exact keywords are not present in the post. Given the recent Google updates and changes in rankings, I'm trying to understand: How can an e-commerce site with seemingly less specific content outrank a detailed blog post?
Competitive Research | | sf9090
What strategies can I employ to improve the ranking of my uncle's site for this specific query?
Are there tools or methods I can use to analyze why the competitor is ranking higher and how to address it?
I recognize I am not well-versed in SEO, so any insights or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!0 -
Cant find any keyword for my site
I searched for keyword rank for shoreloop.com but couldn't find any. What could be the problem?
Competitive Research | | killerseo20200 -
What are some good SEO tactics to defend our position against an upcoming competition in a near monopolistic market?
I'm doing SEO for a medium sized client whose area of business is targeting a very niche audience, in an almost monopolistic market. We're currently in top 3 ranks in our head terms. However, market research has indicated the threat from an upcoming competitor. The competitor is relatively larger and is well established in other countries. Is there something I could do from my end to defend/maintain our current position?
Competitive Research | | iQuanti0 -
Pre Launch New Website SEO Best Practices
Hi All, I am currently mid development of a website (no testing page yet) and want to make sure I am doing my due diligence in regards to SEO. Are there best practices to always complete while a website is being built? If so what are they? I've gotten to the stage where I've read every blog on the planet and now maybe too much info. I am also focusing my Keyword Analysis around competitor research to write great copy from, but seem to be falling down a rabbit hole of way too many keywords. Is there agencies/services that would just be hired to do Keyword Research for my needs? Thanks a lot!
Competitive Research | | Krackle0 -
Ranking for Competitive Keywords vs. Less Competitive Keyword Variations
I'm curious about situations where a website ranks very well for query variations, but doesn't rank for the query itself (or the reverse of that). For Redfin (where I work), here is the situation with regard to keyword rankings on Google (searched today from USA, incognito)... real estate search - #4 real estate online - #4 real estate site - #5 find real estate - #9 get real estate - #16 real estate - #163 It stands to reason that a site ranking well for a competitive query should also rank well for less competitive query variations - especially query variations that are non-limiting and do not demand a custom landing page (for example, I would consider 'board games' to dramatically limit the query 'games' and be best targeted with a targeted page...not so with 'real estate site' and 'real estate'). So, my question is, what are some theories regarding situations like this? Why do some sites rank so well for competitive queries but not for non-limiting query variations? Why aren't the sites that are crushing us for 'real estate' also crushing us for 'real estate' variations (to be clear...the top sites are crushing us for both)? Is it anchor text? Is it social signals? Is it offline signals, co-occurrence, or citations? What about internal linking and site structure? I realize it's likely a mix of all this, but I'm hoping we can drum up some new ideas here. FYI, on Bing we also rank very well for 'real estate' variations, but leap up to 31st for 'real estate'. Thoughts?
Competitive Research | | RyanOD0 -
Sending autmated queries to Google hurting SEO?
Anyone have any ideas whether there could be a chance that a site might get penalized if it is sending automated queries to Google (ie, to check rankings)? I was reading the recently updated Google Webmaster Guidelines and saw on the section - "Quality guidelines - specific guidelines" that mentioned about sending automated queries to Google... Just wondering what are the chances that Google will actually penalize a site that sends automated queries (if they are able to identify which site is doing so in the first place)..
Competitive Research | | globalsources.com0 -
Can i see the keywords my competitors are optimizing seo for?
Ideally, I would get a list of the keywords my competitors are targeting.
Competitive Research | | sajalsahay0 -
What % is a GO when using the Keyword difficulty tool?
Hi, A lot of keywords I have looked into say 'moderately competitive' at around 35% - 45%. But what else would you look at in the table to decide whether or not the keyword term is achievable and how do you decide this maybe its the root domain backlinks and maybe you would only touch it if it had less then 30. Basically what other elements do you look at when deciding whether to pursue? This might also include some research in Google itself (although most the data you would want is in the tool, well I think anyway! Cheers
Competitive Research | | activitysuper0