How to Blog for Marketing and SEO Part 2

Continued from Part 1 of How to Blog for Marketing and SEO

Part 2: Keyword Research

Now that you have a better understanding of why blogging is so important, let's talk about how to get started on an actual blog post.I always start with some basic keyword research to help me decide on a topic for a blog article. I like to begin by honing in on what I think would be a good topic or a useful piece of information. Then I take that topic and write down a few keywords I think would fit into an article. Next, I take that list and perform some quick research using keyword tools. Google's keyword tool, Google Insights, and Google's Semantic tool are all great for this (and they're free). Using an online keyword research tool will let me know which keywords other people use to search for a specific topic, and how much competition exists for each keyword phrase.

Using Google's Keyword Tools for Blogging

Let's go step-by-step through the keyword research process:

1. Search for keywords related to flooring using Google's Keyword Tool (search for "keyword tool" on Google).

2. Continuing our Flooring Company scenario we'll start by typing 'Flooring' in the "Word or Phrase" box, typing in the verification code, then clicking 'Search

3. Now we see a list of searches or "queries"sorted by relevance.

4. For today's exercise let's sort by search volume by clicking on "Local Monthly Searches" (Local means within your country) at the top right.

5. Because most of the terms at the top are very broad categories, let's take the term "Hardwood Floor" which gets about 823,000 searches each month (based on 12 month avg). If we want to get really in-depth research, we could navigate to Google Insights to get a feel for where the search trends are going for terms around "Hardwood Floor." I only do this occasionally (Skip to step 8 if you already have a good idea of what your blog post will be about).

6. Navigate to Google's Insights Tool and enter the phrase we selected (in this case"hardwood floor") into the search term bar. To the right, filter by"United Sates." Leave the rest at the default settings and click search.

7. Scroll down and you'll see results for "Top searches" and "Rising Searches" This is what we're interested in. Take note of popular yet similar terms that you can use together in one blog post.

8. Based on all the keywords I've seen. I've selected "Hardwood-Floor-Installation" as the topic of my article. Next, let's take a look at which keywords Google thinks are semantically related to "Hardwood-Floor-Installation." Click on Google's Wonder Wheel Tool and type in the phrase we've selected.

9. Based on all my research up to this point, I've chosen to include some of the following keywords in my blog post. I like to start with a long list, but I'll whittle it down as my blog post takes shape.

hardwood floor reviews

hardwood floors

hardwood flooring

wood floor

hardwood floor installation

refinishing hardwood floor

wood floors

best hardwood floor

Now you're ready to create your outline and start writing! To learn more about blogging, stay tuned for Part 3: Blog Outlines and Catchy Titles.



Dale Warner is Director of Marketing & SEO for Infront Webworks, Inc. in Colorado Springs, CO. Dale has a strong background in sales and marketing small businesses. He has a knack for creating customized online marketing solutions to help businesses sell more of their products and services. His specialties include Search Engine Optimization, Search Engine Marketing, Social Media Marketing, Online Display Advertising, Email Marketing, Event Promotion, Webinars, and more.

To see this article with charts and diagrams, view How To Blog: Part 2.




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