What is a keyword analysis, and how do I get started?

Think about your business and your services.

Who is the best person to choose keywords for your research? You! In the end, it is you who still knows and understands your business best.

A big part of creating a keyword list is thinking about what you already know about your business, customers, and competitors.

Start a brainstorm.

To start with a keyword list, first brainstorm 3 to 5 "seed" keywords. Then you can expand your list by researching your website, customers, and competitors.

For those first 3-5 keywords, it is important to start small and be specific. "Construction contractor", for example, is too broad a keyword. With this keyword, you would face too much competition in search results from contractors, property developers, and so on.

Since 1 keyword can contain several words, choosing a short phrase instead of a single word will help you avoid falling into the broad and generic trap.

Refine your keywords.

Instead of just "building contractor", you should choose "building contractor new construction", "building contractor masonry", and "building contractor total solution".

Note that each word is contained in each keyword - no articles or conjunctions but literal words. You choose "building contractor new build", not "building contractor for a new build house".

Grow your keyword list.

Once you have your "seed" keyword list, it's time to grow it. That's where your website, customers, and competitors come in.

Look at your website by product lines, packages, bundles, and brands. Adjust your keywords accordingly.

Next, think like your customers. Talk to them about your business and products, and look at the kind of searches they make on your site.

Finally, take a look at your competitors' websites. And see what keywords they use.

Useful tools

You can use tools to find even more keywords like Google Keyword Planner and Bing Keyword Research, as well as analytics tools such as Google Analytics.

These tools can give you ideas for keywords you haven't yet thought of or might not come across in your own research.

Keyword planners work like this: You put your best starting keywords into the tool and it gives you related words that you could turn into new keywords.

Analytics tools can tell you which keywords people searched for that led them to your website. If you look at those searched keywords, chances are a few are more popular than the rest. Those are most likely good keywords to invest in.