Adding engaging content to your website can have endless benefits for your company. You can gain credibility, educate and engage customers, and even enhance your visibility on Google. To get the most out of a content marketing campaign, though, you want to make sure you're engaging the right audience. That's where keyphrases come into play. Read on to find out why keyphrases are so important, how to research the best ones, and what role they play in your content marketing campaign.

See Also: 5 Tips to Create a Winning Content Marketing Strategy in 2016

What Are Keyphrases?

Keyphrases have to do with search engine optimization. At its most basic level, a keyphrase is what you'd expect a user to type into a search engine when looking for information on a particular topic, service or product. For example, a person who wants to upgrade their home theater in Dallas may type in “Home Theater Installers Dallas”. The primary goal of SEO is to guide people to your website by showing up on the first page of search results through these targeted keyphrases.

Why Use Keyphrases In Content Marketing?

In the past, most SEO efforts involved scattering relevant keyphrases throughout your website copy and metadata. But when search engines like Google look at your site, they’re doing a lot more than scanning for select phrases. They’ll give preference to pages that focus on a specific keyphrase, rather than stuffing multiple keyphrases on a generic page.

This is why it's so important to create content specifically geared toward your keyphrases. If you have a lot of content on a topic, Google will recognize that you're an authority on it and give your page a higher ranking. Search engines will also give preference to newer content, which is why it’s important to keep producing relevant blogs. Optimizing your website, adding key words to the copy and metadata, is a first step and sets a solid foundation, but if you’re serious about organic search results you’ll want a strategic content marketing plan in place.

How To Craft Keyphrases

With keyphrases being the foundation of your content marketing, you need to make sure you're using the right ones. Luckily, it's pretty easy to come up with keyphrases—or at least the basis for them. What are your most profitable services? Which do you want to show up for? Start by writing down a list of these services (home automation, TV installation, home theaters, lighting control) then think of the locations you want to target (Dallas, Frisco, Plano).

By combining the two you can create a keyphrase like “Home Automation Dallas TX”. You want to create targeted keyphrases that are specific to your business and also popular in search results. By making them more specific, you can reduce the amount of competition and also hone in on a target audience that would work best for you.

Researching The Best Keyphrases

Once you have an idea of what you want your keyphrases to include, it’s time to do some research to find the best ones. There are a variety of services you can use to compare multiple phrases to see which would be most efficient.

We recommend going with the Google Keyword Planner. You can type in a keyphrase to see how often it’s being searched and receive suggestions on related key phrases to see which are the most effective. Keyphrase research should be done throughout your campaign to see if specific topics or locations have grown or decreased in popularity over time.

With your keyphrases in place, it's time to craft an effective content marketing strategy. Each keyphrase will correspond to a specific blog, so you can create an editorial calendar that focuses on the topics that matter most to your company.

If you have any questions, feel free to reach out in our comments section or click on the “Let’s Talk” icon below!