Puning SEO training: keyword analysis for website optimization

Keyword research has long been the starting point for how I build a comprehensive search engine optimization (SEO) strategy. Looking back, I now think this was my biggest mistake. It turns out that the effect doesn't matter. After performing some project post-mortems, I realized that while I was achieving measurable results, I was lacking operational efficiency, and at different stages of each project, keyword research has long been the starting point for how I build a comprehensive search engine optimization (SEO) strategy. Looking back, I now think this was my biggest mistake.

It turns out that the effect doesn't matter. After performing a few project post-mortems, I realized that while I was achieving measurable results, I was lacking operational efficiency and needed to go back to the basics of SEO pre-research at different stages of each project.

In academia, pre-research is the initial stage of gathering information about a particular topic or theme - often including key words - to gain the necessary context and ideas before deciding to go deeper. In many cases, researchers will shift their focus based on what they discover during this phase.

Ignoring this stage is my biggest mistake, as it is a mistake I have made more than once.

In some cases, I’ve only jumped into keyword research first because I was excited to get started on a specific project. To others, I was reacting (not responding) to the urgency of getting immediate results. Then, sometimes, some shiny new SEO tool catches my eye because it makes researching keywords much easier and more intuitive than the dozens of spreadsheets I’ve been using.

In every scene, I jumped right into the middle of the chaos instead of gathering the perspective I needed.

Keeping up with changes in the world of SEO can be a full-time job (Brian Dean of Backlinko has become my go-to source for learning), but despite reading up on updates to the Google RankBrain algorithm and considering strategies for optimizing dwell time and other user experience signals, I still felt I needed to get a better handle on this pre-research phase.

So, I came up with “arena status” and “margin status” – two related concepts that fall under the SEO pre-research banner.

Arena Nation

This stage is all about dreaming up (yes, carefully) all the keywords that fit the scope of your product or service. While some may refer to these as Latent Semantic Indexing (LSI) keywords, I think they encompass a much broader category.

Part of what makes SEO keyword research tools so great is that they’re machine-based; they can sift through a lot of information in a matter of seconds. But being a machine is also their constraint. While many of them will be able to find relevant keywords and long-tail questions worth considering, they will undoubtedly miss out on ideas and topics you can glean because of your knowledge of your product or service and your understanding of people.

Imagine a basketball arena, with the center court logo representing the most coveted keyword in your space. Let this be your metaphor. Then compile a list of relevant SEO keywords and queries within the scope of your product or service. Some keywords (keywords in actual court of law) may be directly related to your product, while others, including those with potentially high search volume and low competitiveness, may be behind a dumpster near the concession stand.

Suppose you offer an expensive artificial intelligence (AI)-driven platform in the e-commerce space. A tool might display keywords around artificial intelligence and retail and capture data around where competitors rank, but it might miss frequently searched terms like “visual marketing,” for example, which have high search volume but low competition.

Those looking for “visual marketing” are unlikely to be in the market for pricey AI platforms, but in today’s ultra-competitive SEO space, all eyes on the playing field are worth participating in — especially if it means tens of thousands of people will interact with your content and view your site as an educational resource.

Marginal countries

Marginal states have yet to enter the arena, but they have the potential to become center court. Here are the keywords, phrases, and queries that have gained traction and are perhaps becoming the industry standard. Grasping them now will position your company well for the future.

Over the years, I have learned that a group of leading market research and consulting firms typically set the language and rhetoric trends. They typically produce great content, and because they can conduct in-depth research on niche industries, they are often at the forefront of changes in those industries — and how products within them are portrayed.

Listen to their podcasts and dig deeper into some of their coverage; you might discover relevant new keywords that are worth strategizing about and owning.

I know it can be exciting to dive into SEO keyword research, but time spent on pre-research can help you avoid future obstacles and uncover new insights.