Part 2: Keyword Research and Ranking for Key Terms

At this point, we’ve learned about what backlinks are and how they help websites develop. We’ve learned about what makes a whitehat backlink and a blackhat backlink. So we know where to get the links we want and how to differentiate the good ones from the bad ones. The next step to executing the perfect backlink is to find out what pages and words you should be looking to link. ​

Where to Start?

This is where you get into the process known as keyword research, a crucial step in SEO as a whole. This can be done using a range of tools such as Semrush, Moz, Ahrefs, etc. I prefer to use Ahrefs to study the sites I’m acquiring information for a backlink and seeing what keywords or terms already rank on a page. It’s important to study the keywords that are already coming up organically on your website in order to monitor whether they are relevant to your brand. Starting here will be your path of least resistance and sometimes only a blog or 2 can move these words onto page 1. You ideally need to have your highest ranking keywords be a mix of hyper niche words in your field and general terms that give you maximum impressions.

How Do I Maximize Already Existing Keyword Rankings?

You’d like to have momentum going for the first group of words you are trying to rank, if a word is starting to gain traction you’d like to keep generating traffic towards that word as a way to refer people to your site or blog. The way you keep a keyword going up in ranking is by creating backlinks for that specific keyphrase. This is done by using that keyword or variations of that word as anchor text, read the blog Aaron wrote on anchor text to learn more about how to highlight the words you want to rank. Once the keyword you highlighted is used as anchor text it will likely raise the metrics of that word. Not only will you see an increase in the highlighted terms’ ranking, but similar terms to the one highlighted will begin popping up as search terms for your site, which overall increases your SEO.

From a content creation standpoint, answering a few subquestions about this topic or adding some FAQs to your service page can go a long way and not take much effort from someone who lives and breathes your business.

How can I begin ranking for new keywords?

A good way to expand the keywords you want your site to begin ranking for is to write blogs or create content focusing on those terms you want to rank for. You can create FAQs, city pages, video/podcasts, showroom locator, etc. to name a few content ideas for your website that can be counted as valuable information for keywords, allowing you to rank for them. You need to make sure that your content is credible and useful as you want users to stay on the page (limiting the bounce rate) and for them to link your page on other websites as a resource. Google is an intelligent search engine, it will recognize if the key terms you are trying to rank for deserve to be on your site.

Should I be Tracking my Keywords Regularly?

It is necessary to keep tracking the progress of your links to make sure they are rising up the ranks of Google and not losing traction. If your content is going dry and your target audience begins to start clicking on other links, you will begin dropping in rankings for that term. It is important to update your website to stay relevant with any current events or recent developments so that your content doesn’t become outdated, hindering it useless. Your highest ranking blogs can make or break your site traffic, so be sure to treat them like the valuable asset that they are.