Integrating the right keywords into your content is one of the most important aspects of SEO and digital marketing.

In running a small business, you’ve got to wear a lot of hats. If you really want your company to take off, however, then you need to have a good grasp on digital marketing, specifically SEO. This is how you’ll get your site to the top of search engines and put your business in a better position to succeed.

Mastering SEO involves a lot of ongoing keyword research, which is usually done with keyword search tools. In this post, we’re going to give you 3 tips for how to use these tools more effectively. Keep reading and you’ll be able to find the perfect keywords to attract your audience from now on.

1. Look At Your Competitors

Believe it or not, looking at what other people are doing is one of the best ways to do keyword research. Your competitors that have high search rankings are obviously doing something right, but did you know that you can look at the top keywords that they’ve been targeting? Using the best keyword search tool will make it easy.

Doing so gives you an edge over the competition for a few reasons. One is that it allows you to target the same audience that they’ve been targeting by using the same keywords. You can also take the opposite approach and use the keywords that have less competition, which can definitely work in your favor as well.

2. Going Local

Local SEO is among the most important methods of digital marketing available to small businesses right now. By targeting local keywords, you can appeal to people directly in your area. When someone types a search in and uses a phrase like “near me”, you want your business to come up at the top of the SERP.

Find a free keyword search tool and look for keywords in your exact location and within your niche. For instance, if you’re the owner of an auto body shop in Boise, finding keywords like “Boise car repair” or “auto body Boise” are going to help you immensely.

3. Negative Keywords Work Too

Using the Google keyword search tool, negative keywords can help you to weed out certain parts of the audience that you don’t need to try and appeal to. They help you narrow down and go after the people that you should be going after. 

To use the same auto body shop example from above, if there are certain things that your business specifically doesn’t do, then you could add those to your negative keyword list. So, if you’re strictly auto body, you might add “engine”, “transmission”, or “oil change” to your negative keyword list so that you don’t have people coming to your website for services you don’t offer, which will decrease your conversion rates.

Use Keyword Search Tools To Your Advantage

Now that you know how to use keyword search tools for your benefit, you can start to get a leg up on the competition. Using the right keywords is a crucial component of attracting the right audience, so take these tips into account and boost your SEO today.

If you enjoyed this post, come back again for more on SEO and other forms of digital marketing.