If you want your web presence to make a real impact, targeting the right audience is critical. To do this, keyword research is an important element that can drive your SEO efforts.
However, while most site owners might try to focus on keywords that are easy to rank for and likely to generate the most traffic, this doesn’t necessarily mean that this traffic will actually convert to additional sales.
This is why it’s important that you know how to find the right keywords with real, actionable meaning behind them.
What Are High-Converting Keywords?
High-converting keywords are the words and phrases that are closely associated with a user’s intent to purchase or carry out any other specific action. This might be to subscribe to a newsletter, download various assets, book a demo or consultation, or buy something from a website.
In many cases, high-converting keywords are the ones that most Pay-Per-Click (PPC) campaigns prioritize, as these are the terms that require the lowest amount of clicks before a subsequent purchase is made.
An example of a standard keyword might be “running shoes” or “walking shoes.” These are the types of searches that could have a wide range of intents, but most often, are simply someone looking for more information. However, terms like “best Nice running shoes under $200,” while no doubt having a lower search volume, are much more likely to lead to someone actually making a purchase when they find the information they’re looking for.
Why High-Converting Keywords Matter?
High-converting keywords can be incredibly important to your SEO efforts. Below are some of the advantages of focusing on these types of terms:
- Increases Targeted Traffic - Unlike casting a wider net with your keyword coverage to attract all types of traffic, prioritizing high-converting keywords enables you to attract new site visitors who are more likely to complete a specific action.
- Better ROI from SEO - When you place more of your advertising budget toward keywords and terms that are more likely to generate more sales, you’ll bring in a much better ROI for your efforts. This gives you additional resources that can be put toward other digital marketing campaigns to help increase the effectiveness of your lead funnel.
- Improves User Experience - Most of the time, when users are searching for something with the intent to purchase, they don’t want to spend a long time researching the information they need. When you target high-converting keywords, not only are you improving your chances of converting a new customer, but you’re also helping to improve the user experience on your site.
Best Practices for Finding High-Converting Keywords
1. Conduct Thorough Keyword Research
In order to locate high-converting keywords, you first need to put yourself in your customers’ shoes and think of the way they’re likely to search for information. A big part of this process is researching the language your audience uses when interacting with your competitors' web pages.
Research each of your competitors and analyze their web pages. Ensure you note both the search volume and its difficulty. You should also consider how well each of those terms aligns with your business objectives. This will ensure that you identify terms and phrases that allow you to create content that makes sense for your website.
2. Concentrate on Search Intent
Getting to understand the actual reasons behind someone’s online searches is key to finding high-converting keywords. This all begins with understanding search intent and shaping your content to answer it.
Below are the four common types of intent:
- Informational - This is the type of search intent most people have when they’re simply looking for helpful answers on a wide range of topics.
- Navigational - This type of search intent is when someone likely already knows what they’re looking for, but they don’t necessarily know the exact URL, so they do a Google search instead.
- Commercial - These types of queries are made when someone might already know the types of products or services they’re looking for, but might be conducting some comparative searches.
- Transactional - These search types are likely to convert the highest and are primarily used by someone with a clear intent to purchase.
3. Identify the Best Content Types for Each Keyword
Once you’ve identified the reasons why someone is using specific keywords or phrases in their content, you can start to create certain types of content that best address their needs. For example, if someone is asking specific questions focused on learning certain things, this might be a good fit for using video explainers or helpful step-by-step guides.
A good way to confirm that the content you’re creating addresses user intent in the right way is to search for those same terms on Google and see what top results are provided. Take note of each of these pages and see if there are any commonly listed features between the pages that could give you a hint at the same type of content you should focus on when trying to rank higher for those terms.
4. Analyze the Customer Journey
Part of discovering high-converting keywords is understanding each of the steps an individual likely takes before making a commitment. This typically begins at the awareness stage, when an individual first recognizes they have a problem. During this stage, their searches might be broader in scope and less targeted.
Once they’ve identified a bit more information, this is when they’ll move to the consideration stage. At this point, they know what their main issue is and are now researching and comparing different solutions for solving it.
After they’ve thoroughly compared their options, this is when they’ll reach the decision stage, which often ends in some type of transaction.
All of these individual stages will require different types of content that support them. By understanding how searches evolve throughout a customer’s buying journey and optimizing your content to support each stage, you will be more likely to design and optimize a lead funnel that ultimately leads to increased conversions.
In Summary
Identifying the best keywords that bring a good mix of volume and transactional search intent can go a long way in helping you achieve your business goals. By strategically modifying your SEO objectives and focusing your keyword research on terms more likely to bring your business more qualified leads, you’ll be able to create more informed content strategies and help your business grow more sustainably.
FAQs
Why are long-tail keywords important for getting more sales?
Long-tail keywords are more descriptive and help to define exactly what a user is looking for as opposed to shorter, more generic terms. These terms also tend to have less competition since they produce less traffic, but are more likely to convert.
How to optimize content for high-converting searches?
Focus on making your content as helpful as possible. Then weave in some of your key terms naturally into the content, such as in headings, meta titles and descriptions.
How can I check how well my high-converting keywords are performing?
Google Search Console and Google Analytics are easy-to-use, free tools that can show you which keywords are bringing people to your site in the first place. Then, you can use Google Analytics or other SEO tools like Semrush or Ahrefs to analyze your user traffic in more detail and better understand how your keywords are performing over time.
Can customer feedback help find high-converting keywords?
Yes. Pay close attention to the exact language they use in reviews, support emails, and social media comments. The phrases they use to describe their problems and needs are often the same as those that other potential customers might use, which you can then target in your SEO campaigns.