Content Marketing Should Always Begin With Keyword Research

Most businesses today are involved in some level of content marketing. It might be a term you hear often, but perhaps the definition is still unclear.

The simplest way to describe content marketing is the creation and distribution of valuable and relevant content, that is supposed to attract and retain your target audience. Ideally, it should drive your customers to perform some kind of predetermined action -- such as purchase your latest course or sign-up for your newsletter.

But how do you know where to start? How do you know what content your target audience will find most valuable? Many marketers and businesses start creating and distributing content based on assumptions. But that isn't necessary, nor is it the most effective tactic.

Typically, we only associate keyword research with search engine optimization (SEO). However, keyword research sheds light on how consumers are searching for your product, and demonstrates to us what language they use when conducting their searches. Keyword research really is a gold mine of information, so why wouldn't everyone be using it as the foundation for their content marketing strategy?

If you're thinking to yourself -- well that all sounds great, but what the heck is keyword research? You may want to take the time to learn about what that is first. Essentially, it's using a tool like Google's Keyword Planner to pull out all their data on relevant searches around your product or service. It's free to use, and with a little bit of a time investment, you will have the data in your hands to really understand how consumers are searching.

Let's look at some specific examples that demonstrate how powerful keyword research really is.


Speak Your Customer's Language
This is one of the most important things when it comes to creating effective content marketing material. You must be using the same keywords and terms as your potential customers. If you can see from your keyword research that there's a high search volume for "softest baby blankets" and a low search volume for "brown baby blankets", what should you be creating content around? Definitely not the brown baby blankets. You can easily create content around what people are already looking for, rather than trying to guess or reinvent the wheel. And to take this a step further, you can also focus on the questions your potential customers have. Answer the questions through your content. If you can see a large search volume online for questions about selecting the right fertilizer, and you sell fertilizer, create content that answers those questions. Take the opportunity to position yourself as an industry authority they can trust.

Focus On Creating Content That Actually Converts
It's a well-known fact that long-tailed terms convert higher. This means, the more specific the search, the farther the customer is down the buying cycle. For example, if I am doing a project on cats, I might conduct a search for "cute cats". But, if I am looking to purchase my beloved feline a fancy (and expensive!) 3 level scratch post that will fit in the corner, I might search for "cat playground corner". The keyword research will show you how people are searching for things that are relevant to what you sell, and you can then focus your next blog post on your fanciest corner kitty playground, rather than talking about how cute you think cats are. You want to be found for those specific, tailored searches.

Generate A Content Calendar In Advance
One of the biggest challenges content marketers face is continually coming up with new ideas, and then bringing those ideas to life. But, if you've got 50 terms you know get high search volume, that is the perfect start to creating a content calendar. Having a calendar that you plan in advance will save you time, frustration and writer's block. When things are laid out in advance, based on what you know consumers are looking for, the ideas will flow much easier and then it's also possible to delegate. There won't be a sense of panic when it's time to create something new -- you'll simply refer to your calendar for the next topic.

Be Better Than Awesome
Lastly, you need to create fantastic content that people will love and remember. Being relevant just isn't enough anymore. How can you be awesome, if you don't know what your potential customers actually want? Keyword research tells you, without question, what your customers are searching for. This is a major opportunity for you to give them what they want. Always try to improve and take it to the next level. When people really love your content, and feel like it answers questions they had, they'll share it -- because they know their friends have the same questions.