Finding The Hottest Keywords For Your Business: 15 Effective Strategies - Forbes

Keywords are among the most used and least understood parts of marketing. Most marketers know the reason we use keywords, but finding out which specific ones are ideal for a business may not be their forte.

Intent-based keywords, or keywords that drive the user to take the desired action, are suitable for including in a website that wants to drive traffic and capture conversions. Defining those intent-based keywords will differ from business to business. As each audience is different, the keywords that trigger their interest and the need to act will change, as well.

Fifteen members of Forbes Communications Council look at strategies for identifying the most effective keywords for their business, and how to include them usefully within their content to achieve their goals.

Members share their best tips for identifying your brand's ideal keywords.

Photos courtesy of the individual members.

1. Conduct Keyword Research 

Conducting keyword research can help brands know how to strategically implement keywords into new or existing content. A Google search of relevant topics or industries can also help determine what phrases people are using to search for your business or services. However, implement keywords naturally. Don't force them, as Google recognizes this and it can harm your brand instead of helping it. - G'Nai Blakemore, Mattress Firm

2. Run Competitor Keyword Analyses 

Knowing what keywords your competition is using can be a great place to start, especially if you do competitor keyword analysis on some of the bigger brands in your industry and/or niche. Your biggest competitors have already spent time doing R&D on keywords for you. Use them to your advantage by placing them in H1 headers, above-the-fold paragraph text and in title tags and meta descriptions. - Stephen Seifert, Seifert Media

3. Use Your Website Search Bar 

You should use a variety of tools to get keyword level data. However, one of the most overlooked is the website's search bar. When a website visitor uses your search bar they are giving you exactly what they want. Use that to create new content and products. Connect your search bar to Google Analytics to get this keyword data. You can use your competitors' search bar in the same way. - Lavall Chichester, JumpCrew

4. Leverage The Power Of AI 

There are sophisticated AI-driven tools on the market today that use intent data to discover new, relevant keywords that might be less expensive and competitive, resulting in improved SEM efficiency. Additionally, these intent-driven keywords align digital channels with the demonstrated intent of target accounts, maximizing content marketing and SEO strategies. - Peter Isaacson, Demandbase

5. Think Like Your Customer 

Put yourself in the shoes of your customer. What do you think they'd be searching for to find your product? There are hundreds of possibilities. Once you have some ideas, use free keyword tools like Keywords Everywhere or SEMrush to see how often these words are searched and start using the most searched words on your website. To execute well, you should hire an SEO and content strategist. - Kyle Mears, Seek Business Capital

6. Search Your Search 

One quick way to identify effective keywords is to check your website traffic using Queries in Google Analytics. Examine the data for the words or phrases people are using the most to find your site. Set your time frame to at least three to six months, so you can extrapolate significant keyword search trends accurately. - Melissa Kandel, little word studio

7. Start From The Source 

Marketers spend too much time thinking about how their customers think. Don't hypothesize; go to the source with Answer The Public. This generates a holistic view of search queries around particular topics, giving a direct insight into your customer's motivations. From there, produce content that directly addresses these questions to increase your SEO rankings, traffic and ideal customer base. - Patrick Ward, High Speed Experts

8. Listen To And Transcribe Calls 

Using a call recording software to listen to and transcribe conversations prospective customers have with your sales team, is an excellent way to learn what words and phrases potential customers are using to talk about your business. These terms vary based on the region, country or type of customer on the other line. Your marketing team can implement these findings in your website's keyword strategy. - Jake Rheude, Red Stag Fulfillment

9. Leverage Insights From Social Media 

Understanding the problem people are trying to solve by visiting your site is crucial to identifying intent-based keywords. Using social listening can help uncover topics and FAQs related to your brand, which can inform which words you use on your homepage to guide visitors to a desired action. - Andrew Caravella, Sprout Social

10. Use Ahrefs 

I absolutely love this SEO/link-building software called Ahrefs. You can also use these strategies to figure out which keywords your audience might be interested in: looking at the issues and pain points that are attracting your customers, looking at what your customers are chatting about on social and sending out a survey to simply ask what they want to read about. - Joseph Rauch, Public Goods

11. Talk To Your Sales Team 

There are many tools that can help you discover keywords to target, but anecdotal feedback from the sales team is often the best way to build a list of intent-based keywords. The sales team understands the phrases and terminology people actually use when they're researching and when they're ready to buy. Plus, the sales team learns quickly when they use words that don't resonate. - Kathy Bryan, Digital Media Solutions

12. Test Different Calls To Action 

Sprinkle differently-worded calls-to-action on your website and measure the number of clicks on each. For example, to get visitors to request a demo, you could use these various options to see what resonates most with your audience: "Request demo," "Watch it live," "See it in action," "Take a test drive," etc. Once you discover what works, use that across your website. - Udi Ledergor, Gong

13. Use Keywords That Deliver The Most ROI 

Check your search traffic to find out which keywords are driving the most sales. Not conversions -- sales. If you have properly connected your analytics and lead management system, you should be able to figure out which keywords are associated with sales. You can then incorporate these keywords within your content for an even better conversion rate. - Amine Rahal, Regal Assets

14. Use The Best Keywords To Tell Your Story 

The first step is to be crystal-clear regarding not only what you offer in services, but what your clients and customers seek from you. It is not uncommon for a gap to exist between these two things. Second, find your top competitors online and inventory words that are working for them. Third, run search ads for your firm to test what words those seeking your services are using to search for you. - Ken Nahigian, Nahigian Strategies

15. Focus On Content Over Keywords

The real question is, are keywords even key anymore? The drivers behind today's search technology are so advanced that spending time and money on keyword optimization produces diminishing returns. Instead, focus on creating killer content that connects with consumers; content that answers what buyers seek. Build good content and they will come -- as long as you know your customers. - Marija Zivanovic-Smith, NCR Corporation