Research the Client, Research their Market, Research their Keywords
February 18, 2008 on 2:59 pm
Filed Under:SEO, Web
Being an SEO is great because on any given day I can be involved in several different, and pretty cool, industries. When I’ve got my research hat on and I’m working on any number of clients’ sites during the day, I may be hiring a camper van bound for Broome or I may be sizing myself for a 13th Century metal breastplate that can withstand a direct hit from a knight’s lance.
It definitely keeps things interesting, especially when conducting research.
I’ll be the first to admit that the idea of research of almost any kind doesn’t exactly excite me. My eyelids instantly and involuntarily start to droop the minute my thoughts go anywhere near data collection and the like.
And yet, it’s a fairly big part of what I do. And I’m good at it. And, once I get going on it, I secretly really enjoy it. I suppose research really isn’t that boring then is it? Someday I’ll train that part of my brain on that as well.
The opportunity to work with a client that is already reasonably familiar with Search Engine Optimisation and Search Marketing is nice, because I don’t have to explain as much and also because I can get even more of a feel for my competition and how they’ve been handled before.
This is how I found that one of the major discrepancies I’ve found between myself and many other SEOs out there is the sheer amount of research I do. Some just take client-suggested keywords, plant them strategically on their site, and gather up some relatively useless links, giving the client only what they appear to have asked for… and nothing more.
Our focus is on more than just getting you optimised and getting you out the door with your keywords and a smile. We’re about getting your site to be all that it can be (just like those ads for the U.S. Army) and part of that is making sure that we’re not accepting your money for an incomplete job. Doesn’t matter who you are or what you are on the web, you’re looking for success.
Who are you to the Web World?
Our research is what sets us apart from our competition. We make sure we know you, the client, what you’re about, what you’re trying to sell and how. We get a solid idea of the ins-and-outs of your business before we go anywhere. Then, of our own accord, we research YOU. Nothing involving fingerprints or e-stalking, of course, but we see where your site is mentioned and in what context.
Where do you stand in it?
Next, we research the marketplace in your industry. If you sell Blue Shoes, we go out and see what kind of folks also sell Blue Shoes. We want to know how they sell them, for how much, and where. If they’re doing more with what they’ve got, and they’ve got about the same as you, then we figure you’d like to know where they’re experiencing success, and therefore where you can too.
How can they find you?
Part of the research into your web presence is more than just who’s talking about you, it’s about where you are showing up for searches that lead users to your competition. Where are you in the race? Even if it’s for a search term that you don’t even want to target, we think it’s important for you to know what’s out there and where certain possibilities lie.
Your keywords are basically the last step in our research. Once we know who you are, who your clients are, we can start to figure out how we’re going to help them find you. We can compile data on 75 keywords, but if we already know that 90% of them are going to be searching on the American spelling of a certain word, then we can effectively eliminate the need to further research certain other terms.
Research, Research, Research
Though I may initially be bored with the idea, nothing excites me more than delving headfirst into a whole pool’s worth of new information through research. I love finding out new things about places that I have never been and things that I have never experienced before. I love having a diverse array of clients that offer a chance to break away from some of the tedium.
I even love the tedium, though I rarely admit it.