Digital Basics Part 5: Keyword Research Without the Jargon

Episode summary

What are your customers actually typing into Google? In episode five of the Design Box Digital podcast, Tristan Brunsdon explains keyword research in plain English for Melbourne and Australian small business owners. He covers what a keyword really is, how to work out the intent behind a search, where to find your customers’ real words for free (including Google autocomplete, “People also ask”, Google Search Console and the Google Keyword Planner), how to choose the searches worth going after, and how to use them on your website without sounding like a robot. Plus the most common keyword research mistakes, and one simple action for this week.

In this episode

  • Why the words you use and the words your customers use are often completely different
  • What a keyword actually is, and why most of them are a few words or a whole question
  • Search intent: learning, comparing, ready to act, or going somewhere specific
  • The simple trick for working out intent: Google it yourself and see what comes up
  • Why one page can’t do every job
  • Your customers’ questions: the best free source of keywords there is
  • Google autocomplete, “People also ask” and related searches
  • Using the Performance report in Google Search Console to see the searches that already find you
  • The Google Keyword Planner, and why you shouldn’t get hung up on search volume numbers
  • Competitors’ sites, reviews and local community groups as sources of real customer language
  • Four questions for choosing keywords: is it relevant, what’s the intent, is it realistic, is it valuable?
  • Grouping similar searches into topics: one topic, one main page
  • Seasonal searches, and five common keyword research mistakes
  • Using keywords naturally in page titles, headings, opening paragraphs, web addresses and meta descriptions
  • Avoiding keyword stuffing, copy-and-paste pages and several pages competing for the same search

Chapters

  • 0:00 – Cold open: a beautiful website nobody can find
  • 1:10 – Welcome back, and a quick nod to episodes 3 and 4
  • 2:57 – Section 1: What a Keyword Actually Is
  • 6:12 – Section 2: Search Intent – What Does the Person Actually Want?
  • 9:43 – Section 3: Where to Find Your Customers’ Real Words
  • 14:47 – Section 4: Choosing the Keywords Worth Going After
  • 22:15 – Section 5: Using Keywords Without Sounding Like a Robot
  • 26:46 – Recap
  • 28:04 – Your One Action This Week
  • 28:44 – Call to Action and Episode 6 Teaser
  • 29:31 – Outro

Your one action this week

Start a customer question list. Every time a customer or potential customer asks you a question this week, write it down in their words, not yours. At the end of the week, pick the three questions that come up most often, Google each one, and ask yourself honestly: does my website answer this clearly? Bonus: log in to Google Search Console and look at the searches people already use to find you.

Resources mentioned

Next episode

Episode 6 – Content that ranks and sells: how to create pages and articles that show up in Google and turn visitors into enquiries, what makes content genuinely helpful, how to structure a page so people keep reading, and how to do it without becoming a full-time blogger.

About Design Box Digital

Design Box Digital is a Melbourne web design and digital marketing agency based at the World Trade Centre in Docklands. We build WordPress and Shopify websites, run SEO and Google Ads, and help businesses turn their websites into lead generators. Visit designbox.com.au to get in touch.

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Digital Basics Part 5: Keyword Research Without the Jargon
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