How to do Keyword Research and get more traffic to your blog

Are you still confused with Keyword Research and how you can use it to get more traffic to your blog?

It’s OK, you’re not alone.

I’ve spent a lot of time learning the techniques behind Keyword Research and although it might make sense to me, perhaps it doesn’t make sense to you and how it relates to your blog.

Keeping that in mind, I thought I’d do a real-life Case Study to show one of my Twitter followers how she can get more traffic to her blog by simply taking the time to find what people are looking for.

Do you know what people are looking for in your niche?

The easiest way to find out is to do a little  Keyword Research and find out.

Today I have a Case Study for you, showing you how to do Google Keyword Research using the Long Tail Pro keyword research tool.

I hope you like it.

So let’s go a bit deeper shall we.

How to do Keyword Research – Case Study

Website – http://donnahup.com/

#1 Choose the Right Niche

In this example, I used one of Donna’s less developed topics of interest to extract a useful keyword phrase that she can use for a new blog post.

Cooking and Food Blogs are very competitive, so sometimes it’s more productive to find a niche that’s a little less busy. In this case, Donna’s passion for trucking seemed like a great place to start.

#2 Use a Keyword Research Tool

Once you’ve decided on your niche, you need to enter some niche keywords into a Keyword Research Tool. I prefer Long Tail Pro because it makes searching for keywords so much easier than using the free AdWords Tool from Google.

So I enter Trucker and Trucking into the Keyword Research Tool and it returns:-

Trucker – 801 results

Trucking – 580 results 

These are great numbers and show there are plenty of Long Tail Search opportunities within this niche. If there are only a few keyword matches returned then it might be best to broaden your search term.

#3 Analyze the Results

For the search term ‘Trucker’ we could see a lot of results begin returned without the word ‘trucker’ in the phrase until we scroll down to ‘trucker hats’ @ 18,000 monthly visits.

This is great if we wanted to sell trucker hats, but I think Donna’s writing style is more informational so it’s time to use the filters.

If you’re not really sure what type of blog post you want to write then just browsing this Keyword list will surely lead to a A-Ha moment.

#4 Filter Your Search

One of the features of Long Tail Pro is the ability to filter over multiple keyword searches. As I wanted to find a question Google Users were searching for, I filtered on ‘How’.

This keyword is a very common search word when you want to know ‘how’ to do something.

In this case filtering on ‘How’ returned the search phrase ‘How to become a trucker’ but unfortunately, it was only returning a mere 170 per month search volume. So I kept looking.

#5 Dig Deeper

If you can’t find a search phrase with around 1,000 monthly searches you might be best served continuing to look as it might not be worth your time and effort you put into writing on that subject.

Given I also searched for the term ‘Trucking’ I switched over to this word and found a better option with more volume.  ‘How to Become a Truck Driver’ with 1,900 monthly global searches and 1,600 searches within the USA.

This might make a good headline so pop it into a Headline Analyzer tool just to be sure.

Tip: Strong local search volumes means you can tailor it to your region.

#6  Find Related Keywords

Now we’ve decided on the headline we need to find some additional phrases that Google consider to be similar in meaning to our search phrase. These can then be used within the body of the blog post.

In the past, we use to focus on keyword density as a strong indicator but now it’s more about using relevant words and phrases that support your chosen keyword.

We can use Google Search to find other keywords and phrases that Google consider to be relevant.

It’s a bit like the ‘Customers who bought this also bought…’ feature in Amazon.

So when I type ‘How to become a truck driver’ in Google Search I get…

So from this we can find a few good phrases and sub-headings we can use for our Blog Post.

Should I become Truck Driver

How do I become a truck driver

How to be a Trucker (we saw this in our keyword research)

Truck Driving Schools

How to become a truck driver in the mines.

#7 Bringing It All Together

So now we have plenty of data to use in our Blog Post let’s look at how we can turn this into information for our reader.

Here’s how I’d structure the post.

Title – How to become a truck driver

Preamble – Use the term ‘how to become a truck driver’ and ‘how to become a trucker’ at least once in the first few introductory paragraphs.

Subheading – Should I become a Truck Driver

Discuss the types of people that make good truck drivers. Use your experience in this niche and ask or interview other truckers for their opinion on what makes a successful truck driver.

Subheading – How To be a Truck Driver

Now you want to get into the detail of how you actually become a truck driver. Be as detailed as you can, because the more value you add here, the more chance you have of being cited by other bloggers or mentioned by other truckers.

Subheading – Trucking Schools

Maybe write a little bit about the benefits of using a truck driving school and link to a few of the top truck driving schools in the country.  Again be exhaustive with your detail.

Subheading – Types of Driver Jobs

(driver jobs has 18,000 monthly global searches)

Use terms like ‘How to become a truck driver in the mines’, ‘How to become an ice road trucker’ if you can. List as many types of Truck Driver Jobs you can think of.

Subheading – Truck Driver Salary

People always want to know how much they’ll get paid, so this could be another opportunity to keep them reading further. Gather the information from some established reports and be sure to link directly to them.

Subheading – My Honest Opinion

Here’s you chance to have your say about what you love or hate about trucking. It’s also a great way to increase your authority in this niche and be the person they turn to when they have unanswered questions.

So that’s the structure of the blog post sorted.

Writing Your Blog Post

You should include the exact keyword research phrases within the body of your text because Google see’s this as a positive signal.

I’d also try to find a relevant link to a high ranking Youtube video on this subject because again Google sees this as a positive signal and may rank you higher.

Of course, these signals do change over time, but right now it’s what we know that works.

Hopefully, by listing a number of subheadings you’ll have plenty to talk about and I’d aim for a 2000 word post if you really want this to be worth your while.

Promoting Your Blog Post

Writing your blog post is only half the job. Once you’ve written the post then share it around as much as you can.

Your objective is to get some backlinks specifically for this post, so get creative.

• Use social media to publish the links and don’t be afraid to retweet on twitter over a number of days because not everyone will see your tweet or go back through their twitter stream.
• Comment on the video you included in your blog post and provide a backlink to your article.
• It’s also the time to call in a few favors with other bloggers who have a similar niche, you scratch their backs and maybe they’ll scratch yours.
• Maybe you can get on a Trucking Podcast and talk about your post and your trucking experiences.

Your alternative is to wait until Google Indexes your new blog post and let it build natural links, but if you want some traffic sooner you’ll need to put in a little extra effort promoting your work.

Conclusion

This Keyword Phrase was a good find and hopefully Donna takes this Keyword Research gift and runs with it before someone else does.

Based on the current Domain Authority of 46, Donnahup.com stands a good chance of getting a post like this to rank on Page 1 of Google. This should then result in increased traffic to the blog. Yay!

If Donna does decide to create a blog post like this, I’ll update this post with the link. Otherwise, if there is anyone else out there with a trucker blog this opportunity is also open to you.

Finding profitable keywords can be fun but for those bloggers that prefer just to write I now offer a DONE FOR YOU – Keyword Research Service.

Let me take away the hassle of finding great keyword phrases and show you how to get more traffic to your blog.

‘DONE FOR YOU’ – Keyword Research Service

Yes, I’m now offering a ‘DONE FOR YOU‘ Keyword Research Service for your blog.

Isn’t is about time you started getting the traffic you deserve?

Well, I think so and I want to give you every opportunity to succeed with your blog. Do you?

The tough reality is Blogging has gone Pro and you’re now swimming with sharks, who will try to out rank you at every opportunity.  Don’t let them beat you to the prize of free organic traffic in your niche.

If you’ve got a blog that’s been around for a few years, you might be able to rank quickly for some of the keywords in your niche.

If you’re thinking it’s just too hard then check out my  ‘DONE FOR YOU’ – Keyword Research Service.

If you liked the format of this Keyword Research – Case Study then please leave a comment below and follow me on twitter @diyblogguy as I might just choose your blog next time for another detailed keyword research example.