How to create an SEO keyword list

Video Transcription

One of the first steps for effective Australian SEO is to create a keyword list. It’s a basic digital strategy that is fundamental to any seo marketing campaign.

But few people ever take this step. In fact, it’s quite shocking how little the average small business knows about SEO.

I’m Ben Carew, the host ‘SEO Hacks for SME’s’. In this video I’ll use the example of a plastic surgeon who specialises in breast implants to show you how to create a keyword list you need to rank on page 1 of Google.

Step 1 – Choose the right tool

There are a ton of great tools online that will help you build a powerful keyword list in minutes. The most obvious is Google Ads keyword planner, which is free. But there are some others that the team and I at Webbuzz like better:

• Ubersuggest by seo guru Neil Patel
• The ‘Keywords everywhere‘ Chrome extension (the most accessible)
• And our personal favourite SEMRush

Step 2 – Start with broad terms

Start typing in broad ‘root terms’ that describe the business into your keyword tool.

For example a doctor who does plastic surgery might start with ‘plastic surgeon’. The keyword tool will suggest other related terms, and for each it will show monthly ‘search volume’ competition , and CPC or ‘cost per click’ for each.

These are important metrics for SEO keywords. We’ll come back to these a bit later.

Step 3 – Refine with geo-targeting

Now add ‘location’ into the mix. If the plastic surgeon was based in Sydney, you might refine the keyword search to ‘plastic surgeon sydney’. Or you could go even more local, and get some keyword suggestions for say ‘plastic surgeon eastern suburbs’.

Generally, the more targeted you go, the lower the search volume.

Step 4 – Narrow to ‘product’ & ‘service’ keywords

Return to your keyword tool and begin to type in more targeted terms that describe the different products and services you offer. to continue with our doctor example, let’s assume she specialises in ‘breast implants’.

You could enter ‘breast implants sydney’ to get a list of related keyword terms people are using to search for this service on Google.

TIP: product keywords with geo targeting are often the best because they have the most ‘purchase intent’

Step 5- Review and refine

Now go back and look at the long list of possible keywords you’ve generated.

Remember the metrics we mentioned before? You now want to create a shortlist of keywords based on the most ideal combination of:

• Lowest CPC or ‘cost per click’
• Highest monthly search volume
• Lowest competition
• Most relevance for your business & website content

Unless you’re an SEO pro, this is where things can get tricky. Give it your best shot.

OK so hopefully that’s shown you how to create an seo keyword list for your business.

If you have any questions, leave a comment below.

And if you want to get regular SEO hacks delivered to your inbox, subscribe below.

Cheers, Ben