How To Find Top Ranking Search Terms that Make Money For You

SEO in Richmond, VA: How to Find Top Ranking Search Terms that Make Money for You

Have you ever run the Marine Marathon or the Newport News One City Marathon near Richmond, Virginia? On the morning of the race, you’re standing at the starting line with thousands of other runners from across the United States. The starting gun pops, and you begin shuffling forward, jostling with other runners for a position. As the race unfolds, you may set your sights on passing the runner in front of you, then another and another until you reach the front of the pack.

Getting your website to a top-ranking position on a search engine results page (SERP) can feel like running a marathon. There only a few top spots and you face a lot of persistent, experienced competitors who are vying for the win. If you’re a new company, you need your site to land on the first SERP to build your audience, get leads, and close deals. Search engine optimization (SEO) is a great place to start your race!

How Search Engine Optimization Gets You Noticed

SEO is one of several web strategies that Richmond, VA companies implement to improve online visibility. When someone searches online for a topic like ‘agency internet marketing Richmond,’ the search engine (e.g., Google) uses an algorithm to select websites and posts that answer the question. Effective SEO relies on an understanding of the algorithm to put your story or site near the top of the search results.

Being on the first SERP by using SEO helps you in two ways:

• You’ll get more traffic. Google handles more than 4 billion online searches every day. Even if you received one-hundredth of a percent of those searches — that’s .001%, you’d have 400,000 visitors to your site. That’s a significant number of potential leads who could become revenue-generating customers.
• You can stay top-ranked. As long as your information remains relevant, your site will be page one-worthy. Recent industry research shows that the average Top 10 page is more than 2 years old; companies with sites structured to answer key questions remain the ‘go-to’ source for customers.

The fundamentals of search engine optimization remain steady, but just as internet marketing continues to evolve, the approach to effective SEO has shifted. Here are some tips to help you identify keywords to improve your websites’ ranking and get the click-throughs you need to connect with the right customers.

Find Traffic-Generating, Revenue-Producing Keywords

You know your business and your customers, but strong SEO requires research. What improves the power of a keyword?

• Choosing words with good, but not top-ranking volume. Words with the highest volume may have too much competition and aren’t going to be worth your time.
• Finding words relevant to your business. While this may seem like a no-brainer, choosing words that are important to your customers will drive traffic and generate leads.
• Exploring variations of your primary keyword. You’ll want alternatives to use across your site and your content that express the same ideas as your keyword.

With ideas for your keywords in mind, it’s time to make sure you’ll stand out in the marketplace.

Differentiate from Your Competitors

Now do some searching to find out if your keywords will give you a unique point-of-difference with customers. Look for the following clues:

• How many domains and URLs with your keywords rank in the top 10 SERPs?
• Do you find titles that use your keyword(s)?
• What kind of content shows up on the SERPs – websites, blogs, videos?
• What types of companies rank on your keyword(s)?

One technique to use when evaluating your keywords vs. competitors is to consider the potential customer’s search criteria. Think about why they’re searching and what they’re really looking for, even if their language isn’t precise. Tailor your keyword(s) or long-tail keywords to help a customer find you with one search.

Here’s an example that shows how precise SEO can get help a Richmond-based commercial cleaning business get more traffic:

• cleaners
• cleaning service
• Richmond cleaning service
• Richmond VA commercial janitorial service

The first word, ‘cleaners,’ could include dry-cleaning, maid-service, or carpet cleaning services. The second phrase may bring in a few commercial cleaners, but not necessarily in the Richmond area.

The third term taps into the Richmond market, but still broadly covers home cleaning services. The last term offers the greatest chance of delivering results for a commercial cleaning company.

Use Your Keyword(s) Wisely

Remember, great SEO is like a marathon. It’s not an easy jog or a quick sprint. When you’ve identified your keywords, incorporate them into well-written content that’s useful to potential customers. If you stuff your site with keywords without context or insert them robotically on every page, you’ll struggle to get the results you need to build your business.

Working with an expert in SEO in Richmond VA like Renaissance Marketing can help you power-up your keywords. Did you know you can include keywords on image file names? Site visitors may not notice them but including your keywords in these less apparent places will boost your rankings.

Analyze Results and Optimize

Clear your cache history, plug in your keywords or long-tail keywords, and check your ranking. Analytics tools can help you find out which keywords are driving your ranking. If you’re not happy with the results, you’ll need to revisit your research:

• Are there less competitive words you can include?
• Are your keywords visible on your site?
• Is your site content high-quality?
• Does your external content, like social media posts, blog posts, or articles include links to your site?
• Are you getting qualified leads from your site with your revised keywords?

Answering these questions can help you optimize your site for stronger performance.

Looking for SEO in Richmond, VA?

We live in a digital world. Bringing a consistent flow of potential customers to your website is step #1 in making a sale. If you’re interested in learning more about internet marketing, web strategies, and SEO in Richmond, VA, contact the Renaissance Marketing team. We don’t use ‘black box’ SEO techniques – just proven methods that drive traffic to your site and make money for you.