2 of Your Burning KEYWORD RESEARCH Questions (Answered!)

byParthaB

4.2K followers

2 years ago

Well, you’d think that as my WA blog posts average around 101,846 words, you’d have all the information you require.

But, oh no, not YOU LOT!!

NO!!

You guys and gals seem to come up with a further 72,635 questions for me to ponder.

It’s like you do it on purpose.

“Hmm, I wonder how I can wind up Partha today… I know, I’ll ask loads of questions!!”

Anyway, two particular questions have come up about keyword research.

And I feel that these are potentially questions that others may have too.

So, allow me to answer these for you now.

1) Should I Write the Article if the Keyword I’m Targeting Only Has ONE User Generated Content on Page One of Google?

Okay, clearly any answers I provide are based on MY OPINION.

This doesn’t mean they are right or wrong, but rather my observations.

So, as you’re probably aware by now, I always say that when you’ve potentially found a “good” keyword, you should head over to page one of Google to see how easy it would be to rank an article for that keyword.

And, as you know, I always say that you want to find 2-3 User Generated Content (UGC) sources on page one.

So, this would be forums, Quora, Reddit, Social Media sites, Q&As sites.

The more you find, the better.

But, what if you only find one UGC on page one of Google?

Should you write the article or avoid it?

Okay, here’s how I see it (remember, just my opinion).

Now, when you type a phrase/keyword into the Google search bar, Google will attempt to provide you with the most relevant results for that search query.

Plus, to make matters easier, most websites will OPTIMIZE an article around the specific keyword they are targeting.

So, this typically involves things like placing your keyword in your title, first paragraph, and perhaps a subheading too.

You also optimize all your images by downloading and saving them to your desktop by using your keyword.

You will typically have a relevant video.

Plus, while writing naturally, you’ll generally use words and phrases that are closely related to your target keyword.

Obviously, these don’t have to be the same, but it should be obvious to Google that they are very closely related.

An Example:

Your target keyword is:

How to Lose Weight in 30 Days

BUT

How to Lose 10lbs in a Month

More or less means the same thing.

So, by including this second phrase in my article, I am in effect creating more relevancy to my original keyword.

Now, the way I look at user generated content on page one (Quora, Reddit, Forums, etc) is that Google is literally saying, “I don’t have enough relevant search results to place on page one, so I’m going to fill the spaces up with User Generated Content”.

Plus, the reason that sites like Quora and Reddit get ranked very often on page one is due to their high domain authority (93 and 92 respectively, off the top of my head).

HOWEVER

These User Generated Content results ARE NOT optimized around a specific keyword.

If you think about it, no-one goes on Quora and starts worrying about metas, optimizing images, adding relevant subheadings to their responses, etc.

So, for me, Google is also saying, “I will place these 3 user generated results on page one of Google UNTIL SOMETHING BETTER COMES ALONG. Preferably, a website article, which goes into more detail than the UGC results, plus an article that is optimized, so I know exactly where and how to rank it”.

Now, in my mind, the more user generated content you find on page one, the more chances you have of ranking.

So, if I find a keyword that has ONE Quora result in page one, ONE Reddit result on page one, and TWO forums on page one, I know that I have 4 CHANCES OF RANKING ON PAGE ONE (remember, Google prefers optimized and relevant website articles to user generated content).

So, if you find only ONE UGC result on page one of Google, you literally only have ONE opportunity to rank.

Obviously, it makes sense to look at the other websites ranking on page one too, as you could be able to quite easily outrank these too.

Perhaps, their affiliate sites like yours, with a low domain authority.

Maybe, they’re an authority site, but they’re currently only ranking because of their status, but they aren’t actually relevant to the search query (more on this in a moment - aha, question number two).

You can still perhaps outrank all of these sites, depending on how well you write the article.

However, what I will say is that I still ALWAYS look for 2-3 User Generated Content on page one of Google for any keywords that I'm targeting.

And this is the same for all the websites that I own, some of which are years old, have thousands of articles on them, and pretty much rank for anything.

I could potentially target “harder keywords”, which may provide more traffic IF I RANK…

But why take the chance?

If I can find EASY TO RANK (2-3 OR MORE UGC on page one) keywords, then I’m going for them.

So, you can obviously check all the results of page one, and see whether it’s worth your while targeting that phrase.

But, for me, I ALWAYS want easy rankings, so I’m always looking for loads of UGC on page one.

Plus, don’t forget that once you rank (and usually quickly) for an “easy-to-rank” keyword, you’ll then start ranking for more-and-more relevant keywords anyway.

Your number one ranking has created AUTHORITY, you’re about to be rewarded by the same article ranking for MULTIPLE KEYWORDS.

Basically, make ranking as easy as possible, and try to find as many UGC on page one for your selected keyword.

I know it’s not always easy to find, but no-one said it was going to be easy, TRY HARDER, LOL.

2) Should I Avoid Writing an Article if Page One of Google is ALL Authority Sites?

Unfortunately, the answer to this is IT DEPENDS, Hahahaha, Sorry!!

Okay, the example I was given was Travel Booking Sites.

So, most travel booking sites will typically have quite a high domain rating.

BTW, I’ve mentioned it before, but I’ll say it again, you can download a number of Chrome Extensions (or Firefox) that will provide domain ratings, e.g. Keywords Everywhere, What’s My Serp, MozBar, etc.

Now, as I said many times before, ranking works on relevancy.

Yes, authority websites tend to rank for anything, even if they;re not particularly relevant,

However, you can still outrank these authority websites if you are MORE RELEVANT TO THE SEARCHER’S QUERY.

This is what is known as “Search Intent”.

What is the intention of the person who has typed this phrase into Google?

Unfortunately, learning and understanding “searcher intent” is not something I can teach, it’s something that you need to clarify for yourself.

BUT

Let’s look at an example:

Now, here’s what I would do when it comes to Travel Booking Sites.

If a searcher has typed into Google, “Cheapest Prices For Barbados” or “How Much Does 2 Weeks in Barbados Cost?'' The searcher's intent is pretty clear.

The person typing this phrase into Google wants to know how much their holiday’s going to cost.

So, I would generally avoid writing this article if there are Travel Booking Websites on page one of Google.

Why?

Because they are ALWAYS going to be more relevant than me.

With a travel booking website you can check prices for different times of the year, different destinations in Barbados, basically the searcher gets all the information they need from a travel booking website.

There is no point in me trying to compete with them.

HOWEVER

Let’s imagine our searcher typed the following into Google’s Search Bar:

“Is it Better to Go to Barbados in April or September?”

Now, we’re getting somewhere.

You can guarantee that there will be a few Travel Booking Websites (with high domain authority) ranking on page one.

BUT

Are they actually answering the searcher’s query?

What is the intention of the searcher asking that question?

They want to know which of these 2 months is better for going to Barbados.

So, while a travel booking website can help you find out a price, plus they may have a short 100-word blurb on the destination, they typically wouldn’t answer this question.

This is your opportunity to OUTRANK AN AUTHORITY WEBSITE by being more relevant.

Therefore, you write the article.

You split your article into 3 sections:

• Barbados in April
• Barbados in September
• My Opinion on the Best Time to Go to Barbados

You then make a table for each subheading, which provides daily temperature, rainfall, hours of sun, for those particular months.

You then find out if there are any particular entertainment events happening during those months, and then list them, e.g. Carnival, September Rum Drinking Contest, etc.

You find out what “normal” things are available during those months, e.g. scuba diving, bungee jumping, etc. and then you list those.

And finally, you provide your opinion based on the information you’ve given.

You now have an article that is relevant and has satisfied “searcher intent”, and you've done this far better than the authority travel booking site. Well Done.

This all boils down to searcher intent - what does a person typing this phrase into Google actually want to know (they didn’t want to book a holiday, or to check the price, they wanted some information about April and September - this is how you outrank an authority website).

Plus, this is also why I like to turn all my keywords into a QUESTION.

If your article title is a specific QUESTION then you KNOW exactly what the searcher is looking for (searcher intent), so simply write an article answering that question.

Final Thoughts

I’m kinda hoping this all makes sense.

I have nothing more to add.

I look forward to the 54,812 questions!!!!!

You LOT!!! :)

Thank You For Reading

Partha

P.s. if the angry, shouty, sweary guy comes back to Live Chat later, let me know. I have lots of pent up aggression and I’ve just invented a 48-letter swear word… There’s no way this dude is going to outswear me!!