The way most experts talk about keywords can make them seem like solid entities. A site performs research, chooses its keyword list and optimises for those words. Everything seems to be sorted quite neatly. What every site needs to realise is that keywords shift and change, in some industries quite swiftly.

SEO experts often debate the importance of keyword research. Perhaps a better word than ‘debate’ would be ‘defend.’ From time to time there is an outsider who questions the importance of keyword research in search engine optimisation. A little study will show that not only is keyword research important, but that ongoing keyword research is the only way to ensure that your rankings stay on track.

Why is keyword research important?

Choosing keywords without thorough research is like fishing without bait. You can go to a river where you know there’s fish, and drop a line without putting any bait on your hook. It’s possible you will hook the odd fish here and there, if one gets curious or purely by chance. If you use some bait, any bait, you’re more likely to catch something. If you research the type of fish in the river, look at what feed they like in which season, and choose your bait carefully, you have much, much higher chances of making a catch. This is the difference between brainstorming keywords in-house and having your SEO company research your actual keyword list.

Keywords change over time

The English language evolves considerably. Sometimes this evolution is very long-term, but sometimes it’s not. There have been more changes to the English vocabulary in the last 50 years than there were in the century before that. The internet is a part of this acceleration in language evolution. In using written language more frequently, people adapt it to their needs.

This is exactly what happens with keywords. Keywords are simply the words internet users type in when performing a search. They become keywords when users search for the same things. In other words, keywords are determined by user patterns on the search engines. What happens if those patterns change?

Monitor your keywords

Monitoring keywords isn’t as much hard work as developing your keyword list in the first place. The internet is filled with handy spots to monitor keyword use, not least of which is search engines. Social media sites are also a perfect place to check up on keywords, as are industry publications, blogs and your own customers. Companies who continue their relationship with their SEO firms are able to touch base on keyword lists regularly. You can talk to us at SEO Consult about this kind of ongoing optimisation.

An effective SEO consultant will help you discover the relevant keyword patterns in your industry. This can give you an idea of how often you will need to perform keyword research to keep up with your competition. It will also give you an idea of where to look and what keywords are likely to come into prominence in the future.

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