- By Michelle M. Crook, BSN, RN, CCM, BCPA
An effective keyword strategy is essential to achieving SEO. A well-planned keyword strategy and proper implementation of targeted keyword research can optimize your content and increase your visibility. These approaches can help make your messaging more relevant to your target audience and searchable on search engines.
Search engine optimization (SEO) enhances your content’s discoverability on Internet search engines. An effective keyword strategy comes under the umbrella of SEO and is critically important in driving users to your blog or website. Your target audience is out there looking for your content, so let’s review some ways that an effective keyword strategy helps to make that happen.
In this blog post, we will review different types of keyword strategies, how to identify your best business strategy keywords, and how to use those keywords to attract potential customers and other readers.
What is Content Planning?
Thorough content planning goes hand-in-hand with an effective keyword strategy. In other words, what you write is as important as how you write it. Keep it simple, smooth, straightforward, and selective. Think of how you go about searching for something on the internet. For example, if you want to find information on refrigerators, you may start by typing “kitchen appliances” in the search bar. Then, you get more specific and search for “refrigerators”, then perhaps “Brand X refrigerators” and “refrigerator reviews”. These are all examples of keywords. As you write, create your content as if you are selling your article or blog post. The more keywords that drive readers to your site, the better your chances of “selling”, which increases the volume and diversity of your potential customers.
Many resources are available to assist you with keyword strategizing, many of which are free or low-cost. Joshua Hardwick, author and Head of Content at Ahrefs, helps to break it down into “four simple steps“:
- Find keywords with traffic potential.
- Check their value for your business.
- Check ranking difficulty.
- Bring it all together.
SERPs Up!
While an effective keyword strategy is essential, avoiding keyword stuffing is important. This situation occurs when specific keywords are used repeatedly, often to the reader’s annoyance. Keyword stuffing can result in Google penalties that may involve the removal of your content from Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs). This result would be detrimental to you because a SERP is what search engines, such as Google, display as a result of a user’s search activity. In other words, SERPs are your friends, and you want to aim to be on the first page of a SERP by implementing a well-planned keyword strategy and other highly effective approaches.
A Brand by Any Other Name…
The Branding Journal quotes the American Marketing Association: “A brand is a name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one seller’s good or service as distinct from those of other sellers” (as cited in Marion, 2022). By creating a brand, you distinguish your products and/or services from those available from your competitor companies or individuals. Therefore, a branded search strategy is another vital element for optimizing your content. This process, coupled with an effective keyword strategy, brings more potential customers to your website, article, or blog post so that you have more visibility in the marketplace. Greater online visibility results in brand recognition and a wider audience for you.
Healthcare Market Focus
As nurse writers, we can take these actions further by implementing a solid healthcare content marketing strategy. Writing blog posts is a highly effective approach to building your credibility and visibility in the healthcare content marketplace. This strategy is a challenging yet fun way to enhance your SEO while establishing yourself in your field of expertise. Keep in mind that patients, families, and caregivers seeking information on the internet will input keywords that correlate to what they need, so be sure to include them in your content for you to come up with an effective keyword strategy.
For example, if you own an independent nurse case management company, your potential customers may conduct a search using keywords such as “nurse case manager in zip code 12345” or “RN care coordinator in New York City”. To optimize the probability that your practice will be found online, be sure to incorporate these types of words and phrases throughout your writing piece.
The 4 S’s for Blog Writers: How to Incorporate Effective Keyword Strategy
When optimizing content with an effective keyword strategy, it is helpful to remember these approaches so that your final writing piece is the best it can be.
- Keep it simple. This point means avoiding long sentences and excessive wordiness. You want your reader to be engaged from the first sentence to the last. Include user-friendly keywords and phrases congruent with your blog post’s topic.
- Smooth out any rough edges. We reviewed the importance of avoiding keyword stuffing, which can significantly bog down your content. As you are writing, read your drafts out loud. Ensure that there is a smooth flow of thoughts as well as natural transitions from paragraph to paragraph.
- Make it straightforward. Introduce your topic and goals in your introduction, and then follow your roadmap. Plan your writing piece as if you are having a verbal conversation. Going off on tangents can confuse readers and limit their understanding of your content.
- Be selective in the keywords that you include in your content. In this blog post, we have reviewed several effective keyword strategies and available resources. We also discussed actions that may be detrimental to your content optimization. Being selective in your keyword choices puts you in control of producing an excellent writing piece serving your unique brand.
Now, go have some fun “keying into” your unique keyword strategy!
References
Hardwick, J. (2020, April 8). What are SERPs? Search Engine Results Pages Explained. SEO Blog by Ahrefs. https://ahrefs.com/blog/serps/
Hardwick, J. (2020, May 1). How to Get on the First Page of Google [Interactive Guide]. SEO Blog by Ahrefs. https://ahrefs.com/blog/how-to-get-on-the-first-page-of-google/
Hardwick, J. (2023, February 20). How to Build a Keyword Strategy [Free Template]. SEO Blog by Ahrefs. https://ahrefs.com/blog/keyword-strategy/
Marion. (2022, March 9). What Is Branding?. The Branding Journal. https://www.thebrandingjournal.com/2015/10/what-is-branding-definition/#:~:text=%E2%80%9CA%20brand%20is%20a%20name%2C%20term%2C%20design%2C%20symbol%2C
Pospos, R. (2022, May 23). Don’t Let Keyword Stuffing Kill Your SEO. Here’s How To Optimise Your Keywords. In Marketing We Trust. https://inmarketingwetrust.com.au/dont-let-keyword-stuffing-kill-your-seo-heres-how-to-optimise-your-keywords/#:~:text=Types%20of%20visible%20keyword%20stuffing%20include%3A%201%20Unnecessarily
About the Author
Michelle M. Crook, BSN, RN, CCM, BCPA
Michelle M. Crook, BSN, RN, CCM, BCPA received a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree from Northern Illinois University. She has a well-rounded background in nursing and is a Certified Case Manager and Board Certified Patient Advocate. Michelle is also a freelance RN Writer of professional journal articles, blog posts, health education materials, patient and family advocacy information, and nurse empowerment content. Throughout her nursing career, Michelle has been a strong patient and family advocate and has a wealth of experience in both clinical and business healthcare settings.
