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SEO Strategy: 6 Reasons Why Picking Your Battles Is Critical

10 Nov

This topic that definitely deserves more coverage, as it’s one of the most common questions we get asked: namely, why we start our strategies by targeting specific keywords?

We know you want to see quick results. However, when it comes to search engine optimisation (SEO), rarely does targeting highly-competitive searches right off the bat succeed.

That’s why we instead focus on getting you found for specific keywords.

But why?

Reason 1: the bigger the pond, the bigger the fish

Going for the big, high-traffic keywords in your SEO strategy doesn’t always offers the most reward.

First off, extremely general keywords could lead to your site being found for completely irrelevant searches. Here’s a hypothetical situation: a Melbourne plumber being found for plumbing services in Melbourne, Florida!

Fortunately, Google is smart enough to avoid obvious mistakes like that one. However, the fundamental problem of being found for things you don’t want to be visible for remains.

The other problem is that a lot of websites are competing for that space.

Let’s say you Google “Melbourne painter” – we did, and it returned 12 million results.

Simply put, general search terms = more search results to compete with.

Not only that, but you’ll also be competing with huge competitors with massive marketing budgets.

Something generic like “Melbourne grocery store” is much more likely to return your nearest Woolies or Coles than your local organic grocer.

As a small or medium business, that’s a David vs Goliath battle that in the early days, at least, you’ll struggle to win.

Reason #2: it reduces “white noise”

Rather, we’re talking about results from pages that aren’t your competitors. That means Wikipedia articles, news stories and pages that just happen to feature those keywords.

Sure, Google is getting better and better at figuring out what you’re really looking for and parsing these out. However, it’s not perfect, and these results still pop up from time-to-time!

Look at this from the perspective of your customer: you want someone who can solve your problem.

However, all of these incidental results are taking up space in your search page and making it hard to find what you’re looking for.

Searches for broad keywords are likely to return many of these “false positives”. This has a small (but not insignificant) impact on visitors.

With more specific search terms however, this is less of an issue.

Reason #3: many of your customers are based locally

For many of our clients, we help them grow by targeting keywords that directly relate to their service areas.

Why? Because unless you run a niche business, the vast majority of your customers are going to be locals:

  • If you’re a tradie, most of your calls will come from your general area and its surrounds
  • If you own a store, most of your customers will live in the neighbourhood

By allocating a large part of your SEO strategy to locally related searches, you’re more likely to be found by the people who are actually going to be using your service (more on that later).

Reason #4: Specialisation is good

Go to any entry-level marketing course, and the first thing they’ll tell you is that uniqueness is a good thing.

As a business owner, you no doubt understand the importance of standing apart from your competitors.

When you have dozens of competitors, the only way to survive is to stand out from the crowd.

That might mean offering unique, specialised services… it could even be through sheer force of personality!

And when it comes to search engine optimisation, that rule still applies.

When crafting an SEO strategy for your business, it’s important to set yourself apart from your competition. Think about what points of differentiation you have with your competition. Armed with this, you can craft an SEO strategy that:

  • Focuses on getting found for searches relevant to your niche
  • Emphasises your points of differentiation
  • Targets customers looking for what you bring to the table

Imagine you’re a plumber based in Clayton. Sure, you could target Google searches like “Melbourne plumber”. But there are a lot of plumbers in Melbourne who may show up for that result.

Plumbers in your neck of the woods though? That’s a much less daunting prospect!

The outcome? Better results and the jobs you want.

Reason #5: it brings in better, more qualified leads

In our experience, search engine optimisation is all about quality over quantity. You could be receiving thousands of visits, but if none of them are by people who are in the market for what you offer (or are actually looking for something that’s only loosely related to your business and its offerings), they’re not going to be very helpful!

For example, let’s say you’re an electrician.

Someone who searches a vague search term like “electrician” mightn’t be looking for help with their wiring. They might be doing a school project on different trades, or they might not have committed to the idea of hiring a sparkie.

Somebody who searches for “house rewiring electrician” on the other hand is much more likely to be on the lookout for your business. They know what they need, and are now looking for someone to help them with it.

If you’re unfamiliar with the purchase funnel, you can click here to get caught up.

Reason #6: it gets you the business you want

You might offer a range of different goods and services. But there’s a problem:

  • Some of them mightn’t be profitable
  • You might want to avoid certain types of customers
  • Maybe you prefer to avoid certain jobs (but if a call came, you’d still do it)

Here’s a great example from one of our very own clients

Galmier Locksmiths has been a client of ours for about 3 years now. We’ve helped bring in plenty of work for him for all sorts of different locksmithing services, including auto, residential, and commercial.

However, his preferred type of job are automotive ones, and he wanted more of those.

Based on a discussion we had about 2 years into is strategy, we reworked his site to prioritise his automotive services.

As part of that, we adjusted his SEO strategy to target keywords related directly to car keys rather than generic terms that could be linked to any other kind of locksmithing service.

The result? While he saw a drop in queries for residential locksmithing, his calls for automotive service have increased considerably, and he couldn’t be happier!

If you have a specific service or part of your business you want to prioritise for whatever reason, then targeting specific keywords instead of general ones can be a huge help in getting qualified leads – for the exact types of jobs you want!

A good SEO strategy doesn’t just get you found on Google…

…it gets you found for the specific types of jobs you want, from the specific types of clients you want to work with

At iformat, the belief that search engine optimisation needs to be approached with a strategic approach is the heart of our system.

We take this approach with all our clients, whether they’re tradies, retailers, B2B organisations.

In our experience, the best way to get the results you want is by carefully choosing your battles. It’s all about value – you don’t want to waste valuable time and money chasing keywords you have no chance of ranking for!

If you want an SEO strategy that gets results, contact iformat today.

Our SEO strategies help you achieve the growth you want by targeting specific keywords based on your customers, service areas and goals

All it takes is 2 hours of your time during our insightful strategy workshop, and we’ll take care of the rest. Call 1300 88 64 50 today, or touch base with us here!