Janet Driscoll Miller says, “I often teach classes on SEO, and I start my presentations off by talking about keywords. When it comes to organic search, keywords form the foundation of all of our SEO efforts. What search queries do we want our websites to show up for in search results? Everything in SEO really ties back to this fundamental pillar.

The importance of effective keyword research is certainly not lost on marketers. In a November 2016 survey, Ascend2 found that keyword research was one of the top SEO tactics, but more than a third of respondents indicated that it was a difficult task.

Keyword research doesn’t have to be difficult, though. Keywords are simply the words and phrases that our buyers are likely to use when trying to find our products and services. We just need to put ourselves in the mind of our customers and prospects — and that starts with personas”.

Mapping keywords to the buyer journey in SEO

Search Engine Land

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