Why do we track search engine rankings so closely and in such detail?

Every company and agency will have a different spin on this answer, of course, but in general it is because effective keyword monitoring will help you see exactly where your SEO efforts have delivered results and where you might need to refocus your strategies.

More than that, though, it will let you be more proactive about your rankings. You can find and go after opportunities related to keywords that are about to hit – or could deliver more traffic if they had a little more attention – rather than just reacting to sudden traffic losses. You can even see what your competition is doing and find out if there is something you can imitate/improve on.

Effective tracking is all about getting the most recent and most reliable data on your SERP performance, and the right tracking tools should give you the ability to monitor potentially thousands of keywords across multiple devices and locations.

So, the question is: just because you can track that many keywords, does that mean you should track that many keywords?

Every online marketer is going to have a different opinion on this. I can prove it. We asked a bunch of SEO people about it, and they gave us [a lot of great answers](https://nozzle.io/blog/30-seos-share-how-many-keywords-they-track-ranking-positions-for-per-website). But we can get started by looking at some of the reasons tracking a larger number of keywords may be beneficial.

### Get the Big Picture

Do you need to know how each and every keyword is performing at any given time? 

No. 

*But* each and every keyword does contribute to the bigger picture of your and online presence.

*And* modern SEO requires a broader outlook on keyword rankings.

While many clients have their trophy keywords and only want to know that they are ranking well for those words or phrases, the simple fact is that the changing SERPs and the [sheer number of SERP features](https://nozzle.io/blog/nozzle-analyzed-1.2-million-google-serp-features) that push those organic rankings down, it’s time to expand your horizons to understand the full impact of your online marketing efforts.

Tunnel vision on a single keyword (or a few keywords) can only cause you to miss out on potentially huge opportunities. 

When you look at the big picture, you can discover plenty of ways to get more traffic, reach new markets, and claim a bigger part of the search engine results pages.

### Understand Your Online *Visibility*

A #1 ranking might not deliver the kind of visibility it once did. While it is still a huge part of an online marketing campaign, if there is so much information above it – between ads, snippets, People Also Ask, maps, and many other items, your potential customers have to get past a lot of SERP space before they see your listing.

When you increase the number of keywords that you track, you can start to see how visible you really are. 

Because even if you have been pushed down the SERP for one keyword, you might be doing very well for a relevant and similar keyword. And that keyword might not have as many features or ads shoving you further down the page.

### Own the Whole Topic

Instead of thinking about your online strategies in terms of individual keywords, it can be more effective to approach your goals as well-defined topics. And the best way to define your topics is with an *extensive range* of keywords.

Chances are, if you have a few keywords that rank in the top five, and they’re all somewhat related, then you are actually ranking for quite a few more. In other words, you’re gaining authority on a complete topic – and you may not even realize it.

Well, you may not be documenting it, anyway. But we’ll get into the importance of documenting all your successes in a minute.

For now, just assume that when you can show how you are ranking for an entire topic rather than just a couple keywords, you’ll be able to make some well-supported inferences about your *authority* on that topic.

### Understand Traffic Spikes and Droughts

Tracking more keywords helps you spot – and maybe even predict – some sharp spikes or drops in your traffic. 

If you’re only tracking a few keywords, you may not be able to explain why a website has suddenly lost a huge percentage of its traffic.

At the same time, if you don’t have a broader view of your rankings, you won’t be able to show how your efforts are directly related to a sudden spike in traffic. Was this a random occurrence? Or was it a direct result of your marketing efforts?

### Do More with More Data

As you begin to track more keywords, you can use the data to support some of your other marketing strategies. For example, if you’re tracking more keywords, you can get a bigger list of People Also Ask questions, and you can use these industry-related queries to create some highly effective content.

Or, you could put the data to use in a powerful competitor analysis. When you start looking at more and more keywords, you can discover more and more companies who are ranking in the top ten instead of you. Are they getting a lot of keywords from these keywords? Are they owning more of the topic than you? Is there a small, up-and-coming company you need to keep an eye on? You discover all of this with a better competitive analysis.

### Get the Credit You Deserve

There is going to be a lot of traffic coming to your website as your SEO efforts pay off. Are you able to show how much of that traffic is directly related to your work? Sure, your main keyword delivered 57% of your new traffic, but where is the other 43% coming from?

There’s a great chance that they’re coming from some very similar and closely related phrases, but if you want to prove that to your client or boss, you can do it by tracking a larger number of keywords. 

Even if you aren’t specifically targeting all those keywords in your blogs and on your web pages, there’s a good chance that your work on the main keyword is going to bring some of those longer-tail words right along with it.

The only way to know for sure is if you are actually tracking those terms.

For example, let’s say you’re tracking some keywords related to essential oils: *essential oils lavender*, *essential oils peppermint*, etc. 

Maybe you’re ranking pretty well for these terms. Maybe you’re at the bottom of page 1 for some of them, the top of page 2 for others, like *lavender essential oils spray* or *lavender essential oil benefits*. 

You would never know that you were just on the cusp of getting traffic from these queries unless you were, in fact, tracking these terms.

### Is This All Just a Shameless Plug?

Obviously, Nozzle is a rank tracker (well, it’s more of a *SERP tracker*, but we’ll talk about that another time), and the pricing structure is based on the number of keywords being tracked.

But let me be clear: this is NOT about encouraging users to up their pricing plan (I’ll leave that to the sales team). This IS about helping our users really get the most out of their plan.

Whether it’s a trial plan or a Pro plan, we’ve seen many users create a Project and only include 5 to 10 keywords that only pull data once a week.

There is a lot of potential data you’re missing out on if that’s the case.

On the other hand, maybe a user is tracking 500 keywords daily, when it might be more effective to track 10,000 keywords every other week.

You can easily increase the number of keywords you track – and stay at the exact same pricing level – just by changing the scheduling.

Here's an example of how you could do that:

![1000 Daily Keywords Pricing Calculator](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/7HEFKAkuFy3KdxKGcUdJam/1abd8e35a6e24bc579309290fcde55a1/1000_Daily_Keywords_Pricing_Calculator.png)

You could pull 1000 keywords a day and get a lot of great information and have a record of every shift that those rankings went through.

![10200 Mixed Keywords Pricing Calculator](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/5KiqacWvsk8e0QXcCVUiKs/db8b8e3b1c7b399c18820a02e636e3ea/10200_Mixed_Keywords_Pricing_Calculator.png)

For the same price, you could mix up your schedule and track a lot more keywords. 

You could even do a one time pull to grab the data for thousands of keywords to do the competitive analysis or discover the industry PAAs we mentioned above, and then go back to your regular monthly pulls.

Every website is different, of course, and every company has different needs when it comes to [rank tracking](https://nozzle.io/features). You might manage smaller websites, or you might have a streamlined approach to content marketing – in other words, you might need to track anywhere from a dozen keywords to thousands of them.

The key is to make sure you are getting a clear and correct understanding of your visibility in the search engines.

So, take a look at your pricing plan and [use our calculator](https://nozzle.io/pricing) to determine how many data pulls you can get for your keywords and make sure you’re pushing Nozzle to the limit. 


keyword tracking image

How many keywords should you track? Is it enough to hyper-focus on just a few, or should you monitor every keyword you can? You might not be tracking as many as you could or should.

Discover the benefits of tracking a larger range of keywords.

Optimizing Nozzle: Why You Should Track ALL the Keywords

How Many Keywords Should You Track? 

Keyword clustering is a technique that can be used to improve your search engine optimization. By grouping keywords together, you can create content that is more focused and relevant to your target audience. Additionally, by using keywords in the right places, you can improve the visibility of your content on search engines.

But, how to actually do this in an efficient and useful way? Well, that's why we have written up this guide. Read the article below and find out how to make and use keyword clusters properly.
![keywords](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/4Xb0uQidjRXJ6d2oqseJkp/92adcbb73c70b9cbf4faa6c6615717f4/image.png)
# General Keyword Usage and Definition
Before we dive into keyword clusters, we need to be crystal clear on what keywords actually are.

Keywords are the words and phrases that people type into search engines to find what they're looking for. All of the <a href="https://www.designrush.com/agency/digital-marketing/inbound" target="blank">top inbound marketing agencies</a> will tell you it's an essential part of any good SEO strategy.

Now, there are a few different, broadly defined types of keywords:
-  __Broad keywords__ are general terms that describe your business or service. For example, if you sell shoes, some broad keywords might be "shoes," "footwear," or "sandals."
- __Modifiers__ are words that narrow down the focus of your broad keywords. For example, if you sell running shoes, some modifiers might be "men's," "women's," or "children's."
- __Long-tail keywords__ are more specific phrases that describe what someone is looking for. For example, if you sell running shoes, some long-tail keywords might be "best running shoes for beginners," "running shoes for flat feet," or "running shoes for men."

You should aim to use a mix of all three types of keywords on your website and in your content to make sure you're covering all your bases and attracting a wide range of customers.

Don't stuff your keywords in unnatural places or try to fool search engines. This will only hurt your chances of ranking high in search results, and it could get you penalized by Google. Just use them naturally throughout your content to make sure you're covering all your bases.

---

# What is Keyword Clustering?
Now let's talk about the meat of the article - __keyword clusters__.

Keyword clustering is a method of organizing keywords into groups, or "clusters," based on similarity. This helps SEM specialists and SEOs alike to better understand the relationship between different terms, and can be used to inform content strategy decisions. 

There are a few different ways to cluster keywords. The most common method is to use a keyword research tool like Google Keyword Planner or Moz Keyword Explorer, which will group together keywords that have similar search volume or competition level. This can help you to see which terms are often used together and can be a useful way to group keywords for content planning. 

One way to cluster your keywords is to group them by topic. For example, if you sell clothes, you might have a cluster of keywords that relate to summer clothes, and another cluster that relates to winter clothes. This can help you to focus your content marketing efforts on the right topics at the right time.

Another way to cluster your keywords is by semantic groupings. This means grouping together keywords that have similar meanings. For example, if you sell shoes, you might group together the keywords "shoes," "sandals," "flip flops," and "slippers." This can help you to create more targeted content that speaks to the needs of your audience.

---

# The Benefits of Keyword Clustering
You might be thinking - why go through all this trouble?

Not only does keyword clustering improve your website's visibility in SERPs, but it can also help you attract more targeted traffic. By grouping together related keywords, you can ensure that the people who click through to your website are actually interested in what you have to offer. This can lead to higher conversion rates and more sales.

So, what are the specific benefits of keyword clustering? Here are just a few:

### Improved Visibility in SERPs
As mentioned above, one of the biggest benefits of keyword clustering is that it can help improve your website's visibility on search engine results pages. By grouping together related keywords, you can ensure that your website appears for a variety of relevant queries. This can help you attract more traffic to your website and improve your chances of ranking high in <a href="https://nozzle.io/blog/will-your-keywords-trigger-important-serp-features" target="blank">SERP's features</a>.
### More Targeted Traffic
Another benefit of keyword clustering is that it can help you attract more targeted traffic to your website. Using this system, you can ensure that the people who click through to your website are actually interested in what you have to offer. You can then expect higher conversion rates and more sales.
### Better Organization
Keyword clustering can also help you better organize your website's content. By grouping similar keywords, you can create a logical structure for your website's content. This can make it easier for visitors to find the information they're looking for and can help search engines index your website more effectively.
### Improved ROI
Finally, keyword clustering can also help you improve your return on investment (ROI). Targeting a variety of related keywords ensures that you're getting the most bang for your buck. This of course then leads to saving money on paid advertising and can help you generate more leads and sales.

---

# How To Create and Use Keyword Clusters
Finally, it's time to create clusters. The actual process greatly depends on how your team is structured, the niche your websites deal with, and the resources that are available to you. Perhaps you can delegate this task to an employee. Maybe you are proficient at using Google Sheets and can organize all of the data through date. 

Whatever the case may be, the below guide sticks to a general, all-around principle that will definitely help you make the most out of keyword clustering.

## Step One - Collecting Keywords
The first step in creating keyword clusters is to, of course, collect keywords. There are a few different ways to do this, but the most effective way is to use a keyword research tool. This could be something like Google AdWords Keyword Planner or Moz Keyword Explorer.

Once you have a keyword research tool, simply enter in a seed keyword that describes your topic. For example, if you were writing about dogs, you might enter in the word "dog." The results will show you a list of related keywords, as well as some metrics like search volume and competition level.

You can also check what the competition is doing, try to figure out the keywords they use (most often found in titles), and gather keywords like that.
From there, you can start to collect keywords that you think would be relevant to your topic. Make sure to add these keywords to a spreadsheet so you can keep track of them.

## Step Two - Analyze the Keywords
Now that you have a list of keywords, it's time to start analyzing them. The first thing you want to do is look at the search volume for each keyword. This will give you an idea of how popular the keyword is and how many people are searching for it.

You also want to take a look at the competition level for each keyword. This metric will tell you how difficult it would be to rank for a certain keyword. The higher the competition, the more difficult it will be to rank.

These metrics are shown through the usage of tools like Ahrefs, for example. It's very difficult to figure this out without dedicated keyword planning tools. Still, you can at least assume that if many popular and powerful sites have dealt with a topic centered on a specific keyword, that keyword will be difficult to rank for.

## Step Three - Prep Work
Once you have analyzed your keywords, it's time to start preparing them for grouping. The first thing you want to do is remove any keywords that are too similar to each other. For example, if you have the keywords "dog," "dogs," and "dog breeds," you would want to remove "dogs" and "dog breeds" from your list.

You also want to remove any keywords that are too general. For example, if you're writing about German Shepherds, you wouldn't want to include the keyword "dog" because it's too general.

Once you've removed any duplicate or too-general keywords, you should have a list of around 30-40 keywords that are relevant to your topic.

## Step Four - Keyword Cluster Grouping
Now it's time for the fun part: grouping your keywords! There are a few different ways to do this, but the most effective way is to group them by topic. So, for our example of German Shepherds, we might have groups like "Temperament," "Training," "Care," and "History."

Another way to group keywords is by intent. So, for our example, we might have groups like "Looking to Adopt a German Shepherd," "German Shepherd Training Tips," and "German Shepherd Care."

Once you have your groups, you can start to create your keyword clusters. Simply take each group of keywords and enter them into a spreadsheet, with each keyword in its own column. Then, give each cluster a name that describes the topic or intent of the keywords.

And that's it! You now know how to create keyword clusters that will help you organize your content and make it more effective.

---

# Applying Keyword Clusters and Creating New Content
To make sure you're getting the most from your website, it's important to optimize it for your keyword clusters. This means <a href="https://nozzle.io/blog/3-underutilized-content-strategies" target="blank">creating content</a> that is relevant to the terms people are searching for.

Here's a step-by-step guide to optimizing your website for your clusters
## 1. Make a Plan
You should have already prepared your keyword clusters in advance (from the previous section) and got some ideas on which are best for your niche. Now it's time to choose the ones you want to focus on.

Choose one core keyword, like our German Shephard example, and then add a series of articles revolving around this topic (training tips, care, diet, etc).
Then, make a content plan. How many of these articles are you going to publish per week? When do you intend to publish them? This can take weeks or months, depending on your resources, the cluster, and your goals.

## 2. Create Content for your Target Keywords
Once you've identified and grouped your keywords, it's time to <a href="https://nozzle.io/blog/content-marketing-for-small-businesses-and-coaches-2022-edition" target="blank">start creating content</a> around them. For each cluster, you should create at least one piece of content, such as a blog post or an infographic. Make sure to include the seed keyword in the title of your content and use the related keywords throughout the body.

This means creating blog posts, articles, and even product pages that are relevant to the keywords you're targeting.

Basically, applying the previous step into action.

Create content that is relevant and useful to your target audience. Make sure that your content is well-researched and informative, and provides value to your readers.

Optimize your title and meta tags for your keyword clusters. Include your target keywords in your title tag and meta description, so that search engines can easily identify your content as relevant to those keywords.

## 3. Keyword Clusters and Reoptimizing Old Content
Creating new content with kw clusters is not enough. If you want to maximize your results, you should also apply it to already existing content on your website. So, here is what you can do:
- Find your most important pages <a href="https://nozzle.io/blog/your-guide-to-getting-started-with-google-analytics" target="blank"> using Google Analytics</a> or a similar tool. These are the pages that generate the most traffic and/or have the highest conversion rate.
- Take a look at the current content on these pages. Make a list of all of the keywords that you think are important to rank for these terms.
- Create a spreadsheet or document and start grouping these keywords together. You can group them by topic, product, service, etc.
- Once you have your groups, start brainstorming how you can further optimize your content to target these keywords. This may mean adding new sections, revising existing content, or even creating new pieces of content.
- Once you have a plan, implement it and track your results.

---

# Conclusion
Keyword clustering is a powerful SEO tool that can help you improve your website's visibility in SERPs, attract more targeted traffic, better organize your website's content, and improve your ROI. If you're not already using keyword clusters on your website, now is the time to start. Implementing a keyword clustering strategy can help you achieve all of your SEO goals.


keywords

How to make and use keyword clusters properly.

A Comprehensive Guide to Keyword Clustering

You can get more out of your data when you change your focus from “rank tracking” to “SERP tracking.” 

A simple ranking tracker will show you where a certain page ranks for a certain keyword in the organic search results – the classic top 10 positions that, for years and years, online marketers have been pursuing.

Unfortunately, over those years, paid ads have pushed the top organic rankings further and further down the results page, so even that coveted #1 organic position might struggle to appear above the fold. 

![seo above the fold](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/5a2d2iKTSN3xSDv26AdnIf/fb2794aabe3ac7e19af73a0fd230e988/seo_above_the_fold.png)

On top of that, Google continues to develop and include new features in its SERPs that can push those organic rankings even further down.

Now, where you once had ads and organic results, you have Featured Snippets, People Also Ask (PAA) boxes, Local Packs, Top Stories, Popular Products, Social Results, Videos, and more.

So, it is all too conceivable that your number #1 ranking might not be quite as awesome as it once was.

Don’t get us wrong, it’s still pretty awesome.

It’s just now, getting your brand in front of more people, may require getting into the most common and most important SERP features. 

### Get into More Features When You Change Your Rank Tracking Mindset

Online marketing success is not just about reaching that #1 spot. It’s about appearing on the SERP in as many places as you can.

This is why you can get more out of your time with Nozzle if you think of it as a SERP tracker instead of just a rank tracker.

There are so many more ways to get your brand in front of your customers than regular organic and paid results.

You just have to know how to take advantage of all the features that Google might serve up.

Admittedly, that’s one of the potential hurdles right there:

How do you even know what is likely to trigger a PAA box?

How do you know if Google will deliver a Featured Snippet for a given keyword?

What if all the keywords you’ve been targeting for the last few months aren’t going to get you into any of these features?

Keep in mind that the more your branded assets (social media, videos, etc.) show up in these features, the more SERP real estate you will own.

When you approach your online strategy with this broader mindset, you can do more with your keyword research.

Nozzle allows you to determine what keywords are likely to trigger these features, whether or not you are already ranking for them, and which of your competitors are already in those spots waiting for a little… competition.

Let’s take a closer look at how you can dive into this data using Nozzle.

### Which SERP Features Do You Want to Get Into?

There are many different features that Google uses to augment its results, and some of them are more effective than others from a business perspective.

The question is: what do you want to achieve by appearing in these different features?

First, be sure to check out our [article on these 8 important search features](https://nozzle.io/blog/nozzle-analyzed-1.2-million-google-serp-features). This research was conducted on more than two million searches to see how likely these features are to pop up on mobile or desktop results.

Now, let’s consider the reasons you might want to show up in some of those features.

[People Also Ask](https://nozzle.io/blog/nozzle-analyzed-1.2-million-google-serp-features#people-also-ask) – This is an important feature that can help potential customers zero in on your company and contribute to your image as an authority on a particular subject. It can be especially effective if they see you ranking in the organic SERPs and then realize that you also answer a related and relevant question. If they don’t click on one result, you’re giving them every chance to click on another.

[Featured Snippets](https://nozzle.io/blog/nozzle-analyzed-1.2-million-google-serp-features#featured-snippets) – This is a bit of a double-edged sword. Yes, you want to show up in a Featured Snippet because it adds a lot to your authority on that particular topic. Unfortunately, if that snippet answers their question, fewer people are going to click through to your website. They’ll simply take the answer, be grateful and move on to their next search. Usually. If, on the other hand, the snippet is just an enticement to more information, you can still persuade them to click on your link to learn more.

[Product Packs](https://nozzle.io/blog/nozzle-analyzed-1.2-million-google-serp-features#products) – Are you looking to make a sale? Then getting your actual product listings to show up for a given search can be invaluable. These packs may not show up as often as, say, a PAA, but when they do, they take up a lot of real estate on the page, drawing the eye right to it.

[Twitter](https://nozzle.io/blog/nozzle-analyzed-1.2-million-google-serp-features#twitter) – This is important for companies that need to show relevance to the current big events. If there is something newsworthy, if something major is happening in the industry, then you want to get into this pack. You can make sure your voice is being heard and you can maybe even start to generate a few more social media followers.

These are just a few of the features highlighted in that article, though, so be sure to explore your full range of opportunities.  

### Will Your Keywords Serve Up a Search Feature?

So, how do you know that your keywords are likely to trigger one (or more) of these features?

Are you hoping to get a Featured Snippet? Would an appearance in a People Also Ask box really augment your marketing efforts?

What if your chosen keywords don’t have a history of triggering these features at all?

Are there some good keywords that you could easily incorporate into your current campaign for some quick SERP wins?

It’s all about how you use the data that Nozzle puts at your fingertips.

### Getting into All the Data

There is a simple process you can follow to determine which keywords are likely to trigger a SERP feature.

You can simply create a new Brand in your project, and then add a couple new segments so you can zero in on the data you want to see.

So, from your Workspace, choose __Manage Keywords__ on the chosen project, then select the __Brands__ tab.

Click __Add Brand__. For this brand, we’ll make the Brand Name: “Whole SERP” because we are going to look at the entire search engine results to find out what is ranking in a certain segment instead of finding where you are ranking.

For the Brand Type, we’ll call it Neutral because, well, we’re not looking at ourselves or the competition. We just want to know what exists in this condition.

![whole serp name](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/Qr7WXXN0nEWjSquYUHCv7/e6ecf40a99e383118f1046c969ea465b/whole_serp_name.png)

Click __Add Property__ and choose the __Custom SERP/Result Condition__. 

![custom serp](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/4I7U6j88tngaC28mWWnsNc/7f8eaa6db43b5b746ea0f7ad3f164f6c/custom_serp.png)

This will bring up the Properties table, showing the Type, Name, and Configuration. You can edit the name to be more descriptive and remind yourself that this will cover the entire SERP.

![custom table](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/24Ac3rjtml6ytyKjnVAmtK/1c2f4ce64562674764e44ce94a596239/custom_table.png)

Now, for the __Configuration__:

You have the option to change the “Column | Operator | Values”.

1. Change Column to: Result>URL>DomainID
2. Change the Operator to: >Greater than
3. Change the Values to: 0

That’s all you need for this Brand.

![domainID](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/01q17QcyMGeRNOx7xE5Vsx/324a652e0d316ab9b8176d9f0e3d5873/domainID.png)

Be sure to click __Save Brand__ at the bottom to put this new condition into the system.

![save brand](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/14ipbXdyQw5eWVDku4oUuB/8dfbe00af6489874bb141cdf77fdf91f/save_brand.png)

Now, onto the segments.

Let’s start with the first feature we mentioned above, the PAA.

Now that you have a new Brand Type that is looking at the entire SERP, let’s find out which of your keywords are actually triggering the appearance of a PAA. 

According to our research on Google SERP features (referenced above), we know that a PAA is most likely to appear in position 2 in the SERP, but 3 through 6 also has a pretty good percentage of showing up.

In other words, all we need to know is which keywords have a PAA in the top 2 to 6 positions.

So, let’s create that Segment.

Click __Manage Keywords__ on your chosen project and then __Segments__. While there are a lot of built-in segments here, we are going to click the Add Segment button to customize our exploration of the data.

Give the segment a descriptive name, perhaps “PAAs in the Top 6”. You can add a description to make it clear what this segment is going to achieve with your data. Now:

1. Click the __Add Condition__ button
2. Select “Result>People Also Ask>Is People Also Ask”
3. This will create a result condition that adds a section for “is” and one last section that is blank.
4. Click the blank section to select “True”.

This is what tells the system to look specifically for the PAA feature.

Next:

1. Click the “__And__” button next to the first condition
2. Click __Column__ and then choose “Results>Rank”
3. Then choose “<=Less than/Equals”
4. Then choose 6 (or 5 or 3 or whatever suits the data you’re looking for)

![custom segment](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/1oeTdKEP0qC5Z6EWGclxjW/0b01feca614e9fae46cb15f9f4ab2df2/custom_segment.png)

Now, you’re mostly set. There is one more condition you may want to add, though.

We also discovered in our research that the PAA will show up differently on mobile and desktop results, which means you may find value in separating these results.

So, assuming that you have set up your Keyword Source to pull data for desktop and mobile, all you have to do is click the __Add Condition__ button again, select “__Device__” from the list of options. This will bring up the option to select “__Device = desktop__”.

Then, all you need to do is create another segment. You can either do this by, following the above procedure and selecting “mobile” for the device, or you can skip a couple steps and click the __Duplicate Segment__ button and then change the name and the chosen device.

One last thing: always, always click the __Save Segment__ button when you’re done. If you leave the page without saving it, you’ll just have to do it all over again.

Here’s an example of what all your hard work might look like in your Project’s dashboard.

![paa in action](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/1Hg3aMIhMZQULFi3e6vSNL/80440427cd8df92492fd39c009d6d70f/paa_in_action.png)

In this case, we focused on PAAs that appeared in the top 3, and out of the 4,995 total keywords, 3,838 of them met the criteria (i.e. serve up a PAA box) and are displayed in the Keywords table. We also get to see which position the boxes appeared in (#2 for those in the screen shot) and the top question in those boxes. (Which means you know exactly what questions your content team should start answering on your website today.)

### What Can You Do with This Data?

This kind of SERP data can open up a [wide variety of opportunities](https://nozzle.io/blog/7-ways-website-flippers-can-use-nozzle-serp-rank-tracker) for your online marketing campaign.

Remember, that number one ranking might not be as effective as it once was, and getting into the wide variety of features now appearing for an extensive array of results pages can put you in front of a whole new group of potential customers.

Of course, just knowing that the opportunity exists doesn’t mean you’ll immediately start showing up in these features simply by adding a few more keywords here and there. You’ll have to [employ some techniques](https://nozzle.io/blog/what-are-people-also-ask-boxes-and-how-do-you-rank-in-them) and work hard at it, just like you would if you were aiming for that #1 spot.

What you do with this kind of detailed data will, in the end, be up to you, but the opportunities are plentiful and we can’t wait to hear about your successes.

Want to learn more about SERP features? You can find a goldmine of [SERP stats here](https://nozzle.io/blog/nozzle-analyzed-1.2-million-google-serp-features).


seo above the fold

Even if you rank #1 in SERPS, you may not be as visible as you thought. SERP features are pushing traditional organic results further down the page. Will your marketing efforts help get you into the most common and effective features?

You can get your brand in front of more eyes when you begin to broaden your horizons and track the entire SERP rather than just traditional organic rankings. Your keywords might be serving up a wide range of SERP features (PAAs, Featured Snippets, etc.). User your data to create a strategy that will get you into these features.

Will Your Keywords Trigger Important SERP Features?

![nozzle dashboard](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/qZRNfmNxxkSPfZagTEA2K/ed3c091911ca40c32d3bf5e5cf9751b5/nozzle_dashboard.png)
<a href="https://nozzle.io/" target="blank">Nozzle.io</a> is an SEO rank tracker tool that pulls SERP data from Google for your website and those of your competitors.

It has valuable features for website owners, agencies, and website flippers.

This article will focus on the main benefits of using the tool for buying and selling websites.

You’ll discover how website flippers can use Nozzle to acquire, build, and sell websites — making it an easier and safer experience.

Let’s get to it.

### What Does A Website Flipper Do?

A website flipper <a href="https://thewebsiteflip.com/guide/buy-website/" target="blank">buys a website</a> and later sells it for a higher price. Typically, they’ll use their experience to find good investment opportunities, and once purchased, they’ll have a plan to grow the site with the intention of selling later on.

They spend a lot of time finding an asset to acquire and looking for opportunities that pass their criteria for a good buy.

Once they purchase, they’ll increase their revenue and ranking through various SEO and monetization methods.

For example, a website flipper notices a site on the <a href="https://flippa.com/websites" target="blank">Flippa marketplace</a> making $100 per month and selling for $3,500 (35x multiple). After doing his due diligence and vetting, he decides this is a solid investment, so he buys the site. 

Over the next 12 months, he adds content created around specific keywords, builds backlinks, adds various monetization methods, and gives the site a design boost. As a result, the website is now earning $1,000 per month.

Using the same 35x multiple (the number multiplied by monthly revenue), the site's value is now $35,000, so he decides to sell it and make a net profit of $31,500!

### Why SERP Tracking Is Important For Website Investors

SERP tracking is essential because it offers crucial information about a website's rankings, including keywords and estimated traffic.

You can use SERP tracking to perform your due diligence and vetting before parting with your money on a marketplace or broker site.

For example, if a website owner says they’re ranking for a particular keyword, you can check it on a SERP tracker to see if it’s true. 

You can also see how hard it is to rank for specific keywords in the future.

Another advantage of using SERP trackers comes when you plan on selling the website. As you have been tracking keywords for a set amount of time, you can see the site's improvement and use this when valuing the site.

SERP trackers are crucial tools for website flippers. They save you time and help you to make sound investment decisions.

# 7 Reasons Why Website Flippers Should Use Nozzle

Now that you know what website flippers do and why using SERP tracking software is essential, let’s look at why I recommend Nozzle for website flippers.

### __1. Track Your Website Rankings__
![track website ranking](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/WWSYe0PaHvRHG3rz8ruQc/c9e6c11206cf5bf0f86c4e0df8d11377/track_website_ranking.png)
With Nozzle, you can check your website rankings for specific keywords. These keywords can be single or a group of keywords in a group.

If you look at the image below, taken from the keyword manager section of the tool, you can see a selection of keywords in a group called ‘test 1’.
![keyword phrases](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/6JbyvqY5whLt4PpdgQPgdn/ce15fe33da4c872942abe663f03b1134/keyword_phrases.png)
These keywords are related to a website that provides an SEO tracking service, so you can use this group when checking other related websites.

When you check the rankings for your website, you select which keyword (or group of keywords) you want to use, and the tool will pull data from the SERPs for the keywords.

You can get results for desktop, mobile, and tablet, and find data for the following:

__- Keywords —__ discover how many times the URL ranks for the keywords in the group
__- Rank —__ the average ranking in the SERPs for the keywords
__- CTR —__ estimated click-through rate
__- Estimated Traffic —__ estimated traffic for each keyword, or selection of keywords
__- Pixels From Top —__ a visual display of the actual pixels to the top of the SERPs
__- Above The Fold —__ how much of the SERP does the URL own above the fold
__- SERPs —__ the percentage of pixel coverage
__- Results —__ the number of results that appear for each domain name
__- Unique URL —__ number of unique URLs ranking in the SERPs
__- PPC Value —__ shows the amount of money you need to spend on paid ads to get the same estimated value as organic search
__- Search Volume —__ estimated number of monthly searches you get from the keywords
__- Base Rank —__ a percentage number that counts organic results and featured snippets for keywords

This information helps you track how your site is performing and improving over time. 

You can click on the specific keywords within the group and get a detailed breakdown in text, charts, and visuals of what’s ranking in the top 100 for your site and any other site you want to keep tabs on.

### __2. Help With Due Diligence & Vetting__

Almost all website flippers know the importance of due diligence and vetting before purchasing a website. While some brokers state that they do this for you, it’s always best to do your own research for peace of mind.

It’s also beneficial when using marketplaces with no vetting included.

Using Nozzle, you can add the URL for the domain name you’re targeting and find a host of information about how the website ranks for specific keywords.

For example, the image below shows you that Moz is ranking number 8 in Google for the keyword ‘rank tracker’, and if you look again, you can see that the estimated traffic they’re receiving for that keyword is 106 visitors per month.
![due diligence](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/2KVpfxAHWmckudhIQYVNiK/f66c2b28a696df31df865afb607d1dc7/due_diligence.png)
Furthermore, this display of data in the image above is for the past month, which can be inaccurate, so you can change the timescale for the past 12 months or longer to get a more accurate picture.

Having this information at hand is a godsend when clarifying what the website seller is saying about the rankings and traffic the site is getting.

You can search for a group of keywords or by single keywords. In addition, you can segment the results by using the filter options, such as ranking 1-3, featured snippets, people also ask boxes, or the many more options available.

### __3. Track Other Websites__
![track other websites](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/4Akn6IFoYc9SFbnfGVWscP/30f700ba6751542ceea0280a1ee7806a/track_other_websites.png)
I’ve touched on this slightly when talking about vetting and due diligence. Still, it’s worth knowing that in addition to checking a website out for keyword rankings, you can also set them up in your account as direct or indirect competitors.

When you first open an account on Nozzle, you enter brands. These are websites (including sub-domains), social media accounts, and Youtube accounts.

You enter your website as an owned brand and all your competitors as either direct or indirect competitors.

Doing this allows the tool to track the keywords you set for your domain name and your competitors, which helps you gain an advantage over them in the search results. 

In addition, you can find keywords to target that you never knew existed and discover other URLs ranking for that specific keyword; for example, they might have a Facebook page ranking for the keyword phrase.

Keeping an eye on your competitors is crucial for improving your website’s traffic and value.

### __4. Help You To See If A Website Has True Value__

By using this SERP tracking tool, you will be able to determine if a website has a true value. So, for example, if the seller says the site earns $500 per month from organic search, you can roughly check this out on Nozzle for the main keywords the site is targeting.

Nozzle.io will display estimated earnings for each keyword, so you’ll be able to see if it matches what they say and discover if the asking price is worth it.

### __5. Discover Site Potential__

When you perform your research for a website, you’ll probably have a list of keywords in mind to see how the site is ranking for those search terms.

Using Nozzle, you can discover that the site is performing well for some keywords but not targeting others, which means the site has the potential to increase the overall traffic by <a href="https://ahrefs.com/blog/seo-and-content-marketing/" target="blank">creating content around these non targeted keywords</a>.

Often, you would only need to write a quick blog post, and it will rank well, especially if the site already has a decent DA score.

### __6. Nozzle Gives Historical Data__ 
![nozzle has historical data](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/ZsZ2hpYwLSNZPInniHfuP/607bf9a3cae50d8eb034eac2f568baf0/nozzle_has_historical_data.png)
You can use Nozzle to find out if a website has a good history of ranking in the search engines. 

For example, you can set the date to display data for a website for a timescale you choose. 

Doing so will help you understand if the website in question has a good past record with Google and how long they have been ranking for specific keywords.

### __7. Use The Data To Help Sell Your Website__
![use data to sell website](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/RNXhCzqXOM8itEq7etmkx/3d37e2c96da4d956e3e61dc0488dbbfa/use_data_to_sell_website.png)
You can take screenshots of data, including charts and graphs displaying the results for your keywords — you can also export them to your computer.

The charts and spreadsheets will come in handy when selling your sites because you can  display them to potential buyers in your sales pitch.

It will give the potential buyer confidence that they’re dealing with a professional seller.

### Actionable Takeaways

Nozzle.io is an excellent SERP tracking tool with many features suitable for website flippers. 

The benefits of using the tool will help you for both selling and buying and will make it easier to make decisions related to website flipping.

You have multiple filtering options for historical data and country targeting, and the amount of stats pulled from the SERPs is impressive.

The guys at Nozzle offer good support and have a great onboarding video once you sign up for a free trial.

__Here are the actionable takeaways from the article__:

- Nozzle.io is a tracking tool with features that makes it easier and safer to buy and sell websites
- A website flipper buys a website and later sells it to make a profit
- SERP tracking is crucial for website flippers 
- You can track your website and as many competitors as you want for free using Nozzle
- Nozzle offers a free 14-day trial (no credit card needed)

buy-fix-sell

In this article you’ll discover how website flippers can use Nozzle to acquire, build, and sell websites — making it an easier and safer experience.

7 Ways Website Flippers Can Use Nozzle SERP Rank Tracker

![search terms](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/3hlB7H8Jm58yl97oN0cnkT/ac8ce51ba45d4dcf7d50ff9884fbbb4e/search_terms.png) <a href="https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1454165804606-c3d57bc86b40?ixlib=rb-1.2.1&ixid=MnwxMjA3fDB8MHxwaG90by1wYWdlfHx8fGVufDB8fHx8&auto=format&fit=crop&w=870&q=80" target="blank">Image Source</a> 

Keywords are the linchpin of every top-performing search engine optimization (SEO) campaign.

The fate of your SEO strategy and website depends on the quality and relevance of the keywords you choose to target.

But extensive keyword research doesn’t guarantee SEO success. You need a framework to sort, filter, and organize the selected keywords.

Otherwise, you’ll find your team members racking their brains, trying to monitor keyword performance and rankings.

Keyword planning is crucial for improving the outcome of your SEO strategy. Also, it skyrockets the efficiency of your SEO experts. It even helps maximize the return on investment (ROI) of your paid search ad campaigns.

That’s the reason professional <a href="https://www.gotchseo.com/keyword-research-services/" target="blank">keyword research services </a> use various metrics and tools to organize their keywords.

In the following sections, we’ll explore a few powerful keyword organization techniques used by keyword services. Let’s dive right in.

## 1. Analyze Value and Usefulness
While evaluating a keyword, the first thing you need to consider is how useful it’s going to be for your website.

An easy way of assessing usefulness is to check the search volume and cost per click (CPC) associated with a particular keyword. 

Use any standard keyword research tool to find those metrics for your selected keyword.

Also, run a Google search with the keyword to assess the ranking potential of your keyword. Typically, you can divide your keywords into the following groups based on ranking potential:

- Top - Keywords with the highest-ranking potential and competition
- Moderate - Keywords with decent ranking potential and low competition
- Bottom - Ideal for finding long-tail keywords and variations of your target keywords.

## 2. Prioritize Relevance
Even keywords with the best ranking potential will prove to be futile if they aren’t relevant to your brand/industry.

You need a thorough understanding of your target audience and niche to understand whether a keyword is relevant to your brand.

Analyzing keyword relevance will go a long way to help you streamline the list of target search terms. Also, it’ll come in handy when you’re creating <a href="https://moz.com/blog/the-advanced-guide-to-keyword-clustering" target="blank">keyword clusters</a> for your content strategy.

## 3. Understand Search Intent
If you’re targeting keywords without understanding the associated intent, you’re aiming in the dark.

Keywords describe what your target audience is looking for. Search intent describes why they’re looking for it.

Typically, keywords can be divided into three groups based on intent:

1. Informational (example: ‘content marketing tips’)
2. Navigational (example: ‘content strategy guide HubSpot’)
3. Transactional (example: ‘free keyword research tool’, ‘best keyword research tool’, etc.)

Enter your target keyword into the Google search bar. Check out the topmost organic listings for a clear idea of the search intent associated with that keyword.

Make sure you map search intent to each stage of the <a href="https://blog.hubspot.com/sales/what-is-the-buyers-journey" target="blank">buyer’s journey</a>.

For instance, if you want to attract consumers in the awareness stage of the buyer’s journey, your best bet is to use informational keywords.

On the other hand, consumers in the decision stage of the buyer’s journey are more likely to use transactional keywords in their search queries.

## 4. Identify Brand-Specific Search Terms
Brand-specific search terms are the ones that include the name of your brand/company. Organize all such keywords into a single group. They’re particularly useful for building brand awareness. 

## 5. Sort for Product Terms
If your business offers a broad spectrum of products/services, it’s wiser to sort and filter your keywords according to product terms. You can group your keywords into the following categories:

- Search terms related to products sold by your company
- Search terms related to products sold by your competitors
- Substitute and complementary product terms

## 6. Explore Business-Specific Terms
It’s another clever way to organize keywords based on their relevance to your brand. Business-specific terms could encompass a wide array of keywords that are related to your industry.

You need a deep understanding of your target audience to select relevant business-specific search terms.

For instance, if you’re running a digital marketing agency, business-specific keywords for your industry might include:

- Digital marketing company
- Social media marketing agency
- SEO services
- Instagram marketing company

If your target audience includes lawyers who are looking to establish their online presence, you’re better off using keywords related to ‘SEO services.’

On the other hand, if you want to target young entrepreneurs looking to build their personal brand, ‘Instagram marketing company’ would be a more suitable keyword.

## 7. Leverage Google Keyword Planner
Manually filtering various search terms and organizing them into lists is time-consuming and inefficient.

The good news is that various keyword planning tools are available to simplify the process.

If you’re looking for a free and easy-to-use tool for organizing your target keywords, <a href="https://ads.google.com/intl/en_in/home/tools/keyword-planner/" target="blank">Google Keyword Planner</a> is a great choice.

You can use the tool to filter your keywords based on advanced parameters, such as location and language. Also, you can group your keywords based on their relevance to specific topics.

## Make the Most of Your Keyword Research Strategy
Identifying high-performing target keywords will only take you so far. If you want your SEO strategy to yield the best results, you need to organize your keywords into meaningful groups.

Evaluate the usefulness, relevance, and intent of various search terms to identify the ones that are worth targeting. Also, use a feature-packed tool, like Google Keyword Planner, to streamline the process.


organize

Powerful keyword organization techniques used by keyword services.

7 Search Term Organizing Methods Used by Professional Keyword Services

According to a study conducted by Crayon, <a href="https://smallbiztrends.com/2020/01/competitive-intelligence-statistics.html" target="blank">94% of businesses</a> invest in competitive intelligence. __Competitor analysis__ is the first step towards understanding the market and the gap your organization can capitalize on. This includes keeping track of your competitors’ websites and learning the strategies they use to improve their digital presence. 

The insight gained from this analysis can help improve on existing strategies and create new ones. This article will talk about the tools needed to monitor and track the performance of competitor websites.

# 5 Tools To Help You Track Your Competitors 
Many tools can analyze the state of your competitors’ websites and give you meaningful insight on aspects such as keyword mentions, backlinks, website changes, and even social media. The following are some examples of tools used to analyze your competitors and how they work towards helping you with insights for improving existing strategies.

## Fluxguard
Fluxguard is a tool that allows you to crawl a competitor's website, find certain web pages and monitor these pages for activity. The software can constantly crawl your competitors' websites and return meaningful insights. The data obtained from <a href="https://fluxguard.com/how-to-guides/monitor-website-changes-with-fluxguard" target="blank">monitoring website changes</a> can include cookies, headers, network activity, and the frequency of visits to the competitor's website.

This data can help you understand the types of keywords the competitor is using, the types of tracking software they have, and how they are being used to target customers. This insight can help you make specific changes to your website that will drive more traffic and result in better performance.
![Fluxguard](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/523eJpQgVyzl1kzNNeiLAo/6006256172509c5a43a680e432de5d62/Fluxguard.png)<div><center><a href="https://fluxguard.com/" target="blank">Source</a>
## Owletter
Owletter offers data about your __competitor's email marketing strategies__. It allows organizations to automatically capture emails sent to their mailing list from a website. The software then takes screenshots of this data, stores it, and analyzes it. 

The tool also alerts you about the email based on preset parameters. This process will help you learn about your competitors' email behavior and offer insight that can be used to improve your existing __email marketing strategy__.

Owletter can help you figure out the types of emails to be sent, the frequency of emails, and content ideas for future newsletters. All this data is constantly tracked to empower your email marketing campaign.
![Qwletter](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/2YP0sXs5MTinBxxpXj9gSr/81f671a09a3abfde8b84ea4574f5a999/Qwletter.png)<div><center><a href="https://www.owletter.com/" target="blank">Source</a>

## Social Blade
Social blade is free to use and mainly tracks your __competition's content__. If they have a YouTube channel, this tool will fetch data about subscribers, views, earnings, and growth. 

Moreover, it also allows you to search analytics on your competitor's Instagram, Twitch, and DailyMotion accounts. This data can serve as meaningful insight and set a benchmark to surpass your competition.
![Social Blade](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/55jXbcp2QdDeD2labbIgCk/cc92327ddd1020e4ae0c2e2890898e5f/Social_Blade.png)<div><center><a href="https://socialblade.com/" target="blank">Source</a> 

## Nozzle
Nozzle is a competitive analysis tool that lets you track the __top websites in the industry__, see any <a href="https://nozzle.io/blog/featured-snippet-competitor-analysis" target="blank">featured snippets</a> your competitors may have, find who owns <a href="https://nozzle.io/blog/google-local-rank-tracking" target="blank">local listings</a>, and even find <a href="https://nozzle.io/blog/video-rank-tracker" target="blank">video content</a> that is performing well.

This is an effective tool to monitor competitor __keyword lists__ on a monthly and quarterly basis, <a href="https://nozzle.io/blog/finding-your-top-serp-competitors-across-all-your-keyword-groups" target="blank">keeping track of organizations within your industry</a> and the global SERP landscape. It can also show you the highest-ranking URLs in your niche, so you can analyze them using SEO tools for on-site optimization and backlinks. This should allow you to focus on specific keywords and work accordingly to improve your ranking. 

![Number of Domains with Featured Snippets within a specific Keyword Group (2)](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/1EUKu30N1IqRd05WTCfgWK/befb0c9053d7c5323718315eefa446cd/Number_of_Domains_with_Featured_Snippets_within_a_specific_Keyword_Group__1_.jpeg)

## Semrush
SEMRush helps conduct a competitor analysis based on __search engine marketing strategies__. It allows you to track keywords used by your competitors and see how these keywords are ranked on global SERPs. 

Each keyword is accompanied by data such as domain authority, ranking difficulty, and the countries where it ranks the highest. If you are confused with your keyword research and want to look at some strategies that have produced results, SEMRush is your go-to tool.
![Semrush](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/1H6S1lZTpFZIfPIJrYMUGx/39067d85a53429afe7f69726e875d86d/Semrush.png)<div><center><a href="https://www.semrush.com/" target="blank">Source</a>  

# Importance Of Tracking Your Competitors' Websites
A competitor's website can give you a clear picture of how they are performing and the strategies and keywords they are using to improve their ranking on SERPs. Getting a strong ranking on search engine result pages is primary if you want to improve your traffic and customer base. Doing this can require several strategies that need to work in unison for the results to be successful and give you a favorable outcome. Creating a strategy from scratch might not always work, and even if you do put in extensive research, it is always good to analyze any data you can extract.

A competitor doing well in the market is a clear indication that whatever they are doing is working for them. Tracking the movement and changes of successful competitors can help you gain enough data to devise your own strategy or improve on your existing one.

Competitors can give you a clear picture of how the industry is functioning, and analyzing their data can offer the following benefits:

- Get competitive insights that can be incorporated into your strategies
- Find pricing and inventory gaps to capitalize on and capture the market
- Understand what types of strategies work in your niche
- Stay aware of industry trends
- Identify and plan for new competitive threats

## Wrapping up
Businesses worldwide are looking for ways to improve their marketing practices and get the word out to more people. According to a study, <a href="https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/17515631111106821/full/html" target="blank">90% of Fortune 500 companies</a> conduct competitor analysis to find out what others are doing to achieve these goals. The resulting data is then used to devise branding and marketing strategies that deliver results faster than shooting in the dark.

Experts believe that the best way to see if a strategy works is by seeing if someone else is doing it and how it is performing. Learning from the performance of your competitors can help you tweak your own strategies and eventually produce similar - if not better - results. Several tools in the market can track the competitor's website and precisely track each aspect of the competitor and how they are going about their daily operations.

When done right, competitor analysis can be a shortcut to explosive growth and lightning-fast sales for new businesses


Competitors

The following are tools used to analyze your competitors and how they work towards helping you with insights for improving existing strategies.

The tools needed to monitor and track the performance of competitor websites.

Get One Step Ahead Of Your Competitors - 5 Tools To Help You Track Their Movements

Ranking higher in the search results is the goal of every content marketer and blogger. That’s because over <a href="https://www.smartinsights.com/search-engine-optimisation-seo/seo-analytics/comparison-of-google-clickthrough-rates-by-position/" target="blank">62% of the available clicks</a> on Page #1 go to the top three positions in the search results.

But how do you rank higher in the search results?

That’s what you’ll discover in this article: seven tips for ranking higher in the SERPs.

# #1 - Optimize your meta tags

Every time you publish a new blog post or article, you should optimize the meta tags. Meta tags tell the search engines what your article is about.
There are only two meta tags you need to focus on: the title tag and the meta description
![optimize your meta tags](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/2UlKjdbq2zwruWczqZjdKK/b555e8a2e29811a1d469612102df3d5e/optimize_your_meta_tags.png)

## Title tag

Often called the SEO title, the title tag is the title of your article as it appears in the search results. It’s the first thing a searcher looks at when they see your SERP snippet in the search results.

Your title tag should contain your keyword and a benefit. What will the reader get from reading your article?

If you can, try to also include in your title tag:

- A number
- A power word
- A positive or negative sentiment

Numbers are easier to relate to than words. They tell the reader this is a listicle that can be skimmed and easily digested.

Power words are words that trigger an emotional response. Examples are:

- Discover
- Extraordinary
- Latest
- Unforgettable
- Irresistible
- Awe-Inspiring
- Shocking
- Step-by-Step
- Surprising

Here is a list of <a href="https://sumo.com/stories/power-words" target="blank">over 400 power words</a>.

Try to avoid title tags that are neutral in sentiment. People are either trying to get something or avoid something, so titles that have a positive or negative sentiment get more clicks.

Here are some examples:

- 5 Things You Should __Never Do__ When Selling a House (negative sentiment)
- 7 Tips For __Getting More__ Followers on Twitter (positive sentiment)

## Meta description

The other tag you need to optimize is the meta description. This is the 3 to 4 lines of text that appear in your SERP snippet, beneath the title tag. Your meta description should include:

- Your keyword
- A benefit from reading the article
- A Call To Action (CTA) (e.g. “Discover how to…”)

# #2 - Understand the search intent of the keyword phrase

To rank on Page #1 of the search results, you need to understand the search intent behind the keyword.  Search intent, also known as user intent and keyword intent, is a person’s purpose when they type a search query into a search engine. What is it they were looking for when they typed in that query?

I once did some keyword research and found a keyword with good monthly search volume and low competition. The keyword was ‘best free serp checker’. I decided I would write a blog post about ‘best free serp checkers’.

But then I typed that keyword into Google and what I found made me change my mind. Every single result on Page #1 of Google for that search query was an application or a piece of software for checking SERP results.

That was the search intent behind that keyword. People who typed that keyword into Google were not looking for an article comparing SERP checkers. They were looking for the software itself.

There are three main kinds of search intent:

__*Informational search*__

These are queries where the searcher is looking for information. An example would be ‘How many grams in an ounce’ or ‘what is a dslr camera’ or ‘lcd tv vs led tv’.

__*Commercial search*__

These are queries where the searcher is looking to buy a product or a service. Examples of commercial searches would be ‘best dslr cameras’, or ‘best lcd tvs’, or ‘flights to Rome’.

__*Transactional search*__

Transactional queries are ones where the searcher has gathered all the information they need and is ready to buy. Examples of transactional queries would be ‘dslr cameras under $1000’ or ‘lcd tvs under $2000’ or ‘cheapest flights to Rome’.

When you look at the search results for your chosen keyword, take note of what kind of results are showing up in the SERPs. Are they informational, commercial, or transactional? Your web page will need to match the type of search result that Google is showing for that keyword.

# #3 - Study the top 5 search results

A lot of people don’t realize that the secret to ranking on Page #1 of Google is staring you in the face. The top 5 results on Google for any given keyword contain all the clues you need.

That’s why you should closely examine the top-ranking pages for your chosen keyword.

Look at the type of articles that are ranking in the top results. Are they listicles, definitive guides, ‘how-to’ articles, or definitional articles?
If the top five articles for your keyword are listicles, then your article should be a listicle as well. Because that’s the kind of content that Google wants to show for that keyword.

Also, look at the word count of the top five articles. If they all have 2000 to 3000 words, then your article will have to be in that range as well. But if they are all 500 to 1000 words, then that’s the range you should aim for. I’ve sometimes gone up two or three positions in the search results simply by deleting 1000 words.

But the most important thing to do when you study the top five search results is to take note of the topics and subtopics that those articles cover. Your article will need to cover the same topics and subtopics. Ideally, your article should cover more topics and subtopics associated with that keyword than any other article on Page #1 of the search results.

To get an overall picture of the topics covered, copy and paste the headings and subheadings from the top 5 search results into a Google docs file. Sort them into categories and eliminate duplicates. Then make sure that your article covers all of those topics and subtopics.

You can add topics and subtopics to your article by looking at the ‘People Also Ask’ section and the ‘Related Searches’ section.

![people also ask](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/5535blCD03ebiBaLfcd5iS/7df75224853e73026d3371a1cf868bf8/people_also_ask.png)
![search results](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/69auwEeMwz0uorUF9jHQ0b/f2f9efb7b5563e2cad17d595d8c5d07d/search_results.png)

# #4 - Write powerful introductions

The Google algorithm records how long people stay on your page. The longer they stay, the more likely it is that your page answered their query. But if they click away within a few seconds, that tells Google that your page wasn’t a good match for the search query.

And that’s why a strong introduction is one of the keys to ranking well on Google. One of the most effective formulas for writing introductions is PAS:

- Pain
- Agitate
- Solve

Show the reader you understand their problem. Then paint a vivid picture of why it’s a problem. And finally, tell the reader there’s a solution and that’s what your article is about.

Here’s an example from <a href="https://backlinko.com/how-to-get-backlinks" target="blank">an article by Brian Dean</a>:

![write powerful introductions](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/1hxhuaJqNXw7cPcqHj2VOB/d7dbda5ca31cf1ec8d003cfd24b39e9a/write_powerful_introductions.png)

# #5 - Use transitional phrases

Transitional phrases are the lubricant that keeps your readers moving down the page. Transitions are a way of moving from one topic to the next. They are like signposts guiding the reader through your article.

But transitional phrases do much more than that.

They can also make your article conversational. They can give the reader a sense that you are having a one-to-one chat with them. And that’s the secret to reader engagement. 

Here are some examples:

- I think you’ll agree with me when I say…
- Here’s why that’s important…
- You won’t believe what we discovered…
- But there’s a catch…
- Fortunately, there’s a simple solution…

These phrases build a relationship with the reader. They make the reader feel that you understand them.

When the reader feels that you understand them, they’ll stay with you right to the end of the article. And that’s going to increase your ‘time on page’ (aka ‘dwell time’) which will improve your rankings.

You can read more about how to use transitional phrases in my SmartBlogger article: 

<a href="https://smartblogger.com/transitional-phrases/" target="blank">How to Use Transitional Words & Phrases to Make Your Writing Flow (with Examples)</a>

# #6 - Get your website to score high for core web vitals (CWV)

In 2020 Google announced three new page experience signals which affect how well a page will rank in the search results:

- LCP (Largest Contentful Paint)
- FID (First Input Delay)
- CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift)

These core web vitals are mainly about speed but they also deal with other aspects of user experience. For example, cumulative layout shift is the unexpected shifting of webpage elements while the page is still loading. This happens when content changes dimensions while the page is loading. A common cause of CLS is unspecified image dimensions. When the dimensions of an image have not been set, the space allocated to an image will change as the text in the page loads. 

You can check your website’s core web vitals in Google Search Console:

![google search console](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/4J7RYRyOZmxbRRZ7BsZQaO/1d43d02c17297248bfd80ca1dbddaf98/google_search_console.png)

You can also get a CWV report on individual pages using <a href="https://pagespeed.web.dev/" target="blank">Google’s Page Speed Insights</a> tool:

![page speed insights](//images.ctfassets.net/z8uwv83tofbw/92z3aEbhu9TmcBvBFUPBN/482f48c900913b59c94f833da1c05584/page_speed_insights.png)

Core Web Vitals are mostly about speed - how fast your web page loads.
The best ways to improve your core web vitals are:

1. Change to a web host that has a faster server response time
2. Install a caching and speed optimization plugin such as <a href="https://wp-rocket.me/" target="blank">WP Rocket</a> or <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/w3-total-cache/" target="blank">W3 Total Cache</a>
3. Optimize your images by making sure that they are not larger than they need to be (e.g. displaying an image 3000 pixels wide in a space that is only 850 pixels wide)
4. Use an image optimizer such as <a href="https://shortpixel.com/" target="blank">Short Pixel</a> or <a href="https://wpmudev.com/project/wp-smush-pro/" target="blank">Smush</a> to compress the images on your website.
5. Use a content delivery network (CDN) to deliver static web page resources such as image videos, images, Javascript, and CSS.

# #7 - Build Backlinks

Backlinks from relevant sites in your niche are <a href="https://ahrefs.com/blog/google-ranking-factors/" target="blank">arguably the most most important ranking factor</a>.

Here are three ways to build backlinks safely.

__*Contribute to HARO*__

HARO or Help A Reporter Out is a service that links journalists with sources. Journalists are frequently racing to meet deadlines and they often need quotes to use in their articles at very short notice.

When you register at HARO as a source, you can respond to journalists’ queries and get linked to from their major websites with high DA or domain authority.
What sets HARO apart from other link-building strategies is that the queries come to you. Instead of cold pitching people who are probably not interested in hearing from you, these link-building opportunities come knocking on your door. Three times a day you’ll receive an email from HARO with queries that you can answer. 

For more information on this, see my article <a href="https://robpowellbizblog.com/how-to-use-haro/" target="blank">How To Use HARO for Link Building</a>.

__*Publish Roundup Posts*__

People love seeing their name in a list of experts and they love sharing it with other people. And that’s why expert roundups are a good way of building backlinks. 

Reach out to 25 - 50 experts in your niche and ask them for a tip on a particular topic. When your article is live, send them a link and you’ll find that 20% to 30% will either share it on social media or link to it from their ‘About’ page.

__*Publish Top List Posts*__

Top list posts are articles that list the top experts or websites in a particular field. Here are some examples:

- 30 Top Marketers on Twitter
- 25 Top WordPress Blogs
- 35 Top Copywriters on Instagram

Once your article is live, send each featured expert or website a link to your article. You’ll find that a good proportion will link to it on their website as ‘social proof’.

### Conclusion
The search engine results or SERPs are hotly contested territory: the competition is intense. But these seven techniques will give you an edge over your competitors and help push your pages higher up the search results.
Even if you only implement two or three of these techniques, you will eventually see your rankings improve.


rank higher

Seven tips for ranking higher in the SERPs

7 Tips for Ranking Higher in the Search Results

![4 Ways To Find Zero Search Volume Keywords That Bring Traffic](//images.contentful.com/z8uwv83tofbw/1ZZOM0gOy4cHFIcJsTOKsH/44c6b67dd1100e81270f9ce16e87a851/4_Ways_To_Find_Zero_Search_Volume_Keywords_That_Bring_Traffic.jpg)
Everyone wants to be number one for high-volume keywords. They contribute to a large number of organic visitors, conversions, and sales.

However, ranking for high-volume keywords isn’t always easy or possible. It requires going above and beyond the competition for the restricted number of first-page spots.

What if you’re a small company struggling to appear higher on search? There is a simple solution: focus your SEO campaign on long-tail, low-frequency keywords. 

Do you wish to attract targeted traffic, aiming at those who are looking for specific information? Locate low-competition keywords and target them, giving yourself a far better chance of ranking well. Let’s look at what zero search volume keywords are, how you can find them, and why it’s worth the effort.

## What Are the Benefits of Targeting Low-Volume Keywords?

Zero search volume keywords can bring organic traffic from Google even if tools like Ahrefs, Moz, SEMrush, and Keywords Everywhere suggest that no one is searching for them.

What else can targeting low-volume keywords offer? Including these terms in your SEO strategy provides a lot more advantages, such as: 

- __Relevance__ to your buyers. Long-tail keywords are usually low-volume terms that are extremely fitting for your target market. And the better content hits the mark, the more likely users will convert.

- Creating interest around __a new or small niche__. Low-volume keywords are better suited for one-time search queries Google may never see again.

- __Diversity__. You can <a href="https://nozzle.io/blog/where-to-add-keywords-in-your-content-to-improve-your-ranking" target="blank">add multiple low-volume keywords</a> to one page to increase traffic potential.

- __Commercial intent__, meaning you can add buying keywords to attract customers that will convert. At the same time, they have a great return on investment (ROI) to cover the expense of the content.

When you choose keywords for your piece, you select the primary phrase. As you compose your article, product page, or other sections on the website, you will unconsciously add extra secondary and LSI keywords to drive traffic to your site.

These are phrases people will look for and get relevant results. It applies to search engines and on-site search as well, so they’re crucial by all means.

For example, visitors don’t want to scroll through an array of cardigans on the website. They may type the phrase “emerald green cardigan” to specify the request and choose from the store’s assortment offered in the <a href="https://onilab.com/blog/how-to-improve-magento-search/" target="blank">Magento on-site search results</a> or any other results, depending on your CMS.

Let’s dive deeper into the peculiarities of terms with zero search, how to find and use them.

## Four Ways to Conduct Zero Search Volume Keyword Research

### 1. Leveraging Tools to Define Search Volume

The first way to find zero search volume keywords is to use the <a href="https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/keyword-surfer/bafijghppfhdpldihckdcadbcobikaca/" target="blank">Keyword Surfer</a> or <a href="https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/keywords-everywhere-keywo/hbapdpeemoojbophdfndmlgdhppljgmp" target="blank">Keywords Everywhere</a> tools. These are free browser extensions forecasting a monthly search volume and giving other insights. You’ll have a short report while searching on Google.

The figures below are the estimated search volume and cost per click for Google Adwords campaigns. The results are received from Keyword Surfer.
![Leveraging Tools to Define Search Volume](//images.contentful.com/z8uwv83tofbw/4jVrC3JAmIDt2NTvl9lPzd/0c6ccb2f1e3b101457ef138fccc03006/Leveraging_Tools_to_Define_Search_Volume.png)

As you can see, there are some phrases with zero value. It means people don’t look for “*customer retention strategies saas*” or *“customer retention strategies definition*”. However, they search for similar questions, so adding these keywords will help you increase the traffic volume to the website.

If you proceed with the search, you’ll see several boxes to the right. The tools provide you with keyword ideas based on the similarity with the initial phrase.
![Leveraging Tools to Define Search Volume-2](//images.contentful.com/z8uwv83tofbw/3wa1CB2ShAUxH5pWVpm2op/75dd159fc2b7f2a2abac9c7c4bbef751/Leveraging_Tools_to_Define_Search_Volume-2.png)
Have you noticed the figures below the titles? These are also valuable details. For example:

- the estimated monthly traffic for a selected region;
- the article total word count;
- how many times the author used the “*customer retention strategies*” keyword.
![Leveraging Tools to Define Search Volume-3](//images.contentful.com/z8uwv83tofbw/44Ie2loKyuDLgiu83k4hoo/05396691d7b8a49c1a303ced814750d6/Leveraging_Tools_to_Define_Search_Volume-3.png)
You can also copy or export the list of long-tail keywords, trend data, and what other people search for, thanks to Keywords Everywhere.

### 2. Analyzing Related Searches

Compare the drop-down box and __related searches__ at the bottom of the Google results page below. They almost always return the same phrases.
![Analyzing Related Searches](//images.contentful.com/z8uwv83tofbw/3KQ4PkkW2p7I9fmWIKzI40/a2c3ac038b41529f6fce9efffa0812e4/Analyzing_Related_Searches.png)
The problem with checking them is that you have to scroll down to the bottom of the page. And they don’t have the additional information from the keyword research Chrome extensions. As a result, this method doesn’t consider whether or not the keyword has any search volume.

What if you need to know the exact figure or process a lot of keywords? In this case, you’ll need the above-mentioned plugins. They will allow you to see the statistics when you type the query and streamline the selection process.

Don’t stop your search after finding several suggestions from Google. You can __uncover more precise keywords__ by entering your initial keyword ideas and then searching for them on Google again.

Let’s get back to my previous example. I used the “*customer retention strategies ecommerce*” query to get more variants. Broader initial phrases, such as the one shown below, give you some good ideas if you repeat the procedure with the original suggestions.
![Analyzing Related Searches-2](//images.contentful.com/z8uwv83tofbw/5z1kvVzSNTAFp3IQHBNeAE/4e76e1195a0667b2d4c88368a5d47a55/Analyzing_Related_Searches-2.png)
We see that the first keyword phrase doesn’t have any monthly searches. But as Google suggests, using this strategy, we can gain more organic visitors, provided we appear in the top three results for it.

### 3. Looking for Zero Search Volume Keywords with the Alphabet Soup Method

The third method under discussion is the alphabet soup strategy for keyword research. It involves the recently evolved Google autocomplete feature.

Unlike the related searches strategy, this one will take some time and effort on your part. But it’s worth it for generating <a href="https://nozzle.io/blog/unlimited-keyword-rank-tracking" target="blank">keywords that rank</a> and drive traffic.
<br>
How does it allow you to utilize Google for keyword research? Type your primary keyword into the Google search bar. Let it be “brown mascara”. The image below shows that all you have to do is __add a letter of the alphabet__ after it. The autocomplete will provide you with various new options.
![Looking for Zero Search Volume Keywords with the Alphabet Soup Method](//images.contentful.com/z8uwv83tofbw/2R50ahOr1Knd91lDO2w5r1/5f61651513f80302d3a74552200f28c1/Looking_for_Zero_Search_Volume_Keywords_with_the_Alphabet_Soup_Method.png)
The keywords with the lowest expected monthly search volume on this first pass usually have the most organic traffic potential. You can take this phrase for a second run using the alphabet soup method.
![Looking for Zero Search Volume Keywords with the Alphabet Soup Method-2](//images.contentful.com/z8uwv83tofbw/4mbjupMNv8BIepQIDyMHoo/338131e512afabd5c47ba34317374220/Looking_for_Zero_Search_Volume_Keywords_with_the_Alphabet_Soup_Method-2.png)
These keywords typically have significantly lower traffic levels. But having less traffic doesn’t always mean something bad.

They have less competition from other websites, making them much simpler to rank. If your niche is large enough, you may perform a third run on these keywords, but they bring almost no visitors.

### 4. Getting Insights from the People Also Ask Method

When searching for something, you’ll probably see this section.
![Getting Insights from the People Also Ask Method](//images.contentful.com/z8uwv83tofbw/5cI4T5WL0AcCbb0GsxTWnU/2936c9ff66446b1b1e0af5c6739d6f4e/Getting_Insights_from_the_People_Also_Ask_Method.png)
That’s __what people usually ask__, mentioning your keyword in their questions. And these options may hint you at what suitable keywords you may use.

The widget usually displays four questions. But if you open and close the bottom drop-down, you can extend it and receive more requests. Keep expanding the bottom question to see more ideas.

Note that the lower the suggestion list goes, the less relevant the questions to the initial keyword. However, they are generally niche relevant and may still be valuable to you.

These questions aren’t low-volume keywords, even though they may have no expected monthly searches. Why do they appear zero volume when you check them? The reason is that they’re complete questions rather than the actual search. 

Consider the question, “*What are customer retention strategies?*”. The exact query has no monthly search volume anticipated. But if we remove the beginning of the query and check “customer retention strategies”, we’ll notice that this term has an 880 search volume.
![Getting Insights from the People Also Ask Method-2](//images.contentful.com/z8uwv83tofbw/1HqFr7Fduh4DeYDD4l49Qa/5808fd6cf23250480a997eed3da58fbc/Getting_Insights_from_the_People_Also_Ask_Method-2.png)
If you use the <a href="https://nozzle.io/blog/evolution-google-serp" target="blank">People Also Ask</a> section to locate a zero or low competition keyword, take away parts of the questions to find the actual search phrase. Then examine its estimated search volume to get an idea of prospective future traffic.

### To Sum Up

I described the following possible ways to find zero search queries:

- Keyword Surfer or Keywords Everywhere extensions
- the related search approach
- the alphabet soup method
- the “people also ask” option

Ideally, you should combine all four because doing so may help you compile your keyword list faster. This may help you diversify your existing keyword research methods to enhance your page content. In turn, this will attract more organic visitors to your website.

Do you still think going after low-volume keywords is a waste of time or money? Before you dismiss them, review the suggestions above to determine whether you’re missing out on any gold mine opportunities. Some unusual keywords may pay off in terms of traffic and conversions.


4 Ways To Find Zero Search Volume Keywords That Bring Traffic

Discussing why and how to locate low-competition keywords and target them.

# Keyword Research

I posed the question to SEO professionals what they thought was the most underutilized SEO strategy or tactic. I got over 100 responses which I broke up into <a href="https://nozzle.io/blog/44-underutilized-seo-strategies-and-tactics" target="blank">8 categories</a>, and 44 sub categories. This is part 1, which highlights the underutilized strategies related to keyword research.

__Keyword Research Strategy Sub Categories:__
<img src="//images.contentful.com/z8uwv83tofbw/64jb2p6fQu8pv1rI2XFIik/59d010b98d2e494b1032fdb746204f93/keyword_research_post.png"  style='float: right; margin: 1rem;' />
- <a href="#Finding_and_Tracking_Keyword_Gaps_with_your_Competitors">Finding and Tracking Keyword Gaps with your Competitors</a>
- <a href="#Implementing_a_Long-tail_Keyword_Strategy">Implementing a Long-tail Keyword Strategy</a>
- <a href="#Keywords_on_Platforms_such_as_Wikipedia,_Reddit_or_Quora">Keywords on Platforms such as Wikipedia, Reddit or Quora</a>
- <a href="#Synonyms_Ranking_Technique">Synonyms Ranking Technique</a>
- <a href="#Make_a_Keyword_Mapping_Plan">Make a Keyword Mapping Plan</a>

<a id="Finding_and_Tracking_Keyword_Gaps_with_your_Competitors"></a>
<br>
<h2>Finding and Tracking Keyword Gaps with your Competitors</h2>
![Keyword research](//images.contentful.com/z8uwv83tofbw/6JlEIehGUsQrcey57rrfEu/93a4d2037e6a073f722c8bd2dfe81dad/Keyword_research.png)
__Natalia Brzezinska, a Marketing & Outreach Manager at <a href="https://photoaid.com/passport-photos" target="blank">PhotoAid</a> claims you need to track your competitors and their strategies.__

"We are not the only ones to operate in the industry, we all have competitors, and we need to know them! However, one of the most underestimated SEO strategies is tracking competitors. 

"It can often happen that you focus only on your work: your keywords, content, traffic, and results in general. However, having a complete insight into the industry, and therefore your competitors, will undoubtedly be helpful for your business. Tracking competitors does not just mean watching what others are doing but methodically analyzing their strategies. Therefore, focusing on Domain Rating (DR), Referring domains, Organic traffic and keywords, and those who link your competitors.

"In our startup, gathering some information from our competitors was useful since it has given us a deeper insight into our audience and their needs. Additionally, it permits us to discover what our weaknesses are and how to improve. If you want to compete, content alone is not sufficient, and to be the leader in the industry, you must know your “enemy”, their weaknesses and strengths, and react accordingly."

__Tyler Bly, Founder of <a href="http://www.betterburialinsurancetoday.com" target="blank">BetterBurialInsuranceToday.com</a> says:__

"The most underutilized SEO tactic is comparing the competition, and finding the keyword gaps between your site and your competitors. Furthermore, analyzing the competition, like game film, can be vital to your SEO success."

__David Farkas, Founder and CEO of The <a href="http://theupperranks.com" target="blank">Upper Ranks</a> says to target your competitors keywords.__

"This appears to be absolutely counterintuitive at first. That’s why, when developing an SEOstrategy, we focus mostly on non-branded keywords: if you have any kind of brand awareness, you've probably cornered the market on your own branded searches. Consider this: if you Google "Gucci," you won't get Armani's Website.

"Google understands that when people search for Gucci's, they want to access the brand's own website or even third-party articles about it. It would be pointless to show Armani material. What if someone is looking for "Gucci alternatives'' or "what to buy instead of Gucci?"

"Targeting these qualified competition keywords can be a very simple approach to improve your market share and capitalize on consumers who are already looking to switch brands,especially if you are a new entrant into a saturated market where other brands are popular or even household names.
Best of all, because these keywords have little competition, even newer or lower domain authority sites have a decent chance of ranking on page one, where they can begin attracting new visitors."

__Faizan Fahim, SEO Consultant at <a href="https://spacelift.io/" target="blank">SpaceLift</a> says not utilizing the articles that rank in the top 5 in SERP is a common SEO mistake.__

"Check the search console or any <a href="https://nozzle.io/google-keyword-rank-checker-tool" target="blank">keyword rank checker</a> tools (like Nozzle) to find the articles ranking in the top 5 positions. Then, study the snippet and analyse what kind of content appears - list, definition, image?

"Follow the structure and answer the query to the point. If you do it strategically, you will see your high ranking articles acquiring snippets.

"I managed to migrate multiple ServerGuy articles from the top 5 positions to snippets by adding several lines of content to each piece.

"So, you should always track the ranking article and push them to the top position."

![nozzle vision](//images.contentful.com/z8uwv83tofbw/xHTb1GqSw4X9GfMEgpwHm/8bee2a59ab64e8f0111203d3bd9e99a9/nozzle_vision.jpg)
__To accomplish this Rob Powell from <a href="https://robpowellbizblog.com/" target="blank">robpowellbizblog.com/</a> says:__

"Check the pages that rank at the top of Google for a particular keyword. The top ranking pages for any keyword show you what you need to do to rank for that keyword. They show you what the search intent is for that keyword, the article format that ranks for that keyword, the article length, and so on.

"It's all there on Page #1 of Google. If you know how to read the search results, you have the key to ranking at the top, yet very few people do this."

<a id="Implementing_a_Long-tail_Keyword_Strategy"></a>
<br>
## Implementing a Long-tail Keyword Strategy
![Implementing a Long-tail Keyword Strategy](//images.contentful.com/z8uwv83tofbw/1aXi8qOXaJ0ohCqoML25Lf/0243169e3d6624de99d98d20254382c6/Implementing_a_Long-tail_Keyword_Strategy.png)
<div><center><a href="https://www.hittail.com/blog/the-hidden-value-of-long-tail-seo" target="blank">Image Source</a></center></div>
<br>
__Connor Hewson, Managing Director for <a href="https://assuredmarketing.co.uk" target="blank">Assured Marketing</a> shares his thoughts:__

"In my opinion, the SEO strategy that I see people underutilize the most is the practice of implementing a long-tail keyword strategy in order to target more specific audiences and drive quality traffic much faster than simply aiming at core keywords. Often SEO's and business owners will become far too concerned with the high search volume core keywords, as they simply see only the potentially high number of new visitors to their site. However, as we all know, these keywords are often the most competitive in their industry - and therefore to attain a high ranking initially, I would always advise to look too at implementing even longer variations of keywords that are less competitive. 

"For example, a brand may provide the service of office cleaning in a specific location and whilst the term 'office cleaner' may be one of their best options (including for near me search) it will most likely be an incredibly competitive keyword to aim for initially, therefore, looking at longer variations such as 'best office cleaner' or 'reliable office cleaner' to begin with will help them not only target those who are looking for the best and reliable possible service. But to also begin ranking well for these more specific searches much faster than if they were to only pursue the core keywords from the outset."

__Joel Whipple is the Account Director at <a href="https://allpoints.digital/" target="blank">All Points Digital</a> says:__

Most likely, your company is not the 800 pound gorilla in your industry, which means you need different ways to compete against the large players. One underutilized strategy is leveraging long tail keywords on your site. In particular, for local companies, one key tactic is <a href="https://www.digitalexaminer.com/town-page-local-seo/" target="blank">developing town pages</a> that outline your services in the specific towns in your service area. Additionally, for all types of companies, properly deploying blog content that targets long tail keywords is an efficient way to improve your site in SERP results. As a result, your domain authority will improve, which means your core keywords will also improve in the rankings, especially for local search queries.

__Patty Malowney, SEO and Social Media Consultant for <a href="http://badasswebgoddess.com/" target="blank">Badasswebgoddess.com</a>  shares about using long-tail keywords in a blog:__

One of the things I use most in my SEO strategy for my own website and clients' websites is blog posts and internal linking.  Let me explain what I mean. Most companies have blogs, but their internal link strategy isn't used as effectively as it could be. They write blog content and exclusively use it to build links to their main keywords and don't utilize it to build links to their blog posts. Long-tail keyword blog posts are one of my biggest sources of traffic. It's much easier to get a long-tail blog post ranking well than a competitive keyword. I use my blog posts to drive traffic and build links to my other blog posts. Most businesses, including SEO businesses, are so focused on building links to their main keywords that they don't spend time linking to their blog posts. Your blog posts should be part of how you generate traffic and not just used for internal linking to your main keywords. I use my blogs to generate traffic to the individual blog posts, not just my main keywords.  I truly believe this is one of the most underutilized strategies and one that is easy to implement.

<a id="Keywords_on_Platforms_such_as_Wikipedia,_Reddit_or_Quora"></a>
<br>
## Keywords on Platforms such as Wikipedia, Reddit or Quora
![Keywords on Platforms such as Wikipedia, Reddit or Quora](//images.contentful.com/z8uwv83tofbw/3Ykd6UjhJgg5OIsFwa9PsK/61d07c97ea05c33b569f5d1c7aa4b895/Keywords_on_Platforms_such_as_Wikipedia__Reddit_or_Quora.png)
__Bei founder of <a href="https://beithoven.com" target="blank">Beithoven</a> advises to:__

"Look for untapped keywords on platforms such as Wikipedia, Reddit or Quora. Go to the individual platforms and search using keywords relevant to your niche, and you will see some threads pop up on your search.

"For example, if you search on Reddit for your niche such as 'mental health', you can find communities such as r/mentalhealth and r/Anxiety. On Quora, you can type in the same query and a few results such as 'How is COVID-19 affecting mental health?' and 'How do physical workouts help you mentally?' will appear. From Wikipedia, you will be able to get an information page on 'Mental Health'.

"Browse through all these resources, and you will be able to discover some gems. For instance, if some words or phrases are mentioned frequently on the threads or forums, you can take note of them and use them as seed keywords."

<a id="Synonyms_Ranking_Technique"></a>
<br>
## Synonyms Ranking Technique
![synonyms seo ](//images.contentful.com/z8uwv83tofbw/HnpfyXtXERsZ6WenSdkOm/e288deea089e4bd558e0b32099c49230/synonyms_seo__2_.jpg)
<div><center><a href="https://cognitiveseo.com/blog/5370/941-traffic-increase-exploiting-the-synonyms-seo-ranking-technique/" target="blank">Image Source</a></center></div>
<br>
__Brice Gump from <a href="https://majorimpactmedia.com/" target="blank">Major Impact Media</a> shares his thoughts:__

"An underutilized SEO strategy that has the potential to double your traffic is Synonyms Ranking Technique. Google is always updating its search results algorithm, and with each new update, Google aims to understand its users better. The latest algorithm uses search queries to understand the user’s intention and show results that answer their query better; as such, Google tends to use synonyms in their algorithm as well. For example, if one were to search for ‘Food Consultant,’ they would also get search results that catered to ‘Food Expert’ because, for Google, the difference between the two isn’t much. Marketers should cater their content to relevant keywords and synonyms, which will increase their ranking in search engine algorithms."

__Olivia Tan, co-founder of <a href="https://cocofax.com" target="blank">CocoFax</a> agrees. She explains:__

"The wording of your search query matters a great deal when it comes to the returned results. This is because, since Hummingbird (Google update algorithms), we know for sure the search engine is trying its best to contextualize semantic meaning in order to understand the intention behind the search query. Moreover, introducing conversational search, Google aims to provide answers that are to-the-point and accurate.

"However, the explanation for this phenomenon is as follows: whenever I search for a term, the search engine will understand that there’s a need behind my search query and will try to answer to that instead of the textual wording. Partial synonyms work great as well.

"For instance, if I’m searching for the term ‘SEO consultant’, among the first results on the first page will be ‘SEO expert’, ‘SEO services’, ‘SEO company‘, as the meaning behind the wording doesn’t differ that much."

<a id="Make_a_Keyword_Mapping_Plan"></a>
<br>
## Make a Keyword Mapping Plan
![Make a Keyword Mapping Plan](//images.contentful.com/z8uwv83tofbw/7edoUMeMjdi9DjXbRBWoLk/528c2d9f11fa546a9af92100e888fd5a/Make_a_Keyword_Mapping_Plan.png)

__<a href="http://genaropalma.com" target="blank">Genaro Palma</a>, a global SEO consultant points out:__

"In my opinion, the most under-utilised SEO tactic is developing a solid SEO-friendly structure. Most small and medium companies (and even some big ones) don’t have a keyword mapping plan for their website. They just don’t know which page should rank for which keywords and they don’t create specific pages to rank the keywords they specifically want to rank for. 

"This is definitely a very poor SEO approach, since no matter how much On-page and Off-page optimization you do, you will not rank for keywords that you haven’t created content for."

### In conclusion

Keyword research is a strategy that we here at <a href="http://nozzle.io" target="blank">Nozzle</a> thrive on, since we are a keyword rank tracking tool with the biggest, boldest data available, so we appreciate what the SEO professionals have to say about <a href="https://nozzle.io/blog/finding-your-top-serp-competitors-across-all-your-keyword-groups" target="blank">tracking your competitors keywords</a> and the many techniques to do so.


<br>
__Other Categories in this Series:__
<a href="https://nozzle.io/blog/2-underutilized-onsite-optimization-strategies" target="blank">#2- Underutilized Onsite Optimization Strategies</a>
<a href="https://nozzle.io/blog/3-underutilized-content-strategies" target="blank">#3- Underutilized Content Strategies</a>
<a href="https://nozzle.io/blog/4-underutilized-link-building-strategies" target="blank">#4- Underutilized Link Building Strategies</a>
<a href="https://nozzle.io/blog/5-underutilized-technical-seo-strategies" target="blank">#5- Underutilized Technical SEO Strategies</a>
<a href="https://nozzle.io/blog/6-underutilized-local-seo-strategies" target="blank">#6- Underutilized Local SEO strategies</a>
<a href="https://nozzle.io/blog/7-underutilized-video-seo-strategies" target="blank">#7- Underutilized Video SEO Strategies</a>
<a href="https://nozzle.io/blog/8-miscellaneous-underutilized-seo-strategies" target="blank">#8- Miscellaneous Underutilized SEO Strategies</a>


keyword research post

This is what the experts say are the most underutilized SEO strategies regarding keyword research.

#1- Underutilized Keyword Research Strategies

Keyword Research Strategies - Best Google Keyword Research Strategy - Keyword Mapping - Long Tail Keyword Search


![44 Underutilized SEO Strategies and Tactics](//images.contentful.com/z8uwv83tofbw/3Fl6DS4NzmZwOc5OJECq2X/fb00d3f59ce36fc2efb316c467b304e2/44_Underutilized_SEO_Strategies_and_Tactics.jpg)
Recently I asked marketing and SEO professionals what they felt the most underutilized SEO strategy or tactic was. With over 100 responses I was able to compile them into these calegories:

<a href="https://nozzle.io/blog/1-underutilized-keyword-research-strategies" target="blank">#1- Underutilized Keyword Research Strategies</a>
<br>
<a href="https://nozzle.io/blog/2-underutilized-onsite-optimization-strategies" target="blank">#2- Underutilized Onsite Optimization Strategies</a>
<br>
<a href="https://nozzle.io/blog/3-underutilized-content-strategies" target="blank">#3- Underutilized Content Strategies</a>
<br>
<a href="https://nozzle.io/blog/4-underutilized-link-building-strategies" target="blank">#4- Underutilized Link Building Strategies</a>
<br>
<a href="https://nozzle.io/blog/5-underutilized-technical-seo-strategies" target="blank">#5- Underutilized Technical SEO Strategies</a>
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<a href="https://nozzle.io/blog/6-underutilized-local-seo-strategies" target="blank">#6- Underutilized Local SEO strategies</a>
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<a href="https://nozzle.io/blog/7-underutilized-video-seo-strategies" target="blank">#7- Underutilized Video SEO Strategies</a>
<br>
<a href="https://nozzle.io/blog/8-miscellaneous-underutilized-seo-strategies" target="blank">#8- Miscellaneous Underutilized SEO Strategies</a>

My intent is to shed some light on a strategy or two that you haven't focused on yet, or perhaps remind you of some SEO basics that you haven't thought about in a while. Who knows? Implementing one of these underutilized strategies may be all that you need to push your rankings to the next level.


44 Underutilized SEO Strategies and Tactics

In response to the query, "What is the most underutilized SEO strategy?" I received over 100 responses, and here they are organized into 8 categories.

Blog - Keyword Research