Expert Keyword Research | Linguistic Analysis

Linguistic Keyword Research Study by PPC agency:
Overview:

• Linguistic / Semantic Analysis is a market research study of keyword search data. The goal is to gain an understanding of the consumer search vernacular around your products and the needs they support to understand the consumer’s journey and the search terms they use when shopping for your products.
• The outcome will be a view of the consumer decision process / sales funnel as it relates to search. The data can be used to align the keyword data to taxonomy, URL structure, navigation and product naming and make any necessary changes to ensure a client’s site reflects the consumer voice.
• Another outcome will be to understand where a client has assets (pages) that align with the consumer decision process and where it does not. The gaps in content may be areas of education materials around product use, product care, comparison data and more. It’s imperative that all stages of consumer search behavior are understood to create a search-informed site and content development strategy.

• Additional hours: ~50
  • 50% analyst
  • 50% Sr. Strat

Required Team Resources:

• External: data capture and keyword processing (currently Adam Dince)
• Internal
  • SEO Analyst (keyword funnel, keyword ranking and content gap analysis), can provide action item ideas/observations to strat
  • SEO Strategist (funnel and content gap analysis QA, guidance and approval, SEO action items, SEO forecasting), also must master understanding of all terms as it relates to the client site
  • SEM team member (if client is also SEM client), SEM action items
  • POD Leader (QA/review with Sr. Strat)
  • VP, SEO (final approval)

Process:

1. Seed Concepts:
   1. Broader keywords based on client core business, categories, upcoming product lines/seasonal, areas for improvement, high-margin products (conversation and approval from the client)
   2. Gather data and draft Seed Term Methodology ppt
   3. Add seed terms to Clarity as (client name LS seed terms keyword tag) run share of voice to extract all competing domains including dealer partners
2. Client approval
   1. Once client approves the seed terms, send to Richard Chavez for data processing (outsource to Adam Dince) ~ 4 wks
3. Data classification
   1. Add brand slides by each product grouping where applicable
   2. Add client brand slide to understand how consumers search for their brand (will require separate data pull)
   3. Review client positioning/ranking for each data slide where applicable
   4. QA terms to ensure all branded terms are identified
4. Sales Funnels and Content Gap Analyses (7-10 business days)
   1. Define appropriate sales funnels based on seed terms (approved by POD leader or VP, SEO)
   2. Extract competitor brand terms from the keyword lists (mark as N/A)
   3. Extract irrelevant terms (ex. “jean Jeanie for a jeans term”)
   4. Create slides in master ppt
   5. Send to SEM team for SEM action items (need to provide minimum one week prior to due date, preferably 10 days)
5. SEO Action Items and Forecasting (1 wk)
   1. Action items (by each sales funnel grouping) vary based on data from the study and client’s situation – in order of priority
      1. New site taxonomy/renaming based on data
      2. Page optimization

• Authority building

1. Content creation
   1. Buying guides
   2. Blog posts
   3. Category content
   4. New category layers
   5. Widgets
2. Summary action items by each sales funnel grouping of PPC Company

1. Add SEO Forecast based on keywords in the study

6. Final Prep
   1. Add SEM action items from the SEM team and Social from Social team
   2. Review / QA all items
      1. Sr. Strat
      2. POD leader

• VP, SEO (final sign-off)

1. Present to client

Past client samples:

Sales Funnels and Content Gap Analysis Scoring Standard Operating Procedure

Funnel Stage Keyword Mapping

1. Awareness – Generally fewer words or your seed term (the main keyword) for the category
   1. handbags
   2. online universities
   3. sweaters
2. Consideration – Generally 2-3 word keywords (look for one identifier + the root)
   1. Cheap [handbags]
   2. California online universities
   3. Womens sweaters
   4. Cashmere sweaters
   5. Brand (keyword), coach handbags
   6. Mortgage calculators
   7. Superlatives (best + product type)
3. Intent – Generally 3-4 word keywords (look for two identifiers + the root)
   1. Eco Friendly Party Supplies
   2. [Discount] [Birthday] [Party Supplies]
   3. [Party Supply] [Stores] [Online]
   4. [Cheap] [Winnie the pooh] [party supplies]
   5. Local (keyword), coach handbag store scottsdale
   6. Brand + model (keyword), steve madden troopa boot
   7. Best + brand/attribute + model/product type, best waterproof mens winter jacket
4. Due Diligence (common for high-ticket items) (keywords to understand financial commitments, benefit/return of post-purchase, warranty, return policy, reviews (product specific), comparison
   1. Brand + model + reviews, steve madden troopa boot reviews
   2. Steve madden boot return policy
   3. Whirlpool gold refrigerator reviews
   4. Kenmore elite dryer vs whirlpool gold dryer
   5. House payment with mortgage insurance, interest and HOA
   6. House payment of x% apr, fixed, etc.
   7. Starting salary mba finance
   8. Available jobs with mba in finance
   9. Companies hiring mba finance grads
5. Decision – Generally 4+ word keywords (look for four or more identifiers + the root) includes “Buy” or “Shop” and exact specs of product search
   1. Buy + brand + model + value prop, north face denali free shipping
   2. Steve madden black troopa boot
   3. Brand + model + color/size + pricing + value prop, north face thermoball jacket blue free shipping

Search Process for Keywords

Type in the search bar:

• Site:www.shindigz.com keyword
• Site:www.shindigz.com “keyword”
• Site:www.shindigz.com intitle:keyword
• Site:www.shindigz.com inurl:keyword
• Internal site search for keyword

N/A

N/A any competitor brands to save yourself time!

Mapping Scores for CGA

The following criteria is evaluated by each keyword:

• Search Demand, Google Rank, Content Availability
• Keywords need to be added by each stage of the funnel in SEO Clarity to capture rank data (Sr. Strat to approve)

CGA Scoring

Content Availability

• 1,000 – Dedicated landing page (content can be synonymous) can produce quick wins
• 500 – Some content (crawlable, but no dedicated landing page cannot rank on its own)
  • Relevant product that is part of a category page
  • Content is mixed with other major themes (ex. sweaters and cardigans)
• 100 – Requires user access (not crawlable)
  • requires internal search to access
  • requires local identifiers (ie zip)
  • user action (inputs, filters, etc.)
• 0 – No content
• Google Rank
  • Positions 1-3 = 1,000 pts.
  • Positions 4-10 = 500 pts.
  • Positions 11-30 = 100 pts.
  • Beyond pg. 3=0

CGA Mapping on PPT

• Best Opportunity
  • Items that scored 1,000 points in descending order of Keyword Score
    • List sample of relevant keywords
    • Sum all search demand
    • Action items will include all terms of this stage/score
  • Existing Content (visible)
    • Items that scored 500 points in descending order of Keyword Score
      • List sample of relevant keywords
      • Sum all search demand
      • Action items will include all terms of this stage/score

• Existing Content (non-visible)
  • Items that scored 100 points in descending order of Keyword Score
    • List sample of relevant keywords
    • Sum all search demand
    • Action items will include all terms of this stage/score

• No Content
  • Items that scored 0 points in descending order of Keyword Score
    • List sample of relevant keywords
    • Sum all search demand
    • Action items will include all terms of this stage/score