Why People Can't Find Your Website
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a vast and seemingly endless topic. Google gives you 631 MILLION results to dig through when you search “SEO help.”
But, with more than half of all web visits coming from unpaid search, SEO—which helps make your website easier to find for people—is an important strategy for every organization.
So, in typical Forthright fashion, we’ve done the research so you don’t have to. Here are your “must knows”:
The Basics
Although search engines like Google use complex formulas, their purpose is simple: they want to deliver the content that their users are looking for. Search engines “crawl” through your website to understand what it’s about, looking for keywords—the phrases or terms that describe your content.
After a search engine identifies what it thinks your website’s keywords are, it uses them to deliver your site as a search result when someone uses your keywords.
Identifying and using the most effective keywords for your website will help bring in more visitors. Start with these three steps.
Sign up for our email newsletter to receive all of our best ideas, straight to your inbox
Brainstorm keywords
Write down a list of the different terms, words and phrases that you think people will use to find your website. It helps to put the terms into the three types of searches:
2. Go local and go long
There are two more types of keywords that will take you to the next level: local keywords and longer phrases.
If your work is local to a city or state, you can take advantage of localized keywords such as “charities near me” or “childcare advocacy in [state].” These keywords are great because they have less competition and are more relevant to the people searching for them.
And, identify longer phrases that would draw people to your site. These could be sentences like “why child care should be free” or “how to find free childcare.” These “long-tail” keywords are really good at matching the purpose of a search and getting people to click through. Keyword Sheeter and Answer the Public are free tools that help generate longer keywords.
3. Compare keywords
I’m going to stick with advice for Google—because it owns 92 percent of all online searches—to help narrow down your most effective keywords.
You want to identify about five keywords that have all three characteristics: a high volume of searches, match the intent of the searcher and have little competition from other sites.
Here are free tools to help:
Keyword Generator is the perfect starting point. Pop in your keyword and it shares a list of related keywords, along with volume of searches and competition.
Google Search Console is a bit more complicated, but gives great information like showing the keywords that are already bringing traffic to your site.
Google Keyword Planner gives keyword search volumes, trends and competition, which you can filter by many factors, like location. But, it is tied into Google Ads, so it will try to upsell you paid search options.
Google Trends is an easy to use tool that’s great if your work is very local or seasonal. Search trends differ across the country, so it’ll help you nail the right keyword for your state and when it is most used.
None of these tools help you identify the searcher’s intent. This is where SEO goes from a science to an art. You’ll have to use your experience to pick the right ones.
For example, let’s say your organization advocates for childcare policy that includes free daycare. Should you use “child care policy” or “free daycare”? Looking at the chart below, “free daycare” is much more popular.
But, there is a good chance that someone using “free daycare” is looking for a service and not policy. If you are investing in free daycare as a keyword, you are likely going after people who are not looking for what you are offering.
Once you have your keywords, integrate them into the text on your website. Nice work.
Choosing your keywords is just the tip of the SEO iceberg. There’s much more we can break down and share.
Are you interested in more SEO content? Let us know.
