How to Rank for Difficult Keywords

Ranking for difficult keywords is possible; you just need to execute a clear keyword research plan and you will rank for hundreds of keywords in no time.

If you are a new business with a new website, results won’t be five stars on the first try, especially if you are trying to rank on a popular keyword. Ranking on a keyword on an organic search is challenging. It requires, time, patience, and good research.

Developing content marketing and SEO strategy is vital. Here, you will find the process you must go through to rank in the long term:

#1. Preliminary research

Make sure everything is in place before doing any research and organize what you already have. 

• Make sure you have a robust website
• Extended time on the web and authority links
• Followers: make sure you have a network to draw your content to, secure your social media accounts and blog always to have content and people to share with.

#2. Keyword research

You might know the keywords you want to rank on, but the moment of truth comes when you access different keyword tools that will let you understand the actual trend, search volume, competition, and cost. The things that you need to consider are:

• Select the keywords that have significant search volume but not too much, somewhere in between. 
• Do not select keywords with the highest search volume and level of difficulty; some keywords are just not worth it.
• Opt for keywords that are relevant to your business and website. You are more likely to get a real return on your ranking that will drive traffic and leads. Make sure you write down minor variations of your main keywords.

An excellent free tool to generate keywords ideas is called ahrefs. You just need to type your keyword on it, and boom!. Then select the location you want to target. It will display the different keywords and their level of difficulty.

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#3. Look out for the competition

Have a search on google and other search engines to identify the trend and how your competitors are using it to their advantage. You need to make the difference and try to beat your competitor by doing what they are doing and more. Believe it or not, having a long time on the web (authority) has more advantages over a new website. Don’t feel discouraged, though; good things take time, worry not more, and let time take its curse!. Things to check: 

• URL matching the keywords
• Title tags matching to some keywords.
• Is it a blog, video, or product page ranking?
• Is it a big or small business?
• How authoritative or old are those pages?

#4. The intent needs to be as specific as possible

Do not limit yourself to a short keyword list; also, add long tail keywords and questions. When you define your keywords, it can give you an advantage over your competitors. Go from:

• Home
• Home for sale
• Homes for sale in Ontario Canada
• Houses for sale in Ontario under 200 000
• Log homes for sale canada Ontario
• Log cabins for sale to be moved Ontario

“Homes for sale in Ontario Canada” is an example of long tail keyword, whereas “Home for sale” is a short tail keyword. You will always want to be that one result that search engines perfectly serve and satisfy the viewers, so they don’t bounce back to search results.

#5. Make a plan for content

The content you intend to create needs to be planned and organized to rank with your chosen keywords. The best way to do it is with a blog posting, infographics, articles, product pages, a directory of links, and videos. You can always add more if necessary. You need to determine a calendar, assigning writers, make a schedule and budget.

#6. Execute your plan and optimise your keywords

Search engines are looking for high-quality content, so quality will always conquer. While you create your content, you must optimize it. Integrate the searched keywords in your content. You want to make sure you use your keywords in your content and hidden spots, such as image files name. 

A top tip here is to look at pages like Wikipedia, where they are rock stars in optimizing their pages, and how often and where the keywords are on the page.

#7. Publication, promotion, and analysis

When you publish, try to coordinate with your team crew, so content publication goes in sync with what is trendy at the moment and if there is a product launching in your company soon.

• The next step is to share in your business social media accounts
• Build links to your content
• After, go to your analytical tools and have a closer look at what content and keywords are ranking the most. This might change over time, and you might realize that the original keywords are not ranking but others. If this is the case, you might consider changing your keywords.
• Choose less competitive keywords until you have built more authority.

Ranking for difficult keywords is possible; just create a plan and keyword research, and you will rank hundreds of keywords in the long term.

Need all the ranking factors to get more views and subscribers on YouTube? Download the full guide below.