I just finished up with a sales meeting and demo of Marketpath CMS. The potential customer knows they need help (which is a great first step), but even better, one thing was said that made me note they are ahead of the game when it comes to understanding why they need help (going beyond the usual “we need more traffic” statement). The company admitted they had no idea what their prospects called their products. Of course they use their industry lingo, but how many different terms could be used to describe their product, Judging by how many different synonyms he rattled off in a matter of seconds, I'd say quite a few.
It’s a problem that a lot of companies have…too much technical jargon. Too much industrial speak. So, how do you fix it? Here are a few tips:
Google Keyword Planner will allow you to type in what you think people are searching for and present you with a list of other ideas to consider (don't worry about the billing questions - there aren't many). The numerical values are insignificate - this is Google’s “data” that is being displayed. Their goal is to entice you to purchase these terms via Adwords, so just realize that higher numbers (global search volume and local search volume) are a good thing.
Your existing customer base can give you invaluable information as to what they call your products. Find out exactly what they refer to them as and begin to build your keyword lists from there. If you’re in an industry that services many different verticals, make sure you survey someone from each specific niche…this will help tremendously.
If your site is already equipped with Google Analytics or Google Search Console (both are free), or some other platform, check out the “Keywords” section of how your visitors have found your site. Skip over any branded terms, and begin to dig a bit deeper. Find the terms that only sent 2, 3 or 10 visitors over the month. There is a good chance that these are appropriate terms, your site just might not be optimized for them quite yet.
Now that you have a bit better idea of how to find out what your customers call your product, now what? Well, it’s time to build specific content around the new terms. It’s up to you or your marketing department to decide whether these new phrases warrant static pages on your site, or if they are good blog fodder. Put that content management system to use and begin adding the revised content to your site.
