Undertaking Complex Keyword Research: A Detailed Look
By delving into our methods of keyword research at Digital Sunbird, especially when grappling with the often complex business-to-business (B2B) realm, we hope to provide an effective roadmap for those navigating this intricate landscape.
A Dive into B2B Keyword Research
Entering the maze of keyword research for business-to-business (B2B) organizations can be complex. Unlike the B2C domain, B2B often teems with niche markets, specialized parlance, and processes involving approval at various levels. And as you aim to reach an expert audience accustomed to industry-specific language, and seeking comprehensive, precise information, the level of complexity escalates.
The Challenge: Crafting an Effective B2B Keyword Strategy
The crux of a successful keyword strategy in the business-to-business (B2B) sphere isn’t just about identifying the right search terms. It’s about decrypting the unique language of different industries and their professionals who require in-depth and accurate information.
To understand the process, imagine searching the perfect keywords for a company involved in supplying underground broadband cables to other organizations. You may ask, “What can I really say about ‘business-grade cabling’ that’s relevant and engaging?” Well, as we’ll demonstrate in this guide, the secret lies in thoroughly understanding your audience.
A Real-world Case: Keyword Research for a B2B Health Brand
One challenging brief we received was from a B2B health brand that tasked us with identifying keywords specifically appealing to healthcare professionals. They provided several health subcategories, among which one stands out: “sore throats and colds.”
The Dream and the Dilemma
It’s relatively easy to generate an extensive list of keywords related to sore throats. The real challenge lies in sieving out the exact terms a healthcare professional, not a layperson, would input in their search bar. How do we filter out the specific few keywords clinicians are looking for from the plethora of potential keywords? Let’s drill down into our approach.
Our Strategy: Understanding the Audience
We commenced our exploration by establishing four key hypotheses about our target audience’s search behavior. We then identified top-tier healthcare professionals and the online platforms they frequent using numerous analytical tools.
Subsequently, we refined our list to include only those platforms requiring subscription, typically visited only by healthcare professionals. Keywords that ranked highly across all such prominent, subscription-only medical sites were of specific interest.
Unpacking the Process: Keyword Grouping and Scoring System
After collecting the keywords, we needed to categorize them. For this, we applied our proprietary keyword clustering technology. To zero in on keywords specific to our client’s category, “sore throats and colds,” from nearly 800,000 shared keywords across the medical sites, we introduced a scoring system.
A keyword receiving higher scores indicated a higher likelihood of relevance to healthcare professionals. For instance, a keyword consistently achieving top positions on subscription-only medical platforms could be safely assumed as being integral to healthcare experts.
In Line with the Hypotheses
When we scrutinized the terms, many were found to be highly technical, aligning with our hypotheses. They pointed towards topics such as “the best antibiotic to prescribe for a range of throat infections” or “why certain blood pressure medicines were causing patients to cough.”
Focus of the Guide
This guide isn’t aimed at tutoring you on scripting OpenAI or constructing pivot tables for keyword categorization. Instead, it guides you through our unique approach, grounded in critical thinking, to address unconventional and specific keyword research requirements.
To achieve success in such niche cases, it’s essential to understand the audience comprehensively and approach the task with a clear, testable hypothesis.
A Success Story and Final Thoughts
Our client had been previously informed that it was impossible to isolate keywords aimed only at a specific demographic. But as demonstrated, with critical thinking and thorough testing, there’s almost always a way through.
The methodology is not limited to healthcare. We’ve used similar strategies to help HR firms identify keywords exclusively resonating with HR professionals, successfully avoiding terms employees might use.
We hope that these insights encourage exploration of creative solutions in your keyword quests. The success of your content strategy might just hinge on thinking outside the box!
Further reading suggestions: “Navigating SEO: Unearth Unique Keywords for Custom Content”.
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