Keyphrase analysis

The key success of search engine marketing is achieving keyphrase (keyword phrase) relevance since this is what the search engines strive for – to match the combination of keywords typed into the search box to the most relevant destination content page. Search engines attribute more relevance to when there is a phrase match between the keywords that the user types and a phrase on a page. Despite this, many search companies and commentators talk about optimising your ‘keywords’ and pay insufficient attention to keyphrase analysis.

Key source for identifying the keyphrases your customers are likely to type when searching for your products include your market knowledge, competitor’s sites, keyphrases from visitors who arrive at your site (from web analytics), the internal site search tool and the keyphrase analysis tool such as the Google Keyword Tool. When completing keyphrases analysis we need to understand different qualifiers that users type in. Here are examples of common types of qualifiers for ‘car insurance’:

- Comparison / quality – compare car insurance

- Adjective (price / product qualifiers) – cheap can insurance, woman car insurance

- Intended use – high mileage car insurance

- Product type – holiday car insurance

- Vendor – Churchill car insurance

- Location – car insurance UK

- Action requested – buy car insurance

According to the Google Keyword tool for a single month in 2011, for searchers completed the UK, the most popular exact phrases related to car insurance were:

- Car insurance: 550,000

- Cheap car insurance: 201,000

- Car insurance quotes: 110,000

- Compare car insurance: 49,500

- Cheapest car insurance: 40,500

- Car insurance comparison: 40,500

- Temporary car insurance: 33,100

- Car insurance groups: 27,100

- Short-term car insurance: 27,000

- Car insurance for young drivers: 22,200

- Classic car insurance: 22,200

These data suggest the importance for ranking well for high-volume keyphrases such as ‘cheap car insurance’ and to consider products and services that target a need such as ‘temporary’ or ‘short-term insurance’.

Adapted from

Chaffey, D. and Ellis-Chadwick, F., 2012. Digital marketing: strategy, implementation and practice (Vol. 5). Harlow: Pearson.