Site Growth Case Study: Selecting Keywords

This is the second update for this case study. Here’s the main idea:

• I bought a site in December 2019 with about 25 articles.
• Then, I improved some of the content with the FAQ method.
• Then, I added 8 new posts.
• Revenue grew from $1,600 in 2019 to $2,600 in 2020.
• I’m adding about 321,000 more words in about 139 articles in 2021.
• Check out the first post here.

I’m working with Brand Builders to do the work.

Before publishing content, we need to figure out the keywords and topics to cover.

What Keywords Should I Target

I typically like to have about 50% information content and 50% product related content.

But I really didn’t pay attention to that rule of thumb initially. I wanted to publish content that would generate sales on Amazon.

The site had about 25% informational content when I bought it, then I published 8 more articles that were product focused. So now we are down to about 18% informational.

So the first set of keywords had about 50% as informational so we will have a better ratio, closer to half and half.

I’m generally in favor of the low competition and low search volume keywords (improve your keyword search results). So that’s what I suggested.

What Tool?

I don’t care much about what tool is used, but I prefer KW Finder for pure keyword research. I like the interface and how you’re able to see the SERPs in the same view.

For the first batch of keywords, Brand Builders used KWFinder. I wasn’t completely happy with the keywords that were selected and asked to have deeper research done.

The problem was some of the keywords were too similar and simply derivatives of the same topic. Or the topic was very similar to a topic that is already on the site, which is the same problem.

Once that was sorted out, the keywords were good to go to the writers.

Why Outsource Keyword Research?

I’ve done a lot of keyword research in the past and enjoy it to some extent. But I like going outside and walking more. Or having a short meditation session or drinking a beer.

The point is I’ll outsource keyword research, content, and most anything if I can buy back time to do things that I enjoy.

More importantly, I try to mimic how you (fine reader) would use a service. If I recommend or talk about a product, I want to see how it might work out for any given customer.

It’s not always possible since I have opinions on how things should be done. But for the most part I let services guide me through the process.

Keyword Sheet with Search Volumes

Here’s the first set of keywords.

57,000 words of content was a good chunk of writing and I was expecting to have this content by the end of January. Unfortunately, the content team was running behind.

This was a surprise to hear. I share more in the next update about the content.

The good news is that all the content in the first batched has been delivered and published as of the end of February.

In the next update, part 3, I’ll let you know about the changes I requested for the content.

And the update after that, part 4, will be how I published the 24 new posts with 57,000 words of content with a goal to have it indexed as soon as possible.