Public Speaking Business Marketing: Be Careful of "Insider" Keywords

Keywords, commonly known as the words and phrases that seach engine looks for on a web page, are fairly easy to research. You can Google "keyword suggestion tools" and find many free resources to help you. Keywords are important for matching the words on your website with someone searching for information. Proper keyword research is what helps with your search results ranking.

As experts however, we often think in terms of our industry. Real estate, psychology, investing and others all have their own 'insider speak' that only those in a particular industry would know. And as experts doing keyword research for our website, we want to avoid those at all costs.

Why is that? Why would we want to avoid language that is common in our industry?

Unless you are only providing information to those in the industry itself, 99% of regular people are unfamiliar with these terms. In real estate for example, most information is geared towards normal people looking to buy property or invest. they don't know the terms professionals use and don't search for them. You have to realize the layman's terms for your industry and research those instead. I've heard many life coaches use the terms 'mindful consciousness' and "wellness meditation' on their websites, when their market is actually searching for words like 'how to reduce stress' and 'grief after the loss of a parent.'

Just because you know what it means doesn't mean everyone else does. You have to "think like your market" if you want to be found online. Keyword research, while not overly complicated, does take some time and effort to get it right. Put yourself in the shoes (and mindset) of those you are trying to reach.

Proper keyword research is only a part of the picture...