It pays to do your homework. The value of constant improvement is the best way to go to build your brand. Success is right around the corner. But it doesn’t hurt to put yourself in a better position get capture more of it.

SEO will continue to be the biggest asset in your company. The impact your keyword selection has on SEO can and will greatly impact your rankings within search engines. The trick everyone faces is, what is the best way to determine which keywords are the most profitable for you?

Here’s a handful of ways to help you determine that.

1. Target Market

Location, location, location. One of the first things you should’ve done before selecting any keywords to know who your audience is. Knowing who your “selling” to allows you to increase your likelihood of higher ranks in searches.

If your business is stickily localized, meaning you cater to a certain area, you can put yourself in a great position to target keywords designed to fit that area.

For instance, if your business focused on a specific county, city, or region, you can form your keywords to include such areas to place higher on searches for that specific service or product. Being specific to your audience will result in higher ranks.

2. Long-Tail Keywords

For those who aren’t familiar with these kinds of keywords, they’re essentially keywords that tend to be searched for at a much less volume. Vague keywords like “weight loss” or “diet tips”, offer a huge volume of searches. But it will be nearly impossible to outrank others in a timely matter. It’s just too popular of a search.

Long-tail keywords are the answer. Going back to previous example, instead of “diet tips” use “diet tips for men over 40”.

They offer a more specific target, but also a fewer search volume. This isn’t a bad thing, it can give you a much higher ranking. When the user search becomes more specific, search engines will make the more relevant results show higher than the nonrelevant ones.

3. Adwords Research

Google is one of the most powerful search engine around. It’s extremely popular with users and believes in bringing business and buyers together for a positive experience. For that reason, Google has many tools that it offers to websites to help bring them closer to potential buyers.

The AdWords tool by Google, can help your analysis and see which keywords are working and which aren’t. It gives you’re the site the ability to find targeted keywords that can be used to achieve higher ranks. Always remember that the highest searched keywords aren’t the best option for higher searches.

4. Scan the Competition

Scanning the competition is always a smart thing to do. It’s also very easy. Check the keywords competing site use and the ones they do not.

Comparing both yours and the competitions keyword choices will give you an idea of what your missing. You may likely stumble upon keywords that they even missed or that they aren’t using. You should remember the ways to index it and capitalize on the information.

Getting to see where you rank among your competition will allow you to find new and better keywords to increase your ranks.

5. Check Buyers Searching

Buyers sometimes will search using keywords that are overlooked by you. These kinds of keywords are usually actionable words like: buy, review, read.

Tapping into these keywords buyers are using will help you rank higher. Buyers know what they already want. When seeing sites that use these words, they become more likely to go to that site. It’s a gold mine if you can tap into this.

You’re never too far gone. There are always ways to improve and working with SEO you must be routinely looking to adapt. Remember, your keywords hold the power to get you to the promise land of higher ranks. Follow these tips and you’ll find the most profitable ones for you.