Adjusting your keyword strategy to the evolution of search

[djbaxter]

How To Build A Customer-Centric Keyword Strategy
by Casie Gillette, Search Engine Land
May 12, 2015

Blue Nile Research released a study at the end of April that looked at how individuals searched. While there is a ton of great data in the report worth checking out, what stood out to me was this:

Blue Nile?s research shows an exact 50-50 split between users who search in fragments (e.g. ?swollen ankle?) and those who search in more fully formed terms (e.g. ?causes of swollen ankle during sleep?). When it came to questions vs. statements, 27% of respondents phrased their query in the form of a question, with ?How? being the most commonly used prefix.

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More people than ever are asking questions in search engines, and more people than ever are using longer queries. In fact, the same study showed that 50% of queries were four words or longer.

What does this mean for search marketers?
Users want answers, and they know that the more specific their query, the better chance they?ll have of getting the right results. For marketers, this means that to ensure your page is surfaced as the right result, you must focus your content on phrases and answering questions vs. targeting an exact keyword.

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