Keyword Checklist: Best Keywords Every Company Should Target

TL;DR:

• Focus on bottom-of-funnel, low-competition, and long-tail keywords in your keyword strategy
• To find the best keywords, talk to your customers and use keyword research tools for sanity checks
• Align your keywords with search intent and the correct stage in the buyer journey
• High-intent types of keywords to target are: competitor keywords, category keywords, integration keywords, "how to" keywords, and playbooks

Vanity metrics are one thing, tangible business value another. And sadly, keywords — while a staple of your SEO strategy — are used wrong by 80% of companies out there.

Why?

• They target keywords that bring in unqualified traffic — people who will never buy their product
• The keywords they choose don't match the right buyer stage. For example, they have a qualified prospect who is still in the unaware phase but have targeted a solution-aware keyword — that prospect isn't ready to buy

The keywords you target need to be capable of qualifying a prospective buyer or moving a deal forward, or else you're wasting your time.

The sooner your content can drive conversions for you, the better — and it all starts with a keyword.

What Keywords are Best for SEO?
1. Competitor Keywords

Competitor keywords, or those that include your competitors' names or offerings, are for in-market buyers who are shopping between you and your competitors.

Cover all variations of:

• Competitor A vs Competitor B — here you can intercept prospects and include yourself in the conversation as a third alternative

• Competitor vs You

• Alternatives to You
• Alternatives to Competitor X

• Common FAQs or errors for competitors that you do better. For example: "Gong doesn't install on Google Meet"

2. Category Keywords

You can intercept prospects that are actively searching for tools in your particular category using keywords like:

1. Best [your category] software or tools. For example, "Best SEO Tools"

2. Best [your category] software or tools in [latest year]

3. [Your category] tool for [vertical]. For example, "X best CRM Software for Agencies"

3. Integration Keywords

Prospects always need to integrate the tools in their tech stack. If you offer useful integrations for common tools, target keywords like:

• [Your category] [app] integration. For example, "CRM software Calendly integration"

4. The "How to" Keywords

The "how to" appendix makes up 37% of all searches on Google.

You want to make sure you target "How to" keywords where you do something better than the norm — "how to do X" when you automate X.

For example, for a tool like tl;dv, an ideal target keyword would be "How to share snippets from Zoom calls."

5. Playbooks

Playbooks are strategic guides to accomplishing something that your software enables and excellent for intercepting searchers.

For example: "ABM playbook for 2024."

Focus on Bottom-of-Funnel Keywords You Stand a Chance of Ranking For

Don't waste time and resources chasing keywords that you don't actually stand a chance of ranking for or that will simply churn prospects.

The formula for keywords that convert is rather simple: bottom-of-funnel intent + low-competition keywords + relevance to real customers.

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