Have you just finished your keyword research? Are you stuck wondering what to do next? You’re not alone. Most marketers and content creators out there know they need to be doing keyword research. The truth is, that’s only one piece to the puzzle.
The real magic happens after the keyword research. The strategy. The implementation. The campaign tracking. You need to do it all if you want to make any meaningful impact with your content.
At HatchMark Studio, we help our clients with keyword research, strategy, and implementation to boost their SEO. In this article, we will review the steps you should take after keyword research and some best practices so you can make the most of your next SEO campaign.
Key Takeaways
- Analyze your keywords to ensure they align with your brand and attract qualified leads.
- Develop a comprehensive content strategy and set clear goals for content creation and distribution.
- Create and optimize original content using best practices, balancing SEO techniques with genuine, helpful information.
- Implement keyword tracking to monitor your rankings and adjust your strategy based on performance data.
- Regularly update and refresh your content, and repurpose it across multiple channels to maximize visibility and impact.
What is Keyword Research?
A lot of people talk about keyword research, but do you know how to do it effectively? If you’re doing SEO professionally or just a business owner who wants to do sophisticated keyword research, you need to be using a third-party platform.
Tools like SEMrush and Ahrefs allow you to research keywords, create campaigns, find backlink opportunities, and a whole lot more. This is a critical first step in creating SEO-optimized content for your website.
6 Steps You Should Take After Keyword Research
Assuming you have finished your keyword research, you have a lot of work to do. Follow these steps, and you will be well on your way to SEO success!
- Analyze your keywords. Think about the keywords you have researched. How are you going to tie these into what your brand or business is offering? Remember, your content and keywords should be focused on bringing in qualified leads, not just traffic.
- Develop your content strategy & set goals. Now that you have identified you have the right keywords in place, it’s time to develop your content strategy. Are you going to roll this out with written content on your blog? Are you going to focus on social media? Maybe you want to do both! Either way, develop a content strategy, content plan, and set goals for yourself so that you can come back and determine whether or not the effort you’re spending is worth it.
- Content creation. Whether you plan on blogging or creating social content with your keywords, this is the part that will probably take the longest. Make sure that your content is created and optimized to rank using the best practices and totally original. It’s also important to remember that AI is playing a major role in keyword ranking.
- SEO optimization. This is especially true if you are blogging. Tools like Yoast can help you check your content to make sure that you’re adhering to the best practices to help your content rank high on Google’s SERPs. Be mindful of over optimizing your content thinking that it will rank higher. Most users prefer genuine, original content that is helpful and easy to read rather than content that just looks like it was built to rank high.
- Create a keyword tracking campaign. Go back to those tools (SEMrush, Ahrefs) that we discussed earlier. In any third-party platform that is made for keyword research, you will have a position tracking feature. Once you publish your content, you need to plug in your keywords to the position tracker to follow your ranking. This is one of the only ways you will be able to tell where your content is ranking against your competitors and in SERPs.
- Set a content refresh schedule. Even if your content is perfectly written and optimized, it will eventually become outdated. Make it a habit to regularly audit your content to check for ways it can be updated, rewritten, or refreshed using the latest best practices.
- Bonus: Make more content. If you have just written a new blog post, why not turn that blog post into a social post? A podcast episode? A YouTube video? An email blast? Don’t let your content be one and done. This gives you more visibility, supports your larger marketing efforts, and drives more traffic to your new content.
Final Thoughts on What to Do After Keyword Research
Keyword research is a critical first step toward creating meaningful, impactful content that is trackable. However, it’s just that–a first step. It’s what you do with those keywords that makes all of the difference. If you approach your content creation methodically and constantly adhere to best practices, you will set yourself up for success. Remember: nothing beats consistency. None of this is easy nor does it happen overnight. Keep trying!
FAQ on What to Do After Keyword Research
Q: Why is keyword research only the first step in SEO?
A: Keyword research helps identify potential keywords, but effective SEO also requires strategic content creation, optimization, tracking, and ongoing updates. Success depends on how you implement and adapt your tactics beyond just selecting keywords.
Q: How often should I update or refresh my existing content?
A: It’s recommended to review and update your content regularly—typically every 6 to 12 months—to ensure it remains accurate, relevant, and optimized with the latest SEO best practices.
Q: Can I repurpose my blog content into other formats?
A: Absolutely! Turning blog posts into social media posts, videos, podcasts, or email campaigns can increase content visibility, reach different audience segments, and support your overall marketing efforts.
Let Us Help You with Keyword Research
Even if you can handle your own keyword research, sometimes it can be a bit overwhelming to do all of the other steps that go along with it. That’s when partnering with an agency can make the difference. At HatchMark Studio, we can help you with everything from keyword research and content strategy to content development and implementation. If you are interested in learning more about how an SEO content strategy can start increasing your brand awareness, contact us, and a member from our team will schedule a free discovery session.
