The vast majority of affiliates still rely on SEO for generating a significant chunk of their traffic. That is why keyword research remains such an important factor when it comes to devising a content plan and creating the pages that make up your site.
On the face of it, keyword research is pretty straight forward. It is about identifying the most valuable terms that your target audience is searching for (online sportsbooks, new online casinos, New Jersey mobile sports betting, etc) and using this to create pages.
Of course, each keyword will have a cluster of associated keywords that must also be included in the content being written for that specific page if you are to rank for as many related keywords and phrases as you can and thus drive the highest volume of traffic to that page.
The Best Keyword Research Tool:
Savvy affiliates will make use of the various keyword research tools available to them. Let’s take a closer look at one of the most popular:
Ahrefs offers a comprehensive keyword explorer tool that helps to generate relevant keyword ideas with key metrics such as search volume, keyword difficulty score, and advanced metrics like clicks, return rate, and parent topic.
Additionally, its content explorer tool can be used to search for ideas, see current trends, what is popular and the most shared and ‘linked-to’ content helping you to explore the best ideas for the next batch of pages you are planning to write.
Here is a step-by-step guide to keyword research:
- Identify a master topic (online sports betting)
- Plug this topic into a tool such as Ahrefs to identify related keywords (online sports betting bonuses, free bet online sports betting, etc)
- Generate a list of all keywords to be included on the master topic page
- Create a plan for the various sections of the master topic page
- Write the page, but be mindful not to “keyword stuff”
Keyword Stuffing Explained:
What is keyword stuffing? Keyword stuffing is the practice of including as many keywords as you can in a page and writing the content in a way that is more aimed at Google and its ranking algorithms rather than the end user. This is something the search engine does not like.
Content must always be written for the user, so affiliates will need to master the art of including keywords in their main pages while also ensuring that content is well written, accurate, easy to read, and flows as it should.
For example, Ahrefs may identify a keyword or key phrase such as “New Jersey 2022 sportsbooks online” as this is what users are typing into Google when searching. Obviously, this is not grammatically correct so you should not include this key phrase in your content as it is.
You could write “Here is a list of the best New Jersey online sportsbooks for 2022” and Google will still understand that your page is relevant for that keyword or key phrase. In some instances, Google will rank your page even if that keyword or key phrase is not included in the page content.
This is because Google has become very good at understanding relevance, so you don’t have to go overboard with keywords and key phrases. Keep it authentic and you will stand the best chance of ranking highly for a wide range of keywords and phrases.