RE: Google Analytics keywords metric and appropriate keywords

[DMoff]

Greetings,

When running Google Analytics' keyword report, I see that the over 85% of the top 100 keywords used to find us include a word in our name (Eagle's Nest Foundation and Camp -- with "eagle" or "eagle's nest" being the most frequent) or the name of one of our programs.   Does this mean that most folks searching for summer camps in North Carolina already know about us and that we therefore need to optimize for broader keywords, to cast a wider net for folks who don't already know about us?

Thanks,

Dave

[DMoff]

Saibose, thank you for your input.  I'm chagrined to say, though, that I don't know what an SEM campaign is, but I get your gist that it would really tell me if my interpretation is correct.  So I have some research to do.  We do have some very generic keywords working for us (summer camp north carolina, southeast, etc.)   It is just that the actualy words folks are using to find us do include our name or some portion of it, or one of our program names -- it's not that we optimized for those words but of course we did use them.

Again, thanks for your help and for pointing me at SEM campaigns.  I will try to research and figure out if we can afford to do that process (although you might be asking, Can you afford not to do that.... -- but we are a small nonprofit and I only work 16 hours a week.  Anyway, I appreciate your insights.

Thanks,

dave

[DMoff]

Thanks for your thoughts Martin.  We are a regionally known summer camp but want to expand the universe of folks who know about us.  I knew about the #10 ranking on google, but that has fallen -- we once were #6 at our highest.  I will revisit the keyword tool to see if I can glean some new relevant kwyrds.  I like your suggestion about investigating our landing pages relative to what keyword drew the person; I would hope they are relevant but there just might be something not sticky enough to keep them there, as our bounce rate is pretty high.

Thanks again, I appreciate your help!

Dave

[saibose]

Dave,

That isnt a good way to look at it. I would actually run a SEM campaign with the brand name and its variants to see impressions and then judge.

Also, I would start building up traffic for more generic keywords with the brand keywords. People generally dont search for brands, rather they search more for generic terms (North Carolina  summer camps as an example).

[MartinOddy]

It's hard to give specifics without seeing the data itself, but yes, your assumption is a fair one. Do you use traditional marketing methods like leafleting, newspaper/magasine adverts etc? Is your brand a fairly well known one locally, or nationally? If so, this would fit in with what you are seeing.

You're not, for example, ranking for summer camp carolina, and are only in the 10th slot for [summer camp north carolina](summer camp north carolina).

As I'm not sure of your SEO experience, I think it's fair to point you toward Google's keyword tool which can give you lots of ideas of what key phrases to target, as well as their rough search volume and competition.

summer camp nc is one such example that it threw up at a glance.

So yes, in an effort to increase traffic and leads, you almost certainly want to focus on the broader, less brand-orientated phrases (though this can be said for almost any SEO campaign).

It may also be worth making sure you are meeting the requirements and expectations of the demand you are already experiencing. If people are searching for "the name of [...] our programs", make sure you're making every effort to provide them with a relevent page.