Christian Keywords and How Google Responds Differently to Different Types of Keywords
Part 3: Laying Your Website’s Unshakable Foundation
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Part One:
Part Two:
In the previous learning module, we discussed three different types of Christian Keywords: Head Term, Long-Tail and Transactional. I then ended by asking: “If you owned a business that sells Christian tee shirts, which of the three types of keyword phrases would you prefer to rank at the top of Google when it was searched?”
In this article, you will discover:
- How Google responds differently to different types of keywords
- What I believe are the best type of keyword phrases for which to rank high
Google’s Task at Hand
Since before the turn of the millennium, Google has worked tirelessly at learning to understand the wants, needs and desires of their customers. And in the midst of all this, they’ve had to try and learn to pull off the impossible… by using the art of prediction. Specifically speaking, they have to try and predict what each customer is thinking when performing a specific search in the Google Search Bar.
When you look back to the image atop this article, you will discover it contains the 3 different types of keywords we discussed in Part 2 of this series. They are:
- Christian Tees (Head-Term)
- Bible Verse T Shirts (Long-Tail)
- Christian Tee Shirts Near Me (Transactional / Long-Tail)
Now, when you really think about each of the 3 phrases mentioned above, can you predict what it is each consumer is looking for?
“That’s easy, Josh. They’re all looking for Christian Tee Shirts….. Duh!”
Well… if only it were really that easy. Let me begin by showing you an example from my own Christian Apparel and Gift Store at The Cleansing Closet.
Below are 3 different images of, “You guessed it,” Christian Tee Shirts. However, the truth is, they’re actually all different in their own way. And this is what makes Google’s job difficult when trying to master the art of prediction.
For example, when someone visits Google and searches “Christian Tees,” is that customer looking for Men’s, Women’s or Youth Christian Tees? Well, let’s pretend they’re looking for Women’s. And if that’s the case… are they looking for regular cotton tee shirts, V-neck tees, or maybe even Dolman Sleeve tees?
Are you starting to better understand how profoundly difficult the task at hand is for Google? And if Google’s goal is to truly provide the best customer service possible, then they have to get this right. They can’t afford to mess this “prediction” thing up.
Therefore, let’s take a look at how Google responds differently to different keywords.
How Google’s Response Means Everything to Your Business
So when it comes to Search Engine Optimization (SEO), what keywords and keyword phrases are best for your website to rank at the top of Google? Before we can know that answer, we must first understand how Google responds differently to different types of keywords. And what I mean by that is: what exactly Google offers up to the customer when any given keyword phrase is searched in the Google Search Bar.
Therefore, let’s take a quick look at the 3 different phrases we’ve been discussing in this article, and discover Google’s response to each.
Below is a screenshot I took only moments ago when going to Google and searching “Christian Tees.”
What you see in the screenshot is a few ads at the top of the page, then the organic search results following.
Now, let’s see what Google offers when I search “Bible Verse T Shirts.”
Wow! Notice the difference? Why is there such a big difference compared to the previous search?
Golden Nugget: The more specific the search, the more Google will better understand what to offer the customer. Specificity is not only Key, but is also KING of the SEO world!
As I mentioned earlier, when someone goes to Google and searches “Christian Tees,” Google has almost no idea what this person is actually looking for… other than Christian Tee Shirts.
But now, let’s look at what Google offers up when someone searches “Christian Tee Shirts Near Me.’
Interestingly enough (and I didn’t even anticipate this), I actually provide the SEO services for The Crescent Department Store – 3rd down, just under corporate giants Wal-Mart and Target. That’s awesome!
Nevertheless, in the midst of all of these searches you find the answer to the question, “Which type of keywords should I rank high for on Google?”
The Keywords You Want to Rank High For
When your website’s SEO is properly implemented, just like my client in the above image, the odds are definitely in your favor that your website will be showing up in local Transactional Keyword Searches. Especially if you’ve connected with Google My Business, Yelp, etc.
Therefore, the real question is: “Do you want to rank high in search results in Head-Term searches, or Long-Tail Keyword searches?”
Well, the obvious answer is “Both.” However, if you had to choose between the two, which would you choose? Head-Term or Long-Tail? Let’s begin by taking another look at the keywords in the following table.
| KEYWORD | AVG. MONTHLY SEARCHES |
|---|---|
| christian t shirts | 70 |
| dior t shirts | 20 |
| christian tees | 10 |
| christian tee shirts | 10 |
| christian tee shirts near me | 10 |
| jesus tees | 10 |
| bible verse t shirts | 10 |
| faith t shirts | 10 |
| christian saying t shirts | 10 |
Your initial knee-jerk reaction would be to want to rank high for the phrase Christian T Shirts. Why? Because it has the most searches every month with 70. However, in order to truly simplify this and make the answer easy to understand, all you really need to recognize is the Consumer’s Intent for a specific keyword phrase search.
For example, what do you think the consumer’s intent is when she goes to Google and searches “Christian T Shirts?” Well, by the screenshots I provided above, we know that:
- Google really doesn’t know what she’s looking for other than Christian Tees
- Neither you nor I know what she’s looking for as well
GOLDEN NUGGET: The truth is… She doesn’t even know what she’s looking for. She’s simply going to look through website after website until finding something she likes.
Therefore, instead of this being a complicated process by asking which type of keyword phrase do I want to rank high for. Why not ask, which type of customer do I want visiting my website:
- Customers who don’t know exactly what they’re looking for?
- Customers who know exactly what they’re looking for?
You Want The Know-it-All Customer
Therefore, when we go to our Long-Tail Keyword Phrase, Bible Verse T Shirts, we see that this customer has a much better idea about what she’s looking for. She isn’t looking for Christian Tees or Jesus Tees, she’s looking for Christian Tee Shirts that contain a Bible verse… like this Dolman Sleeve Tee Shirt.
This is the customer we want on our website!
We want the customer who knows what:
- Style of tee shirt
- Color
- Brand
- Size
…. and any other attribute of the tee shirt she’s looking to purchase. Then, we key our products and product pages for those Long-Tail Keyword Phrases! Why? For three main reasons:
- Hardly anyone does this
- It’s much easier to rank for
- It provides excellent customer service for Google, which allows it to provide excellent customer service for their customers.
Does this make sense? If not, look at it this way.
When someone Google-Searches Christian Tees, like I’ve previously stated, Google has no idea what they’re really searching for, other than Christian Tees. Therefore, Google simply offers websites containing “Christian Tees.” Which right now there are approximately 46,600,600 results that Google offers up. Which kinda means your website isn’t any more valuable (for that specific search) than any other sites with “Christian Tees.”
However, if you were to Google Search 4X Bible Verse T Shirts, there are only 765,000 results. Once again proving that Specificity is King when it comes to SEO.
Therefore, I conclude that I’d much rather have 10 customers per month on my website who search the Long-Tail Keyword Phrase, Bible Verse T Shirts, over the 70 per month who simply search the Head-Term Phrases, Christian Tees or Christian T Shirts.
Why? Because I want the customers who know what they want. And if I have what they want, then I just earned a new client.
Until next time…. God Bless!
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Christian SEO refers to Search Engine Optimization (SEO).
Search Engine Optimization, as defined by Oxford Language, is the process of maximizing the number of visitors to a particular website by ensuring that the site appears high on the list of results returned by a search engine.
However, if I had to provide my own definition of SEO, I’d say:
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the process of Optimizing a website to ensure it ranks high on the list of results returned by a search engine, by properly using SEO-Best-Practice techniques.
In layman’s terms, I’d say that SEO is: “Trying to get your website to the top of Google” in order to drive more visitors to your website.
For example, if you were a Christian retail store who sold John 3:16 T-Shirts, you should want to rank at the top of Google every single time anyone in the world searched “john 3 16 t-shirts.” This would likely help you to sell many more t-shirts.
There are, however, many different optimization techniques that can be used in properly performing Search Engine Optimization.
Great Question! But also kinda difficult to answer within such a brief framework.
Nevertheless, you can optimize your website both on the frontend and backend. And it’s completely okay if you’re unfamiliar with that phraseology.
To be more specific, search engine optimization can include (but is not limited to) optimizing areas on your website such as:
- Page Titles (this includes pages, posts and products)
- Body Content
- Categories and Tags
- Navigational Menus
- SEO Titles
- SEO Meta
- Images
- Focus Keyphrase
- URL’s
And as I’ve stated, there are many other ways – some even more technical.
However, I can assure you that one of the best ways to optimize your website is by providing excellent content.
Awesome question! And thanks so much for asking…
This is truly a question I love answering, and am very passionate in the account that I give. For those seeking a pragmatic answer, I’d say, there are different types of SEO “packages.” Not only so, but one also has to factor in the size and type of the website.
Nevertheless, a few examples might consist of:
Silver SEO Package: $199 (starting price)
The Silver Package consists of performing SEO services in the areas of “SEO Titles” and “SEO Meta Descriptions.” Once again, please keep in mind this would depend on the number of Pages, Posts and Products you have on your website.
Bronze SEO Package: $499 (starting price)
The Bronze Package consists of everything in the Silver Package, but additionally includes “On-Page Titles” and “Tagging and/or Implementing Tagged Images.”
Gold SEO Package: $1,499 (starting price)
The Gold Package consists of both the Silver and Bronze Packages, but also includes “On-Page Content Optimization”
Platinum SEO Package: $2,499 (starting price)
The Platinum Package consists of the Silver, Bronze and Gold elements, and includes “The Works,” which is absolutely too much to list.
Having laid out the answer for you pragmatically, now please allow me to tell you the… well… TRUTH as to how I feel about it all.
In my expert, completely transparent opinion, unless it is someone whom is simply taking baby steps (due to a financial situation), I’d never suggest anyone to go with the Silver or Bonze SEO Packages.
Why?
Firstly, when it comes to your business and livelihood… why would you ever do anything halfway?
Secondly (and you’re going to have to take my word on this), I know something that you don’t. And unless there are special circumstances involving your request for either the Silver or Gold Package, I’m Man enough and honest enough to tell you the truth.
Whenever it’s humanly possible, don’t just do it alright, but do it All Right the first time around…
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