How to Do Local Keyword Research for Chester Businesses
Conducting comprehensive local keyword research is a crucial first step for any Chester business looking to improve visibility and engagement online. By identifying the specific terms and phrases that your target customers are using to search for local products, services, and information, you can optimise your website and content accordingly. This allows you to reach people who are actively looking for offerings like yours in the Chester area.
In this quick guide, we’ll walk through the key steps and strategies to perform effective local keyword research for Chester and rank higher in local search results.
Outline the Goals of Your Local Keyword Research
Before diving into keyword research, it’s important to outline your goals and objectives. This includes:
- Finding the highest-value keywords and phrases – You want to identify keyword opportunities that have sufficient local search volume and that align closely with your business offerings. These present the greatest chance of driving qualified traffic to your site.
- Understanding user search intent – Recognizing the actual intent behind the keywords, such as informational, commercial, or navigational searches, will allow you to create content that satisfies user needs.
- Gauging competitiveness – Evaluating how competitive keywords are in Chester can help you focus on attainable terms and avoid overly saturated phrases with little opportunity to rank well locally.
- Informing your localization strategy – The keywords should directly guide your optimization efforts to become the go-to local provider for those searches.
Brainstorm Relevant Keywords and Phrases
Start by listing out your core products, services, and other aspects of your business. Then brainstorm all the keyword variations and phrases that people might use when searching for those offerings in Chester specifically.
Core Services/Products
Think about the key services or products you offer. For a fictional shoe store in Chester called City Shoes, this may include:
- Men’s shoes
- Women’s shoes
- Children’s shoes
- Running shoes
- Walking shoes
- Sandals
Location-Based Keywords
Add in Chester location identifiers like:
- Shoes in Chester
- Shoe stores in Chester
- Places to buy shoes in Chester
You can get more granular with specific neighbourhoods and areas like Hoole, Handbridge, Christleton, Upton, Saltney, etc.
Landmarks and Events
Incorporate references to local landmarks and events, which can have high search volumes:
- Shoes near Chester Zoo
- Shoes for Chester Races
- Shoes for Chester Pride
Keyword Variations
Consider keyword variations like:
- Top shoe stores
- Shoe outlets
- Discount shoes
- Designer shoe brands
- Wide width shoes
- Orthopaedic shoes
Leverage Keyword Research Tools
Dedicated keyword research tools like Google Keyword Planner, SEMrush, or Ahrefs allow you to find keyword ideas and analyse the local search volume, competition levels, and suggested bid prices for Chester.
Filter by Location
Most tools allow you to enter a specific targeted location to filter the results and see keyword performance metrics for just that area. For Google Keyword Planner, you can input the Chester postal code CH1 to narrow down the data.
Analyse Keyword Data
Once you enter possible keywords, the tools provide useful data like:
- Average monthly searches – This indicates how many times people are searching for that term locally. Aim for reasonable search volume – not too obscure but not hyper-competitive.
- Competition level – This metric indicates how saturated those keywords are for paid and organic search. It’s best to focus on “low” or “medium” competition keywords.
- Suggested bid – If doing pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns, this shows the estimated bid price to appear in ad results. Compare across keywords to allocate budget effectively.
- Related keywords – The tools provide additional keyword suggestions that are relevant to your core terms. Review these for additional options to target.
Analyse the Local Competition
Conduct an analysis of your top competitors ranking for your target keywords in Chester. This will reveal gaps in your own strategy and additional terms to optimise for.
Find Top Local Competitors
Search for your top keywords in Google along with location terms like “in Chester” or “Chester”. Identify 3-5 businesses that rank well for those critical local searches.
For our shoe store example, key competitors may include:
- Chester Shoes Direct
- Shoe Zone Chester
- Deichmann Shoes Chester
Assess Their Keyword Targeting
Use a site explorer tool like Ahrefs to see which keywords your competitors have actually optimised their sites and content for. This can uncover the terms driving traffic to their site.
Run their domain or URL through the tool and review the “Top Pages” and “Organic Keywords” reports:
Identify Gaps
Compare the keywords you’ve researched to those your competitors are already optimising and ranking for. Are there any good opportunities they are missing out on that your site could target instead?
Adding those to your list gives you a better chance of outranking them for those valuable searches.
Recognize User Intent Behind Keywords
As you build your keyword list, it’s critical to recognize the intent and purpose behind the queries so you can meet searcher needs. This results in higher click-through rates and conversions.
Informational Searches
Searches like “shoe stores in Chester” or “places to buy shoes in Chester” indicate the user wants to find or learn about local options. Create detailed, informative content like store overviews and maps/directions.
Commercial Intent
Keywords like “buy running shoes in Chester” show the user intends to make a purchase. Ensure your site makes it easy to browse inventory, buy online, or see offers to encourage conversion.
Job Searches
Terms such as “shoe sales jobs in Chester” relate to open job positions and company research. Tailor your Careers page and job postings accordingly.
Navigational Searches
Brand name keywords like “Chester Shoes Direct” indicate someone wants to specifically find your business. optimise website architecture, citations, GMB listing, and brand signals.
Organise Your Keyword List
Once your initial research is done, organise your keyword list by grouping similar terms and prioritising the best options.
Group Keywords by Theme
Group keywords together that relate to a similar theme, product category, service, etc. This allows you to create targeted content around each cluster.
For example, group all shoe style terms together, brand names together, store types together.
Categorise by Priority
Place keywords into buckets of high, medium, and low priority so you know where to focus your optimization efforts first:
- High – Mid/high search volume, low competition – focus on these first
- Medium – Moderate volume, medium competition
- Low – Very low search volume, highly competitive – focus last
Create a Rank Tracking Sheet
Build out a sheet to track rankings for your target keywords overtime. This allows you to measure SEO success and see which terms you are ranking (or not) for.
Include columns for keyword, current ranking, previous ranking, and target ranking goal.
optimise Your Website and Assets
With your thoroughly researched local keywords for Chester in hand, you can now take steps to optimise your website, content, and other assets to target these terms.
Update Page Titles and Meta Descriptions
Include your most important keywords in your page titles and meta descriptions. This signals relevancy to search engines.
For example:
<title>Top Shoe Stores in Chester | City Shoes</title>
<meta name=”description” content=”Find the top shoe stores in Chester for running, walking, dress,
and other shoe styles. City Shoes carries all the top brands. Visit our Chester shop today.”>
Create Optimised Content
Publish blog posts, articles, and web pages that directly contain and focus on your target keywords in the content copy. Use keywords naturally – no over-optimization.
For example, a blog post titled “The 5 Best Places to Buy Women’s Shoes in Chester”.
Update Site Architecture
Ensure your site navigation and taxonomy supports your keywords – have category and subcategory pages for major themes and products. This improves on-site optimization.
Optimise Images
Upload images to pages relevant to each keyword and use descriptive file names and ALT text containing keywords.
Ex: running-shoes-chester.jpg with ALT text running shoes for sale in Chester.
Enhance Local Citations
Build complete, consistent NAP citations (Name, Address, Phone) on directories like Yelp to help ranking for local searches.
Update Google My Business
Complete your Google My Business listing with optimised content covering your keywords, location info, photos, attributes, etc. Engage customers with posts, offers, and events.
Track and Refine Over Time
Keyword research is an ongoing process. Continuously track your metrics and refresh your keyword list with new opportunities.
Monitor Keyword Rankings
Check your keyword rankings monthly in your rank tracking sheet, noting progress and changes. Look for new terms you’ve started ranking for.
Review Search Query Data
Google Search Console provides search query data – review this for new keyword ideas based on what users are searching for.
Redo Research Quarterly
Set a reminder to redo your initial research process each quarter to find fresh keyword opportunities. User searches and competition levels change over time.
Expand to Long-Tail Keywords
Add longer, more specific long-tail versions of top keywords – these generally have less competition.
Ex: “wide width orthopaedic walking shoes for women in Chester”
By regularly repeating the steps outlined here, you will build an expansive and up-to-date local keyword list that fuels your Chester SEO and content strategy. This ultimately leads to higher local visibility, web traffic, and conversions from searchers who intend to buy from businesses in the Chester area.
