Keywords are fundamental to online visibility. But too often, business owners make educated guesses about the terms they think will drive traffic to their site. In reality, effective SEO isn’t about guessing—it’s about data-driven keyword research that attracts the right customers.
As a building material company, you want your keywords to reach people actively interested in your products—not users searching for unrelated services like landscaping or painting. With the right approach to keyword research, you can identify search terms that bring high-quality leads with real buying intent to your site.
This guide will show you why keyword research is essential and provide a step-by-step process to conduct it effectively.
What is Keyword Research, and Why is it Important?
Keyword research is the process of identifying terms and phrases that your target audience is already searching for online. It involves analyzing search volume, competition, and relevance to ensure that the terms you target will attract visitors with a genuine interest in your products. Without proper keyword research, you could waste time and money chasing terms that don’t align with your business goals.
For building material companies, keyword research is crucial because:
- It aligns your website content with customer intent.
- It helps you reach customers at different stages of their buying journey.
- It increases the likelihood of conversions by attracting high-intent leads.
By using data rather than guesswork, keyword research ensures that your SEO efforts are focused on terms that will drive valuable traffic to your site.
Why Keyword Research Matters for Building Material Companies
In the building materials industry, understanding your audience’s search behavior can make or break your SEO success. The goal is to find keywords that are relevant to your business and capture searchers’ intent to buy. For instance, a keyword like “engineered wood siding” is more specific than “wood siding,” attracting users who are likely closer to making a purchase.
Imagine a potential customer who searches for “buy wood siding in [location].” This keyword has a higher likelihood of converting into a sale compared to broad terms like “home siding.” With the right keywords, you can align your content with the customer’s needs, resulting in more qualified leads and higher conversion rates.
Types of SEO Keywords: Matching Keywords to the Buyer’s Journey
Understanding the types of keywords and how they fit into the Buyer’s Journey can help you better target customers based on their needs and search intent. The three stages of the Buyer’s Journey are:
- Awareness Stage: Users are seeking solutions to a problem.
- Consideration Stage: Users are researching options to solve their problem.
- Decision Stage: Users are evaluating specific products or services before making a purchase.
Each stage corresponds to specific types of keywords:
1. Informational Keywords (Awareness Stage)
These keywords target users seeking educational content and solutions. Informational keywords typically include phrases like “how to…”, “what is…”, or “why is…” For example:
- Keyword: “what is engineered wood siding”
- Content idea: Blog post titled “What is Engineered Wood Siding? Pros and Cons for Your Home”
2. Commercial Keywords (Consideration Stage)
Commercial keywords are used by users who know what they’re looking for and are exploring options. These terms include words like “best,” “top,” or “affordable.” Examples include:
- Keyword: “best wood siding for extreme climates”
- Content idea: Blog post titled “Best Wood Siding for Harsh Weather Conditions: What to Choose”
3. Transactional Keywords (Decision Stage)
Transactional keywords are high-intent terms that indicate a user is ready to purchase. These keywords are typically specific, such as “buy,” “price,” or “[product] near me.” Examples include:
- Keyword: “buy engineered wood siding in [location]”
- Content idea: Product page titled “Engineered Wood Siding for Sale in [location]”
By categorizing your keywords, you can match them with the appropriate content type, helping users find relevant information at each stage of their journey.
Keyword Length: Broad, Medium, and Long Tail Keywords
In addition to intent, keyword length also plays a role in SEO strategy. Here’s how to prioritize keyword length for building materials:
- Broad (Short-Tail) Keywords: General, high-competition terms with large search volume (e.g., “siding”). They often lack specific intent and can be too competitive.
- Medium-Tail Keywords: More specific, 2-3 word phrases (e.g., “engineered wood siding”). These keywords strike a balance between volume and specificity, making them ideal targets.
Long-Tail Keywords: Highly specific phrases with 3 or more words (e.g., “buy engineered wood siding for homes in Denver”). They usually have lower search volumes but attract qualified leads with clear buying intent.
Pro Tip: While long-tail keywords don’t drive massive traffic, they often convert well, as they attract users with specific intent. Google’s improved understanding of intent also means you can often consolidate related long-tail terms into one comprehensive piece of content.
Getting Started with Keyword Research: Using Tools and Data
If you have an existing website, use your data to kickstart your keyword research. Here’s how:
1. Use Google Analytics and Google Search Console
These tools provide insights into the keywords currently driving traffic to your site.
- Google Analytics: Check the Organic traffic channel to see keywords that bring users to your site.
- Google Search Console: View search queries, average position, and click-through rates for your site’s keywords. This data helps identify terms worth optimizing.
2. Leverage SEO Tools
Premium tools like SEMrush, Ahrefs, and Moz offer extensive keyword data, including search volume, competition level, and related terms. To use these tools:
- Enter your URL or a competitor’s URL to see the keywords they rank for.
- Export a keyword list to analyze terms, competition, and potential relevance to your business.
3. Expand with Related Keywords
Most SEO tools provide related keywords and search suggestions based on your target terms. These related keywords can reveal new opportunities and expand your keyword list.
Bonus: You can also do this by simply Googling the keyword and seeing what related terms come up. There’s a free Chrome extension called Keywords Everywhere that allows you to see the search volume right there in the search results.
Building Your Final Keyword List
Your keyword list is a work in progress, evolving as user behavior changes and new competitors emerge. Here’s how to create a well-organized list:
- Categorize Keywords by Intent: Label each keyword as Informational, Commercial, or Transactional.
- Set Priorities: Use green, yellow, and red highlights in your spreadsheet to mark high, medium, and low priority keywords. High-priority keywords should be highly relevant, have adequate search volume, and attract buying intent.
- Map Keywords to URLs: Organize your keywords to match existing URLs or plan new content.
Create A Keyword-to-URL Map
A keyword-to-URL map ensures that each keyword aligns with a relevant webpage. Here’s a simple structure:
Tips:
- If an existing page is ranking for a keyword, evaluate if it’s the best match. If not, create or repurpose content.
- For new keywords, create content that aligns with user intent and fills content gaps on your site.
New URLs
If you have a new website with no existing rankings or have determined that you need to add new content to target some of the terms on your list, then you will add these to a “New URL” column.
Though the exact URL doesn’t have to be set in stone, you want at least note 1) What type of content it will be (page or post) and 2) What the focus topic will be (the page or post title).
For example, if one of your keywords is “tile vs hardwood floors”, you may want to create a new blog post titled “Tile vs Hardwood: How to Choose the Best Floor for Your Home”.
However, if you are hoping to rank for a term like “hardwood flooring in columbus”, this makes more sense as a web page that talks about the hardwood flooring options you provide, your prices, and how to order products at your Columbus location.
Expanding and Updating Your Keyword List
Keyword research is ongoing. Use tools like SEMrush to find emerging keywords, track competitors, and identify potential gaps. Regularly updating your list allows you to adapt to industry changes, new products, and customer interests.
Prioritizing Keywords for SEO Success
To prioritize keywords:
- Focus first on Commercial and Transactional keywords that directly support conversions.
- Address Informational keywords that draw users in and build brand authority.
- Optimize existing pages for high-priority terms, while targeting medium-tail keywords that are less competitive for quicker wins.
You will want to optimize existing URLs that are ranking for High Priority keywords and create new content for High Priority keywords that you aren’t targeting yet.
We recommend starting with Commercial keywords because these are the keywords that are most relevant to your business and the most likely to make you money. Then, work your way up the funnel to Informational keywords and then Awareness keywords.
If you have the budget, it’s possible to target all stages of the funnel through product pages, main service pages, and blog posts.
Another option is going after bottom of the funnel keywords that you already have traction for (for example, if you are at position 9 and want to get to position 1-3) and further optimizing these pages to increase your rankings.
Finally, another option is to go after the “low hanging fruit” of Medium Tail keywords that are less competitive. This is a great way to see some quick wins.
Unlock SEO Success with Data-Driven Keyword Strategies
For building materials manufacturers, SEO keyword research is the foundation for driving targeted traffic and attracting high-quality leads. Instead of guessing which terms will work, using data-driven keyword research helps ensure that your SEO efforts align with what your customers are actually searching for.
With this guide, you now have the tools to create a targeted keyword list, categorize terms based on user intent, and map keywords to relevant content. Start implementing these strategies to capture more attention, boost sales, and grow your online presence.
If you need help getting started, schedule a free consultation. Let’s build a tailored keyword strategy for your business.
