By John Eberhard
If your goal is to generate more leads and sales from your online marketing (and what business doesn’t have that goal), keyword strategy is a critical factor. Choosing the right keywords doesn’t just determine whether your website gets traffic—it determines whether you get the right traffic. In other words, if you want to attract ready-to-buy customers—those who are actively looking for what you sell—your keyword choices must reflect high intent and purchasing behavior.
Here’s how to identify and choose the right keywords to bring in traffic that converts into real revenue.
- Understand the Buyer’s Journey
To target people who are ready to make a purchase, you first need to understand where they are in the buyer’s journey. This journey usually includes three stages:
- Awareness Stage: The customer is just identifying a problem. Call informational intent.
- Consideration Stage: The customer is researching solutions. Called commercial investigation intent.
- Decision Stage: The customer is ready to buy. Called transactional intent. Gaining traction on these keywords is the most important.
Most keywords fall into one of these categories. Ready-to-buy customers are typically in the decision stage (transactional intent), so you want to prioritize bottom-of-the-funnel keywords that show strong intent to purchase.
- Focus on High-Intent Keywords
High-intent keywords are phrases that suggest someone is close to making a buying decision. These include:
- Transactional terms like “buy,” “order,” “for sale,” “get a quote,” “schedule,” or “book now.”
- Product-specific terms, like “iPhone 15 Pro Max case” or “Honda Accord brake repair.”
- Location-based searches, such as “emergency plumber in San Diego” or “best wedding photographer near me.”
These types of keywords indicate that the searcher is not just browsing—they’re looking to take action. Tools like Google Keyword Planner can help you find these keywords and estimate their search volume and competition.
- Use Long-Tail Keywords
Long-tail keywords are longer, more specific keyword phrases that typically have lower competition and higher conversion rates. For example:
- Instead of “running shoes,” use “best running shoes for flat feet women’s size 9”
- Instead of “SEO services,” use “affordable SEO services for small business in Miami”
These phrases get fewer searches, but they tend to convert better because they match more closely with what the buyer is looking for. Long-tail keywords also allow you to compete more effectively, especially if your business is in a competitive niche.
- Leverage Your Own Customer Insights
Talk to your sales team or review customer inquiries. What phrases do your actual customers use when they describe your product or service? What questions do they ask before they buy?
These real-world phrases can be goldmines for finding buyer-intent keywords that align with how your audience actually searches.
- Don’t Ignore Keyword Difficulty and Cost-Per-Click
When evaluating keywords, you need to consider both the search volume and the competition level. Many keyword tools provide this metric.
If a keyword has high buying intent but is extremely competitive, you will likely find it impossible to rank for it organically. In that case, you may want to test using Google Ads to bid on that term, as it may still be profitable.
High cost-per-click (CPC) values in tools like Google Keyword Planner can also indicate strong commercial intent. If other advertisers are bidding a lot for a keyword, it usually means that keyword converts well.
- Use Keyword Clusters Around Buying Intent
Instead of targeting one keyword per page, create clusters of related keywords around a buying theme. For example:
- “best CRM software for small business”
- “top small business CRM tools”
- “CRM with email marketing for small companies”
Creating a landing page or blog post that targets several of these terms gives you a better chance of ranking while reinforcing your relevance in the eyes of search engines. Tools like Surfer SEO will suggest ways to rewrite landing page copy to include more keywords related to your primary keyword for that page. .
- Monitor and Refine Your Keywords
Keyword strategy is not a one-and-done task. You should consistently:
- Review keyword performance (traffic, conversions, bounce rate)
- Test new variations
- Update landing pages to better match keyword intent
If you’re running Google Ads, use the “Search Terms” report to see exactly what phrases triggered your ads. This data can give you insight into what’s working and what needs to be adjusted.
- Optimize Landing Pages for Conversions
Finally, once you’ve attracted the right visitors with buying-intent keywords, your landing pages must be optimized to convert them. That means:
- A clear value proposition
- Trust signals (testimonials, reviews, guarantees)
- A strong call-to-action (CTA), usually best included near the top of the page
- Fast loading and mobile-friendly design
- No navigation on the landing page statistically gives better response
Even the best keywords won’t help if visitors land on a confusing or slow website.
Final Thoughts
The key to attracting ready-to-buy customers lies in your ability to think like them. Choose keywords based on the actions your customers are ready to take, not just the topics they’re interested in. By focusing on intent, specificity, and ongoing optimization, you’ll turn your keyword strategy into a revenue-generating engine that attracts leads who are ready to say yes.
If you need help in researching the best keywords for your website, landing pages, or for use in pay per click campaigns, contact Real Web Marketing at 661-441-2429 or fill out a form here.
