Making your business stand out can be daunting in today’s digital landscape, but the Keyword Golden Ratio (KGR) offers a solution.
Developed by Doug Cunnington of Niche Site Project, this data-driven SEO approach helps you discover untapped keywords, giving your content a competitive edge.
By harnessing the power of KGR keywords, you can propel your site to higher SERP rankings and boost your organic traffic. But does KGR really work?
In this article, we’ll delve into the intricacies of KGR and explore how it can benefit new and established businesses.
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What Is the Keyword Golden Ratio (KGR)?
The Keyword Golden Ratio, often abbreviated as KGR, is a term coined by Doug Cunnington of Niche Site Project. It’s a strategic SEO approach to keyword research.
This method is all about identifying specific keywords that are typically characterised by their low search volume yet have the potential to give your content a significant edge in the search engine rankings.
These keywords often take the form of long-tail keywords, which are more specific and usually longer phrases that users enter into search engines.
The advantage of long-tail keywords is that they tend to be less competitive, making it easier for your content to rank well.
Why Low Search Volume Keywords?
Now, you might be asking, why does the KGR method focus on relatively low search volume keywords? The answer lies in the competitive landscape of the digital world.
You see, established websites often dominate popular and high-volume keywords, and it can take a considerable amount of time and effort to break through and secure a top spot in the search results.
On the other hand, low-volume keywords, often with just a few hundred searches or less in a month, are where KGR shines. Your competitors overlook these keywords or are not prioritised due to their low search volume.
By optimising your content for KGR keywords, you can quickly create a portfolio of high-quality content that ranks well, even if your website is relatively new or lacks authority in your industry.
The KGR method’s ultimate goal is to find as many KGR keywords as possible and use them to create a robust content body.
When executed correctly, this strategy allows you to secure top positions in Google’s search results in a shorter time frame compared to trying to compete for high-volume keywords.
Moreover, if your website is already well-established in your industry, you may even witness your KGR-specific target pages ranking just days after publication.
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How to Calculate the Keyword Golden Ratio (KGR)
To effectively utilise the KGR method, you need to be able to identify KGR-qualified keywords and calculate their KGR scores accurately. In this section, I’ll walk you through the steps required to determine the Keyword Golden Ratio for your chosen keywords.
1. Gathering Data
The first step in calculating the KGR score is to gather two essential pieces of data for your target keyword:
- The number of allintitle keyword results.
- The monthly search volume for the keyword.
Let’s break down how to obtain each of these data points:
Allintitle Results
“Allintitle” is an advanced Google search operator that enables you to identify the number of web pages that contain the exact search phrase in their page titles. This data is an important component of KGR determination.
For example, if your selected long-tail keyword is “keyword research for Google ads,” you can use the allintitle search operator to find the count of pages with this keyword phrase in their titles.
This can be done by typing the following into the Google search bar:
Allintitle: keyword research for Google ads
The search results will display the number of pages (currently 602 for the chosen keyword) that include your target keyword in their titles, which is an essential factor in the KGR calculation.
Monthly Search Volume
The next piece of the puzzle is the monthly search volume of your selected keyword. This information can be found using keyword research tools like RankAtom and Keyword Tool.
2. Applying the KGR Formula
With these two crucial data points in hand, you can now proceed to calculate the KGR score using the following equation:
KGR Score: Number of Allintitle Results / Monthly Search Volume
3. Interpreting the KGR Score
The KGR score you calculate represents the likelihood of the keyword ranking prominently in the Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs). The lower the KGR, the higher the likelihood of your content ranking quickly for that keyword.
Here’s how you can interpret the KGR score:
- KGR Score < 0.25: High chance of ranking well in SERPs.
- KGR Score between 0.25 and 1.00: Moderate chance of ranking well.
- KGR Score > 1.00: Poor chance of ranking well.
The ideal scenario is to find KGR keywords with a score equal to or below 0.25. While keywords with scores ranging from 0.251 to 1.00 can be considered, it’s advisable to prioritise those with lower KGR scores for your content strategy.
Reasons to Use the KGR Method
The KGR (Keyword Golden Ratio) method offers a range of compelling reasons to make it a central part of your content creation, including:
Increasing Organic Traffic
At the heart of every SEO strategy is the desire to attract organic traffic to your website. The KGR method fulfils this goal by pinpointing less competitive keywords yet highly relevant to your content.
By focusing on these low-hanging fruits of the keyword world, you can quickly increase your site’s visibility in search engine results pages (SERPs) and draw in a steady stream of organic traffic.
Providing Relatively Quick Wins
In the ever-evolving world of digital content, staying motivated is crucial for content creators. The road to high search engine rankings and significant organic traffic can be long and arduous.
Here, the KGR method plays a vital role by providing “quick wins.” These wins keep your team motivated and offer tangible results that can serve as stepping stones to a more prominent online presence.
Developing Clear Priorities
The digital realm offers seemingly endless options for compiling a list of keywords to target. With so many choices, it’s easy to become overwhelmed and lose focus.
The KGR strategy acts as a compass, guiding you toward the most effective keywords for quick ranking. It helps you identify underutilised phrases tailored to your content, providing clear priorities for your SEO efforts.
Choosing Target Keywords Wisely
Selecting target keywords for your content or blog posts can often be subjective, but the KGR method adds an element of objectivity to the decision-making process.
With KGR, you don’t have to rely solely on gut feelings or hunches. Instead, you can objectively determine the keywords most likely to propel your content into the top 25 results on the SERPs.
The Challenges Associated With KGR
KGR keywords have a lot to offer, but they have drawbacks. Here are some risks and challenges associated with KGR.
Balancing Content and SEO
One of the main challenges in SEO is striking the right balance between creating high-quality, engaging content that meets the user’s search intent and optimising it for search engines.
Overemphasising search engine optimisation at the expense of content quality can lead to a poor user experience, potentially driving visitors away.
It’s essential to remember that, ultimately, your content is intended for human readers, not search engine algorithms.
Avoiding Keyword Stuffing
While KGR is an effective tool for SEO, it’s crucial to wield it wisely. One common pitfall is keyword stuffing, the practice of overloading your content with keywords to artificially boost rankings.
This approach is frowned upon by search engines, and Google may even penalise your page by removing it from the SERPs.
Aim for a natural keyword integration within your content to prevent keyword stuffing. Quality should always take precedence over quantity.
Dead-End Topics
The ultimate goal of creating content is to increase traffic to your site, nurturing potential customers through their journey. Dead-end topics that don’t facilitate natural progression to related content can hinder your SEO efforts.
An ideal KGR keyword should allow for a diverse range of content without excessive repetition. Duplication of ideas can negatively impact your site’s search engine rankings.
Limited Keyword Selection
While KGR keywords are a potent SEO tool, the pool of suitable keywords for your website may be more limited than anticipated.
The stringent criteria of KGR, involving low keyword search volumes and low competition, can restrict the number of qualifying keywords.
To mitigate this risk, it’s advisable to compile a list of golden keywords relevant to your site before diving into content creation. This approach ensures you invest your efforts in a strategy with promising results.
Wrap-Up
In conclusion, the Keyword Golden Ratio (KGR) method is a powerful ally in SEO. Its ability to unearth low-competition keywords and provide a faster route to higher search engine rankings is undeniable.
However, it’s not without its complexities and potential pitfalls. Striking the right balance between quality content and optimisation, avoiding keyword stuffing, and ensuring the topics have room for growth are crucial considerations.
While KGR is a valuable tool, it’s most effective when integrated into a comprehensive SEO strategy that accounts for all facets of your online presence. With the right approach, KGR can be a game-changer for your SEO endeavours.
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