Embark on Your SEO Treasure Hunt With Keyword Mapping

Who’s up for a treasure hunt? No, we’re not after gold doubloons, but something equally valuable: top rankings on search engine results pages (SERPs). Keyword mapping will show us where X marks the spot.

Your site’s content is the key to climbing SERPs and reaching your users where they are. An important element for effective content is assigning the right keywords. A keyword map helps you do just that.

And what fun would a treasure hunt be without friends? To help chart our course through keyword mapping, I sought insights from Nicole MacLean, head of marketing and sales at Compose.ly.

Table of Contents

What is keyword mapping anyway?
The Importance of Keyword Mapping: SEO and Beyond
How to Map Keywords: A Guide to Start Your Keyword Mapping Journey

What is keyword mapping anyway?

“At its core, keyword mapping is the process of assigning specific target keywords to the most relevant pages on your site so that your content meets searchers’ needs throughout the funnel,” said MacLean.

“Whether the intent behind a search is informational (to learn something) or transactional (to take action), keyword mapping makes sure your pages are positioned to rank, convert, and answer the users’ needs. Think of it as the roadmap connecting user intent to your site’s content.”

Keywords help optimize your site for search engines. The right keywords help your users find you, understand your offers, and then buy when they’re ready. That connection between user and outcome is where keyword mapping works its magic.

The Importance of Keyword Mapping: SEO and Beyond

Of course, keyword mapping will help you maximize opportunities with search engines like Google. However, the process of defining and assigning the best keywords can extend benefits beyond climbing SERPs.

Creating a Better User Experience

People crave a logical structure to your site and content. Clear information hierarchies help users quickly find and process information — and they’ll reward you by coming back for more.

A keyword map sets up a logical hierarchy, much like how a story unfolds. It guides users from pillar pages with general information to more specific subpages and subtopics, sharing increasingly relevant information along the way.

Reducing Keyword Cannibalization

Over time, your site accumulates content: landing pages, blog pages, case studies, feature wrap-ups, and so on. Naturally, you want each page to rank for the best keywords for your audience, so you plug in those keywords throughout your content. That’s how keyword cannibalization sneaks its way onto your site: You have multiple pages chasing the same keywords, making it harder for any single page to rank successfully.

A keyword map requires reviewing every page, discovering your keywords, and mapping them to the most appropriate pages. This process helps you reduce keyword cannibalization and more efficiently rank on SERPs.

Gaining a Competitive Advantage

Depending on your industry, there could be niche audiences seeking what you offer, but they’re simply underserved. Your competitors either haven’t discovered these opportunities or decided not to pursue them. Keyword mapping can locate these buried treasure chests and draw a path to uncovering them.

Making Content Work Better for Your Business

You know content should support your business outcomes and KPIs. Brand awareness, lead gen, and conversions are certainly important parts of great content marketing.

The keyword mapping process can help you pinpoint where your content supports larger company goals and where you could do with adjustments.

How to Map Keywords: A Guide to Start Your Keyword Mapping Journey

I asked MacLean how to begin your keyword mapping process. What steps are most important? What shouldn’t you forget? Here’s what we discussed.

1. Define your business goals.

Why do you want to rank for your keywords? What purpose do they fulfill? MacLean reminds us about the importance of using business goals as guides for keyword selection:

“Developing a thorough keyword map means understanding what the business goals are (what do you want to rank for), and who your audience is (what are they searching for,)” she says. “You’ll need a good understanding of both your business’ KPIs and your audience’s search behavior.”

Gather appropriate audience and user data and align with your leadership on what outcomes matter. That’ll pave a solid foundation before you jump into the finer details.

2. Research your keyword targets.

Once you know your desired broad outcomes, find the right keywords to fit your needs. Typically, every page will have one primary keyword (the one you want to rank for the most).

You’ll also want to include 1-3 secondary keywords to highlight subtopics and give search engines more to work with. Conduct thorough keyword research to find choice keyword options.

MacLean recommends a top-down approach to research: “Start with your largest, most important targets, and work your way down,” she said.

“Focus on meeting search intent so you can deliver a cohesive, easy-to-navigate client experience.”

Since Google owns almost all of the world’s search traffic, why not use the company’s knowledge directly? If you’re already running Google Ads, hop into the Keyword Planner and use Google’s analytics to identify keywords. It’s also very user-friendly compared to other SEO tools.

Note: Using this tool requires an active Google Ads account running paid ads.

For those interested in lower-cost options, Google Search Console (part of Google Workspace) offers analytics pulled from the company’s indexing algorithms. And, if you’re really in a pinch, Google Trends is open to the public and free to use. It can identify broad trends and basic keywords, but you won’t get usage and cost-to-compete data.

What if you’re looking for options off the Google bandwagon? Personally, I like SEMrush. The company packs tons of information into their keyword research tools. It might overwhelm a true SEO beginner, but if you’ve had some practice, SEMrush offers a lot of keyword help. Plans start at $139.95 per month.

Also, MacLean points out how some marketers ignore long-tail keywords. These are terms with lower search return volumes, often because they’re highly specific and targeted.

“Long-tail keywords are low-hanging fruit,” she said. “Don’t miss out on these opportunities to capture niche traffic. My team sees the most success from establishing pillar/landing pages with big keyword targets, and building out topical authority with blogs focused on related long-tail keywords, tying back to these larger pillar pages.”

3. Audit your content.

With a list of potential keywords in hand, you’ll next want to review your content and how you’re using keywords now. This is your content audit.

MacLean and her team spend considerable time running content audits. She says you should start by identifying which pages already rank for relevant keywords, and then highlight gaps where new content is needed. She reminds us that intentionality is key to a good audit.

“Be clear about how everything on site does or does not fit into your content strategy,” said MacLean. “Understand what action steps to take for content that does not fit, whether that be setting up redirects, combining into new content, or removing from your site all together.”

Pro tip: Don’t skip the content audit. You might feel time and cost pressures to not bother with it. But, you could miss out on undiscovered paths for future content or easy chances to optimize your site.

4. Map your keywords to pages.

Now it’s time to combine your knowledge and insights into your actual keyword map. Include data like:

Keyword
Search volume
Keyword difficulty
User intent
Assigned page URL
Content type
Notes for your team

The spreadsheet is your friend when making keyword maps. Your columns should demonstrate how you plan to pair your page link to primary and secondary target keywords.

Ideally, you’ll want to see a map’s logic at a glance: big, broad keywords for pillar pages and specific, long-tail keywords for subpages.

5. Create new content and optimize old content.

Your keyword map and content audit will identify content gaps. Take time to write meaningful content that fills those gaps and better meet users’ search intent.

Include on-page SEO recommendations as you create or update content. For instance, how can you incorporate your primary keyword naturally into the page’s title or meta description?

As a writer, I find this part especially challenging and rewarding. There’s usually little to no wiggle room in how you write your keyword; “cook” and “cooking” can return different results depending on user intent.

This limitation is also why we have primary and secondary keywords. I’ll slot the primary one in the title and in 2-3 internal headings (along with body copy inclusions). Secondary keywords give me more maneuverability for creating interesting headings and subheadings.

I also read aloud titles, headings, and subheadings to check for “normalcy” (i.e., Does it sound right to my ear?) You should read content aloud anyway, but if you’re pressed for time, check any keyword-laden component. That’s where your article’s voice usually gets wonky.

From there, write content as you normally would. Search engines are now rewarding expert-led, deep, and differentiated content — the standout stuff that meets E-E-A-T requirements.

Pro tip: Keywords are a vital marketing tactic, but they’re only a tactic. Users want helpful, consumable content to consume in between those well-mapped keywords. Make their treasure hunt a worthwhile one.

6. Track performance and reassess keywords.

Keywords need time to return results; it’s not an automatic fix or boost. MacLean recommends giving new or refreshed content about three months to gather enough performance data.

Common keyword data to track include the following.

Impressions

Impressions measure how many times a search engine returns your page for a given keyword.

Google measures impressions a few ways depending on where your content is returned. But, generally, getting an “impression” doesn’t necessarily mean a user saw your content, only that the algorithm returned it on the search engine results page. I’ve seen marketers get excited by huge impression numbers — only to fall flat when nobody actually clicks on their links.

Bigger isn’t always better here; you want high-quality impressions as much as quantity.

Clicks

You only get clicks when users actually click on your page link as displayed on the SERP. It’s a clearer representation of a user’s search desire.

Again, much like impressions, you can juice these numbers to make clicks look “better.” But, in the end, you want users who actually want to take action based on that click (e.g., learn more, schedule a demo, or buy your product).

Click-Through Rate (CTR)

Divide clicks by impressions to get your CTR. A “good” CTR depends on your industry, content format, and chosen keywords. I’ve seen an average of 2% suffice, while others chase 15-20%.

Research from marketing training firm CXL shows CTR benchmarks around 4% to 11%, depending on the industry. A little search engine legwork can help you find benchmarks befitting your industry and niches.

Conversions

Once a user clicks on your page, you want them to do something: fill out a form or purchase you offer. That’s a conversion.

Conversions are individualized to your business goals and desired outcomes. You pick what counts in your chosen analytics tool and tie it to your keywords.

Conversions are certainly crucial for your KPIs, but they don’t always translate 1:1 to other companies’ experience. So, don’t spend too much time comparing conversion results with other firms.

SERP Rankings

This is your site page’s numerical position on the SERP returned to users. That ranking matters.

The #1 spot sits at the top of the page and receives the most interaction. Research shows that the top-ranked search result generates a CTR around 39.8%. The second position? 18.7%. Once you reach the page’s bottom, you’re getting less than 2%.

Pro tip: I’ve often found company leadership highly interested in rankings as a visible way to “move the needle.” Impressions, clicks, and conversions all help you climb SERP rankings. But, when presenting to executive leadership, I’d lead with that bottom-line, “look how many spaces we’ve moved” piece.

For performance tracking tools, I return to SEMrush. Specifically, their Position Tracking tool can deliver an executive-ready keyword performance report.

Also, ensure you review your keyword map regularly.

“Keyword trends and user behavior evolve. Regular updates to your mapping strategy are key to staying competitive,” said MacLean.

“The Google algorithm shifts rapidly, so being tuned into data analysis and having the flexibility to make shifts will keep your strategy fresh and relevant for users.”

Chart Your Keyword Mapping Course and Reap the SEO Rewards

While assigning the best keywords to content won’t resolve every SEO challenge, the keyword mapping process helps you maximize your content’s ability to boost your site and reach a more targeted audience.

The journey itself is vital, as it can uncover tactical errors and missed opportunities that otherwise would’ve laid dormant.

Plus, keyword mapping gives you the chance to think strategically about your content and site development. That big-picture approach is a smart investment that pays off in the long run. Start your keyword treasure hunt today and soon, I’m sure you’ll reap fantastic SEO rewards.