Every market comprises a universe of subject matter phrases that, once discovered and cataloged, provide a marketing researcher’s basis for mapping, understanding and engaging that market or market segment with content. These phrases, when combined with the appropriate “stems” and searched in Google, enable a researcher to identify a market vertical’s content needs, its subject matter experts, its publishers and its potential content-promotion targets.
Characteristics of an effective and productive subject matter phrase
- it’s narrow enough to exclude irrelevant pages or sites
- it’s broad enough to include tangentally relevant pages or sites
- it’s used primarily within – and may even describe – your target market/audience
- it can be used effectively in conjunction with prospect type stems and reductive operators
Ways you will use your subject matter phrases
- finding content promotion opportunities
- finding the vertical’s subject matter experts
- discovering a vertical’s content needs
- identifying the vertical’s publishers
- find more subject matter phrases
- map out the “universe” of productive subject matter phrases
- discover the range of a vertical’s existing content offering to knowledge seekers
Where to find subject matter phrases
- may be a root of your ppc/seo keywords
- may be common names for practitioners within your vertical
- may be commonly used in the names of publications within your vertical
- search your subject matter phrases in Google for “related terms”
- ask customers, subject matter experts, employees
Related resources
- The New School of Link Prospecting Keyword Research (+4 Tools & 2 Tips)
- Improve Your Link Prospecting With Reductive Queries
- Link Building Query Theory: 7 Crucial Keyword Types for Link Prospect Querying
- 14 Link Prospecting Queries for Discovering Your Company’s Related Verticals
- 3 Step Prospecting for Highly Productive Link Building Queries
- Market Defining Keywords vs. SEO Keywords