Researching Keywords for Your Resume
Some things I write about are just to put them out there. Other things like my resume are pages I want people to find when searching with Google or Bing. Before I start writing I need to know the words people are using to find what they want. That is the value of doing keyword research.
The keywords and keyword combinations are determined through keyword research. Research the search terms (aka keywords) people are using to find pages you want them to find.
The primary tools I use are:
- My brain, based on my own knowledge of the subject
- Google’s Search-based keyword tool and Google Insights for Search
- Market Samuri which is a tool available for purchase
- Job posts from positions you want
In some cases you might use a single keyword for very unique product names. If you’re targeting a very competitive keyword you’ll need to find keyword combinations. Some will be a few keywords other will have many keywords.
For example I have a job board site I created primarily for my own education and research purposes at Commission Sales Jobs. Using the search based keyword link tells me the keyword combination “Sales Jobs” is highly searched and highly competitive. But there are many additional and more targeted terms that people use to find sales jobs. These are the keywords you need to be using when building site content.
If you’re looking for employment look for keywords in job postings. Try searching on some of the terms and see the search results. I’ve had several recruiters contact me based on my online resume appearing in search results.
Searches with lots of keywords are a pretty good indicator that the person knows exactly what they want. I would argue that those are the people you really want to reach.
