The search box. They’re not just for search engines, every social media site has one. With that said, you want to be found when people are searching for anything that relates to your online training business.

But how do you make that happen? How do you ensure that you are found when people are searching? Keywords. That’s how.

Here you’re going to learn how to use keywords to your advantage. Knowing how to do this is the difference between driving traffic to your social media sites and website and no one showing up for your party.

Let’s start with the basics:

When someone is searching for words related to your product or business they’ll enter short phrases into a search engine or search bar. You want to have a list of what those phrases are. It might help you to keep a running spreadsheet of those phrases as you discover what they are.  And remember, keywords are like a foundation to a house. Without them, you can’t build a solid content plan or advertising campaign.  They’re not just “nice to have”; they’re necessary.

Each site (including search engines) gives you insight into how often certain words are searched and used. This can help you narrow your keyword list down to the ones you really want.

Once you’ve found the keywords you like, you can start to add them to your content (for example, blog posts, articles or website copy) and your overall marketing plan.

To start, you may want to update your list at least once a month to make sure that your keywords are relevant.

Here’s what you want to do:

To find the best keywords for your online training site and your social media content, a great place to start is the Google Keyword Tool.

Here you can find new keywords. You can also see their historical volume and forecast.

Be sure to sign up for Google Keywords Tool so that you can check it out. It’s pretty step-by-step once you get inside the tool.

After you’ve discovered what keywords your prospects are using to search for training like yours via Google, you’ll want to try those keywords out via social media. But remember here it gets a little different because sometimes, depending on the site, you may also need to use hashtags in front of your keyword phrases.

For example, say that you’re selling training for hair colorists and you want to see how many searches there are on Instagram for words related to your services. You could start with a simple search of #haircolor in the search bar. Doing this will more than likely bring up MILLIONS of images since it’s such a general search. That said you want to make sure that you include that hashtag on your list. Make sense?

You’ll want a list of most popular keywords and hashtags but also keep in mind when using social media that you want to create a keyword or hashtag that is specific to you so that you stand out (more on that another time).

You’ll want to take the same approach on each site. Search for words that are relevant to you and your business and keep a list so that you use these words when creating content for that particular site. Sites like Instagram also allow users to see the most recent posts using those keywords and hashtags. So if you’re using them right, the algorithm will include your posts in that search as well.

If you start by doing these simple things, you’ll make it easier for your audience to find you. We will go much deeper into keywords a little later but this should give you a clear understanding of why it’s vital to your online success that you use them and how to start.

You’ll want to use them in your website copy, video titles, within your articles and blog posts – in any of your marketing content. Again, they’re like the foundation for building a house. Without them, you’re building on shaky ground.

So be sure to use them wisely. As always, you’ve got this!