We strongly encourage partners and clients to take an active role in selecting target keywords whenever possible. This approach helps avoid unnecessary revisions later, reduces back-and-forth communication, and ensures the selected keywords closely reflect the client’s services, priorities, and growth goals.
When a partner or client selects their own keywords, our team reviews those selections before finalizing the campaign.
During this review, we evaluate whether:
If we identify concerns, we communicate them upfront before the campaign begins so adjustments can be made early.
Our goal is to create realistic expectations and avoid targeting terms that may not support the client's objectives.
To assist with keyword selection, our team performs research based on the vertical or topic submitted during onboarding.
Partners and clients receive a keyword report that may include:
This information helps partners and clients make informed decisions when finalizing keyword selections.
If no keyword selections are provided, Alpha SEO follows an internal keyword selection process and chooses keywords on behalf of the campaign.
Our team uses several factors when making selections.
Keywords must directly align with the business vertical and services submitted in the order form.
Off-topic or loosely related keywords are avoided.
We avoid creating keyword sets that simply repeat slight variations of the same phrase.
For example:
Instead of:
We focus on creating distinct ranking opportunities across multiple relevant searches.
Keywords already performing extremely well are typically avoided.
Examples include:
Since there is limited room for measurable growth from these positions, our team often expands keyword opportunities into related services or underperforming areas.
Keyword difficulty is always included as part of our internal research process.
Search volume data is available upon request at the agency level.
Our team balances:
For example:
A Real Estate campaign in Los Angeles may naturally have much higher competition than a niche local service campaign in a smaller market.
Keyword recommendations are adjusted accordingly.
As a standard practice, we generally do not recommend "near me" or voice-search variations as primary tracked keywords.
Examples:
These searches rely heavily on the searcher's physical location in real time, which no rank-tracking platform can perfectly replicate.
However, websites optimized properly for local SEO should naturally appear for these searches when proximity and relevance are strong.
Additionally, campaigns with a Max Power Boost add-on receive citation building support, which helps strengthen local relevancy and visibility.
If a client specifically requests "near me" terms, we can include them while setting expectations around tracking limitations.
For campaigns utilizing multiple location add-ons, our standard process is to use the same keyword set across all locations for consistency in reporting and tracking.
Exceptions may occur when:
Keyword selection is not based on search volume alone. Multiple factors influence decisions, including relevance, competitiveness, current performance, search intent, and business goals.
By combining partner input with Alpha SEO research and strategy, we create keyword sets designed to support measurable growth and realistic expectations.
If you have questions please contact Support at support@alphaseopros.com.