Tony Huynh

During your Digital Marketing Apprenticeship, SEO will be a core skill you will need to understand on an intermediate level. SEO stands for Search Engine Optimisation and is the process of boosting both the quantity and quality of visitors to your website through unpaid search engine results. The main objective of SEO for businesses is to produce organic traffic, or visitors who arrive at your website directly from the search engine results page (SERP). This blog will explore how to do Keyword Research efficiently for SEO.

What is Keyword Research?

The process of Keyword Research involves finding words, queries, and phrases that users are searching for. This is referred to as a keyword with “search volume”. The purpose of Keyword Research is to map relevant keywords to individual pages so that the user can find the most relevant pages to answer their query, which is called “search intent”.

The type of keyword/queries can be split into different categories for each search intent, such as transactional, navigational and informational. See here for a detailed guide on search intent by Yoast SEO.

Why is Keyword Research Important?

Search engines like Google or Bing use algorithms to decide which web pages will serve the most relevant answer to the user’s query, therefore it is imperative that Keyword Research is done right. Keyword Research helps you find the ideal keywords your target audience are searching for on search engines.

Using the data from Keyword Research in the right way will help create a powerful content strategy which drives organic results.

What are the main components of Keyword Research?

When doing keyword research, there are three crucial components to consider.

1. Relevancy

One of the most important ranking factors are relevancy of keywords, therefore it is important to be using keywords that target the correct search intent, and not just the keywords with the highest search volume in your Keyword Research strategy. Remember your content should not just be for search engines and provide real value for your reader!

2. Authority

Websites that Google considers authoritative will be favoured to rank in the top SERP positions. This means that you must use every effort to establish yourself as an authoritative source by enhancing your website with educational, helpful material and promoting it to gain social signals and backlinks.

If your website is not deemed as an authority, or if the SERP has an abundance of strong domains, then it is unlikely that content will rank in the top desired positions. If you make a quick Google search for “keyword research”, you will see strong domains such as Moz, Hubspot and Ahrefs ranking in the top positions. This means that this keyword will be extremely competitive.

3. Search Volume

Search volume is the metric used to show how many people are searching for a particular keyword or query on search engines. This is important to pay attention to when doing Keyword Research, as your web page could be in position 1 for a keyword which nobody is searching for, thus a waste of your optimisation efforts. Finding keywords with a high search volume and low competition is ideal.

Recommended Keyword Research Tools

There’s an abundance of keyword research tools the market, so which one is best? Here are 3 tools which we find most useful for apprentices including the pros and cons:

1. SEMrush

The go-to tool for most professional SEOs. SEMrush has a variety of features to discover marketing insights to gain online visibility. The main features used for Keyword Research are the following:

• Organic Research Tool – simply enter a competitor’s URL and it returns a report which tells you about a which keywords they get their traffic from, if they are ranking for any SERP Features and more.
• Keyword Magic Tool – gives you insight to an entire search market by simply entering a keyword or query. Each keyword will include data such as monthly search volume, intent and difficulty level.
• Keyword Gap – enter up to 5 domains to compare side by side the keyword rankings for each domain. This is useful to identify how relevant the keyword/query is to your website where multiple competitors are ranking in the top positions for these search terms.

Pros: Brilliant tool which can be used for many different purposes in digital marketing.

Cons: Expensive monthly subscription (from $119.95) and search volume is from their independent database.

2. Google Keyword Planner

This is a free tool provided by Google to discover keywords for your campaign. The tool was purpose built for Google Ads, however it is a great way to get started with keyword research for organic search. Enter up to 10 keywords and the tool will return a collection of relevant keywords, with the monthly search volume.

Pros: Free and provides data with Google search volume straight from the source.

Cons: Features are simple but limited.

3. Answer The Public

Answer The Public gathers data in a way that helps writers find blog article ideas by collecting and categorising phases people use in search engines. Simply enter 1-2 keywords and the tool will use it’s algorithm to return long tail queries people are searching for. We highlight recommend Answer The Public for any informational keywords in your research!

Pros: Great for long tail informational keywords and blog ideas.

Cons: Free version only offers 2 searches a day.

Conclusion

For SEO, keyword research is crucial. It provides a wealth of insightful information on your competition and the kind of content you should produce.

The main benefit of keyword research is that it enables you to discover what people are looking for online. As a result, conducting keyword research should be your first move when beginning a fresh SEO campaign.

If you have found this insight into a career in digital marketing interesting and want to learn more, follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, or sign up to our newsletter today!

Pipefitters basically fit pipes, right? Technically yes, but there is a lot more that goes into the role of a Pipefitter. They play a crucial part in engineering construction, working within strictly defined methods and procedures to the highest standards. Can you adhere to the necessary standards for quality, risk, and health and safety? If so, read on and find out how you can launch your construction career with a level 3 Engineering Construction Pipefitter Apprenticeship.

What Exactly does an Engineering Construction Pipefitter do?

The positioning, assembly, fabrication, maintenance, repair, and removal of piping systems are all included within the Engineering Construction Pipefitter role, which can be performed on construction sites or in industrial fabrication facilities. Pipefitters can perform hazardous tasks, such as working at heights, over water, and in confined areas.

This profession is frequently overlooked and occasionally mistaken for that of a plumber. The difference is that plumbers usually work with low-pressure pipe systems like those found in utility systems or the field of water sanitation, where pipefitters mostly work in welding. If you would like to discover what the differences between plumbers and pipefitters in detail, here is a great blog explaining the two.

Where would an Engineering Construction Pipefitter work?

An Engineering Construction Pipefitter can work in locations where there are systems that could transport water, steam, food, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, gas, hydrocarbons, or fuel that could be used for cooling, heating, lubricating, or other operations.

Common large infrastructure projects include power plants, oil and gas facilities both in the UK and abroad.

What skills/qualifications do I need to become an Engineering Construction Pipefitter Apprentice?

A minimum of three GCSEs (or equivalent) at grade C or above, including English, Math, and a Science or Technology-based topic are the requirements that employers tend to ask for. Before taking the end-point assessment, apprentices without level 2 English and math will need to get to that level.

Here 7 essential skills and knowledge required to become a successful Pipefitter:

• The ability to operate, maintain, and repair equipment
• Understanding of construction and building
• Knowledge of engineering science and technology
• Being thorough and a high attention to detail
• Ability to work well with others
• Able to use your initiative
• Capable of performing basic tasks on a computer or portable device

How long does it take to complete an Engineering Construction Pipefitter Apprenticeship?

Depending on prior experience or education, the length of this pipefitter construction engineer apprenticeship may vary from person to person. However, the average person will need 36 to 42 months to complete this apprenticeship. This may feel like a long time, but the knowledge you will gain during this time will be invaluable to the long-term success in your career.

Engineering Construction Pipefitter Salary

The average Engineering Pipefitter Apprentice salary in the UK is around £19,432 per year.

A qualified pipefitter has an average pay of £37,050 per year, or £19 per hour. Most experienced workers earn up to £46,800 per year, while entry-level roles start at £33,150.

Conclusion

Now that we have covered everything, we now know that there’s a lot more to the Pipefitter role than the name implies and it is definitely not the same as a plumber! The prospects of this career can be very rewarding for the person who is good with their hands, not afraid of confined spaces or heights and can perform basic skills to a consistently high standard.

If you have found this insight into a career in engineering and construction interesting and want to learn more, follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, or sign up to our newsletter today!