Keywords Research and Strategy Is Crucial for Search Engine Optimization
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Keywords are specific words or phrase that people type into search engines to find information on a particular topic. They are significant for every website because they help the website rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs), making it more visible and accessible to potential visitors.
When a website’s content is optimized for relevant keywords, search engines are more likely to consider it a credible and useful source of information, leading to higher search engine rankings and increased traffic to the website. In other words, incorporating relevant SEO keywords into a website’s content can help improve its visibility, attract more visitors, and ultimately drive more business.
What is keyword strategy and how to use it in your content?
Keyword strategy is the process of researching, selecting, and using keywords in your content to improve your website’s search engine ranking and visibility to your target audience.
Here’s how to use it in your content:
- Research keywords: Start by identifying the keywords and phrases that are relevant to your business and target audience. Use keyword research tools to find keywords with high search volume and low competition.
- Select keywords: Choose keywords that accurately describe your content and are relevant to your audience. Consider long-tail keywords and consider incorporating them into your content.
- Incorporate keywords in your content: Use your keywords in your headlines, subheadings, body text, Meta descriptions, and alt tags. However, don’t stuff your content with too many keywords, as this can harm your search engine ranking.
- Monitor your results: Track your search engine ranking and traffic to see the impact of your keyword strategy. Make changes to your strategy if necessary.
By following these steps, you can effectively incorporate a keyword strategy into your content and improve your search engine visibility and ranking.
There are different kinds of keywords used in SEO.
- Short-tail keywords: These are keywords that are short, generic, and widely used by a large number of websites. For example: “shoes”.
- Long-tail keywords: These are longer, more specific keywords that are less common and less competitive. For example: “women’s running shoes.”
- LSI keywords: Latent Semantic Indexing (LSI) keywords are related terms and phrases that search engines use to better understand the content of a page.
- Branded keywords: Branded keywords contain the name of a specific brand or company. For example: “Apple iPhone“.
- Local keywords: These keywords include geographic locations to target local searches, such as “pizza restaurant in New York.”
- Question keywords: These keywords are framed as questions, such as “What is the best pizza in New York?”
- Navigational keywords: These keywords are used to find a specific website or web page, such as “Facebook login.”
- Transactional keywords: These keywords indicate a user’s intention to make a purchase or complete a transaction, such as “buy shoes online”.
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How to find the best keyword for search purposes?
Identify your target audience and their search intent. Use keyword research tools like Google Keyword Planner, Ahrefs, SEMrush, etc. to find relevant keywords that have a high search volume and low competition.
Check the keywords your competitors are ranking for to get an idea of what keywords you should be targeting. Create a list of relevant keywords, including long-tail keywords that align with your target audience’s search intent and have a reasonable search volume and competition level.
Remember, the best keywords are those that balance high search volume with low competition and are relevant to your target audience’s search intent.
Now, you have a list of the best keywords. So, what steps to take to make them work for positive SEO?
To make SEO work, you can use the main keyword and secondary keywords in the following places:
- Title tag: The title tag should include the main keyword and ideally be no more than 60 characters.
- Header tags (H1, H2, H3, etc.): Use the main keyword in the H1 tag and the secondary keywords in H2 and H3 tags.
- URL structure: Make sure the main keyword is included in the URL.
- Content: Use the main keyword and secondary keywords throughout the content, but make sure not to stuff the keywords. Write for the user first and focus on providing valuable information.
- Meta description: The Meta description should give a brief overview of the page and include the main keyword.
- Image optimization: Use the main keyword in the file name and alt tag of images.
- Internal linking: Use the main keyword as anchor text when linking to other pages within your website.
Remember, the goal of SEO is to improve the visibility and ranking of your website in search engine results pages (SERP). Quality content and a good user experience should always be the primary focus.
SEO keyword research is an ongoing process, which evolves and so the old keywords need periodic evaluation. If necessary replace them with competitive, high-volume keywords or specific phrases capable to drive in targeted visitors.