It is essential to understand keywords to have a successful SEO strategy. Keep reading to learn about what keywords are, why they’re important, and how to find ones that are relevant for your business or brand.
What are keywords in SEO?
In SEO, keywords are words or phrases that a user enters into a search engine as a query. As a part of SEO strategy, many websites use keywords to target specific users and drive traffic to their pages. Keywords can help business owners align their website and content around certain topics relevant to their ideal customer to increase their chances of being organically found by them.
Keywords also help search engines identify the topic of each page of your website. A search engine’s goal is to help its users find the content they’re looking for quickly, so the more they know about each of your web pages, the better they can serve that content to users.
Long-tail keywords are phrases with three or more words that may be used as a search query. Users are most likely to use long-tail keywords when they are early on in their search journey to narrow down their research or when they are using voice search. Long-tail keywords often have a higher conversion rate than short, broad keywords and allow you to target very specific steps of your ideal customer’s search journey. They may provide less search volume than more competitive keywords, but they are still valuable for conversion.
Why are keywords important?
Keywords help you both identify what your ideal customers are looking for and then serve them relevant content and information around it. An essential part of SEO keyword strategy is keyword research, where you find keywords that are relevant to your business or brand. This can help you find out what your customers are searching for and what else they may be interested in.
After you’ve found some relevant keywords, you can start to create content and optimize your web pages around those words and phrases. This means adding the keyword to your content and metadata or providing content that answers a search query’s question or request. This optimization will improve your chances of ranking for that keyword when it is searched for on a search engine like Google.
Keyword research and optimization can help you identify what your customers are searching for, offer content ideas, provide new business or product ideas, improve your ranking on search engines, and increase conversion thanks to relevant and qualified users ending up on your website.
How do you find keywords?
Keyword research should be an ongoing part of your SEO strategy. Users and trends are constantly changing, and you will stay ahead of your competition by continuously researching relevant keywords. Finding new or underutilized keywords may be the key to a whole new customer segment.
To start your keyword research, begin with a list of words and phrases that describe your business, brand, or product. Then, find a keyword research tool like SEOToolSet to analyze your existing list. This will provide you with data on how valuable and competitive those keywords are. You can also use the keyword research tool to find suggested and related keywords. Add these to your list and use the data provided to prioritize your keywords.
Once you have your prioritized list of keywords, verify your findings by searching for them on a search engine like Google. If you see products or businesses like yours, the keyword is relevant to your audience and likely a good one to target. Now, you can start optimizing your website and creating content using the keywords on your list.
