An essential aspect of Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is identifying the right keywords – words and phrases that capture what your content is about, and that help search engines understand the essence of a piece of content (and rank it appropriately online, which essentially brings you more organic traffic and possibly conversions). Selecting the right keywords has a huge impact on your site’s visibility – and so, if your goal is to improve the online presence of any business, this guide will walk you through the process of finding and leveraging the right SEO keywords for your website to have visibility in the vast and crowded online world.
Understanding the Basics of SEO Keywords
SEO keywords are the words and phrases that people type into search engines when searching for something. Most of what we do in SEO revolves around trying to connect all the right people with all the right pieces of content, and the closest thing we have to anchors in that big ocean is SEO keywords. With that in mind, let’s take a moment to brush up on the fundamentals of SEO keywords. One way to think about SEO keywords is that they are ‘broad’ (reaching a large audience) or ‘long tail’ (arrrivedresming to a more specialised audience).
Short overarching keywords (commonly referred to as head terms) have a higher search volume but also more competition. Long-tail keywords, on the other hand, are more detailed and generally attract users with a higher level of intent, though search volumes for long-tail terms tend to be much lower. It is important to find a balance between these two in order to maximise the extent of your audience without compromising relevance. It is also useful to consider the nature of user intent – whether the query is informational, navigational or transactional – when choosing keywords that will help make your SEO more effective.
Conducting Comprehensive Keyword Research
For any good SEO campaign, keyword research is of utmost importance. It is the ground floor of any SEO project, a systematic process of finding keywords and quickly determining which ones will provide the most topical relevance to your content and the biggest audience. Start with a brainstorming of related keywords and terms that may describe your venture, products or services. Think about what terms your prospective audience are looking for when searching for products or services like yours? Google Keyword Planner, Ahrefs, and SEMrush are good keyword research tools, but there is so much more available to find related keywords and niche topics.
Look at your competitors’ keywords and get strategic: ‘I need to target A, B and C words and my competitor already ranks No 1 for 60 per cent of them.’ Look at what people type into search engines to access other sites. What else could you add? When was the last time your site was accessed in south coast France? My content planning team investigates forums, Facebook posts and shares, to see what is trending and what is hot – it could be a new bell-shaped lampshade or it could be axolotls, if you’re in the pet industry. Get the keywords right, and you keep the work coming and the referrals building. Get the keywords right, and your march to No 1 becomes a lot faster, if climbing the mountain was your goal in the first place.
Evaluating Keyword Difficulty and Competition
So, once you’ve got your list of potential keywords, the next step is to see how difficult and competitive they are. Here’s where things get fun, and the game really becomes about how you want to play it – with what goals in mind. The first factor in competition and difficulty is knowing your audience. Think about the keyword that brought you here: SEO. If you’re reading this, you probably know the events of 13 November 2019. That’s relatively easy for Google to link to a domain with very little content. Now, let’s imagine you are in an extremely competitive niche. Imagine your website sells health supplements and that you’re a small- or medium-sized operation trying to get noticed. In such a niche, with such a high-transaction, high-stakes environment, it’s not a good idea to depend solely on Google in hopes you’ll be found. You could be one of millions. So, with that in mind, it’s crucial to optimise your websites ranked for the most competitive keywords – the ones everyone is attempting to rank for. But the best option is to sprinkle them around your low-hanging keywords to ensure you’re also getting found for long-tail phrases that, particularly for more niche health supplement keywords, tend to produce lower competition and easier rankings. Picture a spiderweb with your most competitive keywords in the centre. Can you see that targeted approach? Now, looking at your keyword list, you can analyse those factors using keyword difficulty indices such as the keywords explorer from SEM Moz or Ahrefs’ Keyword Difficulty Score (KD, from 0 to 100), which requires a more robust subscription.
Diving into low to medium difficulty keywords will bring you smaller wins. If you are new to SEO, you have a much better chance of getting results this way. Display potential keyword list 9. LPS and commercial intent are other things to consider. If the keyword is a little further down the funnel and indicates that the user has commercial intent but has a little less competition, you can get real wins there. If you are looking to invest time into SEO, laser in on keywords based on their competition, and you will see the needle move.
Integrating Keywords into Your Content
You still need to actually work in the keywords as naturally as possible. Keyword stuffing, the opposite of keyword stuffing, is still a no-no – it produces a terrible reading experience, in addition to leading to the search engines’ version of banishment in their rankings. So work in the keywords, but do so in a way that makes sense. And lead with titles and headings. A title or heading with primary keywords – whatever makes the most sense – is a good start to everything about an article.
Generally, when you’re writing your content, try to focus your repeated keywords strategically, while sprinkling in other types of keywords. Do your best to insert primary keywords into the intro and outro, and especially within the first ‘so many’ words of your content (I primarily write at the 100-word mark for these, but really it’s more important to stay natural; if you hit your keyword by searching for it in a paragraph, include it!). Use synonyms and variations of your main keywords in a natural way sprinkled throughout the other content to keep it from feeling like a tedious repetition of the same words. Sprinkle appropriate keywords throughout the meta descriptions, alt text for images, and your URL slugs to keep all your content on point, too. If you focus too hard on the search engine optimization (SEO) side and lose track of the user experience aspect, you’ll be spinning your wheels and killing your own website.
Monitoring and Analyzing Keyword Performance
However, keyword monitoring and analysis is an ongoing process. Attention to your keywords will ensure the effectiveness of your SEO efforts. There are lots of tools online that help you to monitor your keyword performance. Google Analytics is a great place to start. This free tool offers valuable information about the keywords that are currently working for your website, which keywords drive the most traffic, which ones are converting, and which ones might need to be adjusted. Google Search Console offers a wealth of information about the performance of your website in Google search. One of the site’s most valuable features is the Graph option provided in the Performance section.
Watch your click-through rates (CTR), bounce rates and your average session duration to see if your keywords are attracting and engaging the right visitors at the right time. Monitor what your competitors are doing as well – this will keep you ahead of the curve with the latest trends and opportunities. Evaluate your keyword performance regularly, and be ready to tweak your strategy as you see behaviour shifts reflected in search. SEO success – sustained and rewarding – requires adaptability to the changing habits of your audience via ever-shifting search algorithms.
Adapting to SEO Trends and Algorithm Updates
SEO is a rapidly changing field, and search engine algorithms are always changing to offer better experiences to users. Keeping up with the latest developments in SEO, and monitoring changes in search engine algorithms is of utmost importance to keep your keyword strategy fresh and flourishing. Following SEO blogs, keeping tabs on search engines like Google’s industry-news and updates can keep you up to date on new developments and algorithmic changes. The implications of algorithm updates can help determine how to adapt your strategy, and get on top of, or avoid, any penalties that may come with the change.
It can also help you take advantage of current trends like optimising for voice search, mobile-first indexing and improving UI/UX. For example, because voice search often involves more natural-sounding keywords, you might need to tweak your approach to keyword research and content creation to keep up. And the shift to mobile-first indexing leads to more mobile users of your website – which changes how you structure your content and present it. If you’re flexible when it comes to keeping up on changes in how search engines operate, you’ll be able to adjust your keyword strategy to account for those changes – so it keeps working.
Conclusion
Finding the right SEO keywords is a multifaceted process that requires a thorough understanding of your audience, meticulous research, and strategic implementation. By mastering the basics of SEO keywords, conducting comprehensive research, evaluating keyword difficulty, integrating keywords effectively, monitoring performance, and adapting to trends, you can optimize your website for better visibility and rankings. As search engines evolve and user behaviors shift, staying informed and flexible in your approach will help you maintain a competitive edge. Embrace these strategies to enhance your SEO efforts and drive meaningful, long-term results for your online presence.
