Head keywords are often called short-tail keywords. The main purpose of using head keywords is for a website to be visible on search engines and to be able to rank. Head keywords are foundations of many SEO strategies. They are narrow and also high-traffic searches which are foundations of many searches. These keywords are general searches. Therefore they’re competitive. Head keywords are crucial for building a sound SEO presence.
In this article, we are going to see what exactly are these head keywords, why are they important in SEO and how to implement them in your content in order to boost your SEO performance (both if you’re a beginner or an experienced SEO professional it is very important to understand how your content needs to fill up with head keywords in order for your site to be more successful). We’ll walk you through six chapters from understanding head keywords to their challenges and opportunities all the way to the final chapter in which we’re going to see how to implement them in a well developed SEO strategy.
What Are Head Keywords in SEO?
Head keywords, of course, are the opposite of tail keywords. They’re also called short-tail keywords. They are usually one or two-word search terms. That makes them very broad and general. They tend to be relatively general topics, like ‘shoes’, ‘marketing’ or ‘SEO’. This is a strength in one sense – since they’re fairly simple terms, head keywords are very high-volume search terms. They are, of course, very commonly searched. They also tend to be the starting point of a search query. If a searcher is looking for a topic, but isn’t quite sure what they want to know on it, a search with a head keyword can be a great place to start. The downside is their breadth – since head keywords are usually quite general, they will attract competition. Lots of people will want to rank for these.
While ranking for head keywords can be a tricky task, they are still the cornerstone to a successful SEO approach. They not only capture user intent, but extend into valuable insights on what products or topics they are looking for. Longer, incisive searches called long-tail keywords may prove to have higher conversion rates, but head keywords can send a significant amount of organic traffic to a website, if managed appropriately. The wide reach and exposure to a large number of users that head keywords provide makes them valuable for a high-level SEO campaign, especially when used to drive users into more specific and intent-related searches.
Importance of Head Keywords in SEO Strategy
Head keywords are the cornerstone of an SEO strategy. If ranking for head keywords is achieving success and ranking for longer keywords is ranking for something closely related but more commercially viable, then ranking for a broad head keyword is winning big time. If you rank for a head keyword, your site will appear at the top of searches on a wide variety of general terms, placing your company in front of sales-ready customers. Moreover, the more you witness your website ranking for head or mid-tail keywords, your company starts to be seen as the bona-fide market leader it is. Head keywords are also perfect for designing broad content. If you’re recognised for the head term, you have the ability to start talking about that general topic, slowly working your way down to that Level 5/long-tail keyword.
The second reason a site needs head keywords is because head keywords often drive new users to a website – people who have never heard of the brand before. New users generally enter the customer journey by conducting searches containing broad terms. When new users find your site at the top of the SERPs thanks to your head keywords, you expose them to your content and products and can get involved in their customer journey far earlier. Your head keywords enable you to capture would-be customers sooner, even if they won’t convert immediately. Websites that capture new users early in the customer journey can build their customer bases and long-term brand growth by fueling user interest.
The Challenges of Ranking for Head Keywords
Being so broad, competition for head keywords is tough: countless businesses and websites will be competing for the same head keywords in high-competition industries. For instance, there are millions of results under the keyword ‘travel’, making it almost impossible for a new or small site to rank high up enough in Google to be seen by anyone; furthermore, users searching for such head keywords are often general tourists and are probably not going to be your target market for your product or service. So, while you will get lots of traffic, you aren’t necessarily going to convert that traffic into customers.
One of the disadv trouble in targeting head keywords is the higher expense of paid search campaigns.
The competition that exists among head keywords makes it very costly for these keywords on Pay-Per-Click (PPC) campaigns. The cost-per-click (CPC) for them can be way higher than one can afford in some circumstances.
Also, users searching for head keywords are mostly on the top of the sales funnel meaning they are not yet ready to make a buying decision. As such, the ROI that can be realised from paid campaigns centred on head keywords may not be worthy of the cost.
The solution to this is a holistic SEO strategy that incorporates a balance of head and long-tail keywords.
How to Research Head Keywords Effectively
Strong head keyword research stems from a solid knowledge of your target audience and their search behaviour. If you know your chosen niche well, you’ll be better equipped to type in relevant head keywords into one of the above tools and filter for the most popular head keywords for that niche. Such a tool can be a tool like Google Keyword Planner, SEMrush, and Ahrefs. You’ll be able to use one of them to search for high-volume head keywords related to your niche. You’ll then be able to assess metrics such as search volume, keyword difficulty, and competitive density. One of the most crucial aspects of head keyword research is finding head keywords that are both relevant to your niche and relevant enough for your business, or at the very least, your offered services. Head keywords aren’t typically all that specific, but they should still be relevant to the type of industry that you’re in.
Thirdly, compete. In your research on head keywords, it’s important to actually look at your competitors. You can analyse which sites already rank on the first page of the search engine results page for a particular head keyword. This can teach you a lot about what makes content rank high, from keywords in meta-tags and content to backlinks and even structural consistency in the content. It can also help you identify gaps or weaknesses in your competitors’ strategies and adjust your content accordingly to stay ahead of the competition. Related searches and autocomplete can help you find alternatives to your head keywords Fourthly, remember lateral benefits and opportunities. As you dig into the depth of keywords, it’s good to keep in mind that every time you refine a keyword or enter a search term on Google, you can find new related ideas or variations of the primary concept under investigation. In the context of keyword research, I’m talking about looking at related searches and autocomplete as a way to find alternatives to your head keyword.
Best Practices for Using Head Keywords in Content
So, once you’ve identified your head keywords, it’s vital to incorporate them correctly into your content. Take the example of a blog about kittens. The post might want to include the head keywords ‘cute’, ‘kitten’ and ‘picture’ throughout. Ideally, those keywords should be placed within spaces located at the top of the content which search engines will find most expedient and user-friendly. This includes the title, meta description, headers and the first 100 words of the body. For example, ‘Seven Photos of the Cutest Kitten You’ll Ever See’ provide the main topic head keywords immediately when people skim the blog. There’s been some pushback against this practice of keyword ring-fencing due to the perceived tactic of ‘keyword stuffing’. Keyword stuffing involves including the head keyword everywhere possibly within a webpage, so that it loses all substantive meaning and reads more like an inclusive document. When Google’s algorithm dictates that every reference to MIT includes the word ‘Institute’, it’s fair to say that Google hasn’t really understood how search should be done. This used to be a handy trick for people who wanted to appear ‘seoish’. But luckily, the Google algorithms have outpaced such practices, and now keyword density is not what it used to be. SEO practitioners instinctively understand that the real trick is to value the user more and the keyword less. The rest will follow.
A second best practice is your content needs to be in-depth. Since head keywords are very broad, the content needs to be a good reads answering a lot of user queries. The more in-depth your content is on your head keyword, the more likely Google is going to reward it. Comprehensive content on your head keyword will match more user queries. If the content answers the queries well, it’s a good bet that user is going to stay on the page reading it. The information needs to be good. The examples have to be good. The answers to the common questions have to be good. The longer people stay on your site and read your content, that makes you look good in Google’s eyes. Images, videos, infographics, podcasts, all these things can increase the quality and increase the user experience on your page, which in turn help SEO.
Balancing Head Keywords with Long-Tail Keywords
While head keywords are useful for providing traffic, a proper mix of head and long-tail keywords is what provides a well-rounded SEO strategy. Long-tail keywords are longer-phrase, lower-competition searches, usually three keywords or more long – for example, ‘best running shoes for flat feet’ instead of ‘running shoes’. Long-tail keywords will tend to attract users who are earlier on in the buying process, who are just looking for more details or are looking at deeper research. If you have a blend of head and long-tail keywords, you can target both the casual searcher who just wants to know some basic information and the person who knows a bit more and is close to pulling the trigger.
The importance of their synergy is that they sit together and give us a diversified approach to SEO. Targeting head keywords is the most effective way to make a page as visible as possible, and therefore most effective for branding; long-tail keywords, on the other hand, are the most powerful when it comes to creating conversions. Having a content planning session with a few head keywords mapped out at the centre, from which you then pivot out to create content supporting each with long-tail keywords, is a great way to build out your SEO plan as well as your topical authority. An authoritative site search engine recognises that your pages cover the whole topic, from general overviews to detailed but niche enquiries.
Conclusion
Head keywords are a fundamental aspect of any SEO strategy, offering significant opportunities to increase visibility and drive traffic. While they are highly competitive and challenging to rank for, understanding how to research, integrate, and balance head keywords with long-tail variations can create a powerful SEO framework. By combining best practices for content optimization with a strategic approach to keyword targeting, businesses can enhance their search engine rankings and achieve long-term success.
