Are you wondering what keywords are and why they’re so important? Well, let me break it down for you. In this article, I’ll explain how to find the best keywords, how to use them in our content, and why keyword research is so critical to our SEO success. So, let’s dive in!

 

What are SEO Keywords?

 

This question comes up more often than you think. Keywords are the words and phrases used in our website’s content to rank higher in search engine result pages (SERPs). Keywords help search engines understand what our website is about and match it to relevant search questions that Googlers ask. Keywords play a crucial role in search engine optimization because they help search engines understand the content of our website and determine how relevant it is to a specific query. 

 

What’s their Importance? 

 

Choosing the right keywords is essential for attracting the right kind of traffic and improving your rankings. When you include specific keywords in your website’s content, you are signaling to search engines that your website is a good match for those terms. This can help increase the chances that your page ranks when someone types your target terms into Google. Our main goal in this step is to find and target the right keywords in your content to get the most bang for your buck and bring in that digital footfall.

 

For example, if you are selling shoes and you use the keyword “sneakers” in your content, you will likely attract people who are interested in buying sneakers. On the other hand, if you use the keyword “free” in your content, you may attract people who are looking for free shoes rather than visitors who are interested in purchasing sneakers. You can bring in thousands of visitors to your website every day, but if they aren’t converting, then what’s the point? When you target the right keywords that your audience is asking for, you get the right outcome. These outcomes can include more clicks, user engagements, conversions, and (above all) revenue.

 

How to find and pick the best keywords: 

 

 

To add insult to injury, keyword trends are constantly changing. What was trending six months ago, might not be what’s trending now. That’s why this step requires in-depth research to gain a better understanding of your target audience, what they’re talking about and how you can tailor your content to their needs. 

 

Here are seven tactics you should use when doing keyword research:

 

1. Make a list of topics that are relevant to your business or website.
2. Use a keyword research tool like SEMrush to discover variations of the topics you’ve identified and see how much traffic those keywords get.
3. Check out the language your target audience uses when talking about your products or services.
4. See what keywords your competitors are using on their websites and in their ads. (SEO 101: Do what the successful sites are doing) 
5. Use a tool to analyze your current website traffic and find out which keywords are already bringing visitors to your site.
6. Look for long-tail keywords (more specified, long-form phrases) that may have less competition and be easier to rank for.
7. Don’t get tied up on a single keyword or phrase. Use a mix of broad and specific keywords to appeal to a wider range of searchers. 

By following these steps, you’re almost guaranteed to find a list of highly relevant keywords to implement into your strategy.

 

Why is keyword research important? 

 

You’re probably thinking “Wow, that’s a lot of work. Can’t I just pick keywords that I would search?” You’re right, it is a lot of work. It’s tedious and time-consuming which is why most people hire an SEO agency to do the job. However, keyword research is a critical part of any SEO strategy because it helps you understand the words and phrases your target audience uses to search for products or services just like ours. 

 

Here’s why keyword research is so important:

 

1. It helps you understand your target audience and what they’re looking for.
2. It helps you create content that’s relevant and useful to your audience.
3. It helps you measure the success of your SEO efforts and identify areas for improvement.

 

If you don’t get this right the first time, the entire SEO process following it will be in vain. By implementing the right keywords in your content, you can improve your website’s visibility and attract the right traffic. If you implement the wrong keywords, you can get a bunch of people on your site looking for “free shoes.” Plus, by tracking the performance of specific keywords, you can see which ones are driving traffic to your site and how well your content is ranking for those terms. This can help you build on your efforts and get even better results. So, although you might find some success by guessing your keywords, you won’t make it half the distance you could if you appropriately researched them. 

 

Implementation

 

 

This part of the article is probably the most important thing to take home. What do you do with all these keywords now that you’ve done your research? Here are five essential actions to take when implementing your keywords into your SEO strategy.

 

1. Use the keywords to create or improve the content on your website: Include them naturally in the page titles, headings, and text of your pages.
2. Use the keywords in the meta tags of your site: These are tags that tell search engines about your website. They can include the page’s title, description, and keywords.
3. Use the keywords in your website’s URLs: Try including them on your website’s pages. This can help search engines figure out what the page is about.
4. Use the keywords in your profiles and posts on social media: Include them in your social media profiles and use them when you post new content. This can make it easier for people to find you on those platforms too.
5. Monitor how they’re performing. You can use a tool like Google Analytics to track how much traffic and where your target keywords rank. This can help you find out how well your content is doing and where you need to make changes.

 

Remember to use your keywords naturally and avoid keyword stuffing, which is when you put too many in your content to try to change where it ranks in search engines. This can hurt your search engine rankings and is against the rules of most search engines.

 

Let’s Wrap This Up:

 

SEO keywords are vital if you want to move up in the search engines and get more targeted traffic to your site. By researching and choosing the right keywords, you can make content that is useful to your audience and is more likely to rank well. To find terms that work, you need to do the right research. It is an essential part of any SEO strategy. Research can help you understand your target audience, create relevant content, and measure the success of your SEO efforts. By following best practices and using a mix of broad and specific terms, you can optimize your website’s content and drive more qualified traffic to your landing pages.

Want to know how I do my keyword research? Join our mailing list to get access to an in-depth video on how I conduct keyword research for my SEO clients. If you’re looking for an SEO agency to help out your business, give us a call to learn more about our services. 

 

BONUS: Three mistakes to avoid when implementing keywords into your strategy.

 

 

 

1. Adding too many keywords in your content. It’s important to use keywords in your content, but don’t put too many. If search engines see that you are trying to change your rankings by using too many of them, they may punish you.
2. Using keywords that have nothing to do with your business or website. It’s important to use keywords that are relevant to your business and website. Using terms that have nothing to do with your site can hurt your search engine rankings and make your visitors angry.
3. Only targeting short-tail keywords. Short-tail keywords (single words or short phrases) may get more searches, but long-tail keywords (more specific, multi-word phrases) may be easier to rank for and more targeted. Remember that long-tail keywords could be useful for your SEO strategy and are a great way to get easy footfall.