If you truly wish to rank your website in the search engines, you have to familiarize yourself with every aspect of SEO. One of the most prominent SEO aspects is the keywords that you choose to rank the website for.
We understand that for many beginners, keywords might be a confusing topic. That is why we will help you know about what are keywords and how they help your SEO?
Let’s start with the basics first.
What are keywords?
Keywords are the words or phrases you want your website to appear in the search engines. These are ideally words or phrases that many people search online to find relevant information.
The phrases or collection of words can be the product’s name, a query, a service, or anything else.
For example, if you’re in the dog grooming niche, you can go for a keyword like “dog grooming tips” by optimizing the article for the same.
Once you successfully optimize your article or a particular page for this keyword, it is likely to reach and appear in the top 10 search results when someone searches for “dog grooming tips.”
How can keywords help your SEO?
Keywords and the search engines know what your page is about. It helps the search engines understand for which phrases your pages need to be ranked.
Sure enough, the search engines also consider the page’s context, but the keywords are an indicator as well.
Consequently, when you include keywords in your pages, it becomes easier to rank for the correct phrases and get the right targeted visitors to your pages, increasing the conversion rate.
In a nutshell, keywords can help you rank appropriately and also help you tap into the targeted audience to boost your business.
Types of keywords:
Not all keywords are the same. Keywords can broadly be divided into three different types, which we will cover below.
1. Long-tail keywords:
As the name implies, it is longer than 2 to 3 words. Usually, they comprise 4 to 8 words and thereby are highly targeted.
For example, if someone searches for “dog grooming tips,” they aren’t very specific regarding the breed or the type of tips which they are looking for.
If someone is searching for “dog grooming tips for Golden retriever puppy,” they are highly specific, and such a keyword can be considered a long-tail keyword.
Usually, these keywords are the best to start with since they have low competition and are easier to rank.
2. Mid-tail keywords:
These keywords are certainly not as long as the long-tail ones. However, as compared to the broad ones, they are undoubtedly lengthy.
If we extend the above example, this keyword will be “dog grooming tips for a golden retriever.”
These are comparatively higher competition and have a higher number of searches which is why they are so popular among Webmasters.
3, Broad or short-tail keywords:
The keyword dog grooming tips in the example will be considered a broad keyword. However, the number of searches for such a keyword is pretty high. The broad keywords do not always convey the intent of the user.
Not only that, such keywords are tough to rank for. The competition is fierce, and therefore to rank for such a keyword, you will need a higher authority domain.
Merely knowing about the keywords will not help you plan your SEO campaign. It is your job to also know about the different types of keywords and choose the right one for your website.
You might be thinking, how can you find the right keywords?
There are a few ways in which you can do so. We will highlight the same below.
How to find the relevant and best keywords for your SEO?
While there are numerous ways to research and shortlist the keywords, we will cover the three most common methods below.
1. Use an SEO Plugin:
Many Webmasters perceive RankMath to be an on-page optimization tool. At the same time, it can certainly help you optimize your pages better and help you research keywords.
It consists of the Google trends tool. Using this tool, you can check the trend stats of various keywords. That will help you understand whether the keyword is gaining more searches every passing month or reducing.
Since it provides you with a visual interface for the same, it is easy to spot the right keywords.
Not only that, but once you shortlist the keyword, this plug-in can help you optimize your pages on your website for the same.
It is one of the most holistic tools available for keyword research.
2. Try searching manually:
Google provides you with Google ads keyword planner. For the same, you must have an AdWords account. However, once you have an AdWords account, you can manually search for the keyword in the tool and look at the search volume.
If you plan to use these methods, you will have to first get an Adwords account. Not only that, the amount of information that you get through the tool is pretty limited. You won’t be able to find out whether the search volume is rising or decreasing. Also, the organization of information is not that great as well.
When you’re thinking of using this method to research the keywords, think again.
3. Competition analysis:
Another option is to manually go through your competitors’ websites and find out which keywords they are ranking for.
You can after research more about those keywords and select the right one. However, this is a pretty time-consuming process. When you’re willing to devote a few hours to the same, you go ahead with this method.
Thus, when struggling to find the right keywords, it is good to go with Rankmath since it can help you find the right keywords and optimize your pages for the same.
How to use keywords for your website?
Shortlisting the right keywords is just one off of the battle. After that, you have to understand how to integrate those keywords into your website. Only when you can incorporate the keywords will your website start ranking.
1. Add them contextually:
The perfect way to add keywords to web pages is to add them contextually. You have to add them within the text so that it makes perfect sense.
For the same, the larger the article on your page, the better it is.
Also, you can add multiple keywords to the content to optimize your pages.
There are a handful of things to keep in mind while doing so.
- You should not just list down the keywords in the article to optimize your website.
- The keyword should be mentioned in context.
- It is not required to mention all the keywords in the article.
Once you follow these three tips, it will become easier to optimize the pages and the website for the keywords that you wish to rank.
2. Add them in metadata:
We mentioned that it is unnecessary to mention all the keywords in the article itself. That is because there are other opportunities to add keywords as well.
You can add keywords in the metadata. The various type of metadata to which you have access to includes:
- Meta description
- Meta tags
- Image alt text
- And so on
Simply following these two methods to include keywords in your website will make optimizing your pages easier.
Frequently Asked Questions:
We will now answer some FAQs about keywords so that you can understand more about them.
Are keywords still important for SEO?
Yes, keywords are still considered to be a ranking factor. Sure enough, search engines use a variety of factors to determine the relevancy of your page, but keywords are still a factor considered by the search engines.
How many SEO keywords should I use?
Ideally, you should use the 3 to 4 of the most searched keywords to optimize a page. Search engines will also rank your automatically for the relevant keywords even if you do not mention them on the page.
Should I use the exact same keywords on every webpage?
No, it is not wise to use the same keywords on every page. It means that your pages will be competing with one another to rank in the search engines. After that, you will have to use the canonical tag to tell the search engines about the most prominent page for that particular keyword. Rather than going into that complexity, it is a good idea to use a different keyword for different pages.
What type of keywords should I select for my pages?
If your website is entirely new, it is good to opt for long-tail keywords. Only once your website starts gaining traction and authority can you go for it till keywords and eventually the broad keywords. If you choose broad keywords for your website, it will be very difficult for you to rank and overcome the competition.
Conclusion:
Now that you know about keywords and how to use them, it is time to shortlist the right keywords for your website. They are a very important aspect of ranking your website, and therefore you should not ignore them any longer. Using the guide above, you can easily optimize your page so that you rank for the right keywords and start getting targeted visitors.
We hope this tutorial of “What Are Keywords And How They Help Your SEO?” Was helpful!