Kingdom of keywords. How to use them wisely in SEO optimization?

What are keywords?

Imagine that you ask Uncle Google a question. To find an answer that matches our question as closely as possible, we use mental shortcuts, phrases, and terms. As with search engines, they index the words you input, browsing thousands of websites where the selected words appear or are related to them. Search engines use keywords (keyphrases) to help users find specific information, and they are also used to position and optimize websites to achieve synergy between websites and network users.

How do they impact SEO?

A series of activities aimed at improving the visibility of a website in search results, SEO is one aspect of positioning that may be applied by companies, individuals, and even very large organizations.

Internet search engine algorithms use keywords and phrases to rank pages to give users the best result. The type of phrase entered determines the profile of a potential customer – using keywords you define the brand purpose and intentions of the recipient. They also contribute to the amount of the conversion rate.

How do you choose the right keywords?

Much depends on the type of your website and the goals you have set for yourself. First of all, you can;t forget about the user. The more precisely profiled the reader, the better you will know his needs, intentions, problems and interests.

Step 1: e-Commerce

In internet marketing, keywords are the most important part of the strategy. Nowadays, we make more and more online purchases, such as during the pandemic lockdown. Research what your customers are looking for and what will attract your audience. Advertising with appropriate keywords can be used to promote services, blogs, and non-material content, as well.

Step 2: Competition analysis

Make sure you understand how the competition works, and take time to research sites that connect to the theme of your project. You will then be able to determine your base of the most popular words and the content layout on other sites.

Step 3: Use optimization SEO tools

There are SEO tools that assist with search and selection of keywords. Some are free, for example: Google auto-suggest, Google Trends; other paid tools: They provide traffic forecasts, word density, and statistics, and analyze browsers. Make your life easier, don’t do it on your own manually.

Step 4: Create a keywords bank

You should use additional tools, but what makes you stand out is your originality and innovation. A machine cannot replace the human mind, so be as imaginative as you can. Make a priority word list that you’ll fill out as the services you offer grow. This will help you organize your work and save you time.

Where should the keywords be on the page?

Title and subheadings

The title is the foundation that encourages clicking, and if the user finds a word in it that he previously entered into the search engine, there is a greater chance that he will choose you. In addition, use keywords in subheadings so that people who are looking for specific information can find it without scrolling through the entire page.

Title tag and meta description

The types of keywords you use in your title tag and meta descripton can help others find your content. Understanding keywords is also important because they determine what search engine crawlers see on the page. You want to make sure that the words used are keywords that are going to be looked for by potential readers, not just random words.

URL address

If you have highly specific keywords or your company name is one of them, put them in the url of your website. Remember that it should be legible, understandable and easy to remember.

Content

Obviously, we should place keywords and phrases next in the body of the text. Their use is necessary to support positioning, but don’t overdo it. A high number of keywords and low-quality text will make Google quickly evaluate our website as inadequate, which will lower our ranking.

Images and videos

It goes without saying that the text of the page is of considerable importance, but every other element – images, illustrations, and videos – should be optimized. Google indexes these aspects as well, so the more detailed the description of them, the more the content can flourish.

Types of keywords

The general keywords are phrases consisting of one or two words most often used in the context of online searches when users do not yet have precisely defined preferences. With all the competition and a high volume of searches, it is extremely difficult to use general keywords. They help you determine your preferences.

The brand keywords refer to specific pages, but the recipient doesn’t recall the URL address. As the name suggests, they are linked to the company’s name and its domain.

When it comes to long tail phrases, there are a great deal more words than in general phrases. Because long-tail have limited competition, a search engine can position them more easily. Users already know what they are looking for. They can also be entries in the form of questions.

There may be many more of them, but these are the most basic and most used. They are related to search intent. Search intent describes the goal that someone has when they enter a keyword into a search engine. There are three main search intents: navigational searches, research searches, transactional searches.

Imagine youself a potential user

Keyword research is a process of searching, evaluating and selecting keywords. First of all, as the owner of a given page, you need to determine who will be your target audience. In this case, you need to consider factors such as:

• sex,
• age,
• education,
• domicile,
• interested,
• potential needs and problems of the group.

After establishing this basic information, you can start your analysis. So compare the key phrases with the competition, define the context of the words used, investigate the trends in the industry or its seasonality, at the end you can start preparing your content plan. However, remember that this is a process that must be repeated – a one-time action is not enough.

Last words

There are a number of strategies that you can use to improve your ranking. Leveraging keywords, content structure, social media presence, and SEO is the best way to gain traction with your target audience. If done correctly, optimizing your site should eventually provide tangible results such as a higher position on Google search engine results pages or increased brand awareness through effective online marketing.