Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of optimizing a website for the search engines, and keyword research is the best way to optimize your website. In this article, we will discuss what are SEO keywords, different types of keywords you need to target, and how to find them easily.
What are SEO keywords?
An SEO keyword is the word or phrase used in an online content, specially in meta title tag, meta description tag, content, URL, etc. They are the focussed keywords of the pages used to improve relevance and ranking in search results.
For example, if you want to rank on Google for the keyword ‘best seo agency’, you need to optimize the page for the phrase in different areas as said above. But, first you need to understand how to find the right keywords and the types keywords you need to focus on. It will enable your website rank high in search engines and bring more traffic.
Which keywords you need to target?
The types of keywords you should target depend on your specific needs and goals. There are two main types of keywords: organic and paid.
Organic keywords are SEO keywords that you place on your website or SEO campaigns. Paid keywords are words or phrases used in Google Ads or Bing PPC campaigns. As this article is for organic search engine ranking, we will discus only about organic or SEO keywords.
Regardless to any type of keywords, here’s how to choose which keywords to focus on while conducting your research:
1. High volume keywords: These are the ones that receive the most traffic from searches.
2. Longtail keywords: A long tail keyword is less competitive to rank in search engine results.
3. Broad match and phrase match keywords: Choose them to give you the best chance of ranking for both of them.
4. Low keyword difficulty: The lower the competition, the easier to rank for those keywords.
5. Relevant: Focus on relevant terms and phrases related to your business or products. It’s useless if you target wrong keywords.
Types of keywords
When you are running keyword research, see how specific the keywords are to your products or services? Here, you see two types of keywords: short tail and long tail keywords:
1. Generic or short tail keywords
Generic or short tail keywords are less specific than longtail keywords. They mean a broad sense. So, they are often high in search volume but hard to rank due to strong competition.
For example, the word ‘shoes’ means a lot in the eyes of Google. So, it’s impossible for a low authority site to rank on Google.
2. Long tail keywords
They are made up with more words rather than a single word or two. As they mean something very specific, they are easier to rank high. Because, they are low competition on the SERPs. But, such a keyword phrase is often very low search volume.
An example is puma shoes women in kolkata.
As short tail keywords are usually high traffic volume, you want to focus on them. However, as they are often high competition, you also need to target long tail phrases to get easy ranking and traffic.
Intent based keywords
Such a search term comes with an intent of the searcher’s mind. I know that you may want to target only buyer keywords to get more conversions or sales. But, not all people use transactional searches. To increase more traffic on your website and bring them into your conversion funnel, you also need to focus on pre-transactional search terms. Study the search intent of the following keywords:
– Informational keywords
These search terms are used to search information about a product or thing. They are the primary keywords people use to find answers about what they want to learn. In this stage, they don’t have any buying intent or any intent to find any specific site or product.
Some examples are apple, mobile phone, smartwatches, SEO, etc.
– Navigational keywords
Such SEO keywords includes brand name, product name, location, price, etc. Their intent is more specific than informational keywords to find the places or sites they are looking for.
For example, if someone wants to learn about a movie at Wikipedia, he may search as avatar wikipedia. Or, if he wants to look for a phone, he may search as iphone 12 amazon.
– Commercial keywords
They have an intent to find a product or service to educate the searcher before buying it.
Some examples are best social media books, free photo editing apps, iphone 13 reviews, etc.
– Transactional keywords
These search terms or phrases have a strong buying intent. In most times, they include words like buy, purchase, deal, discount, cheapest, coupon, etc. They are often used in the last stage of a funnel. Because, they are ready to convert.
Some examples are buy iphone 14 pro, seo software lifetime deal, etc.
Time based keywords
Look through the list of SEO keywords found in your research. Keywords that will last for long are evergreen keywords. Others that are currently hot or may be dead after some time are trending keywords.
Examples of trending keywords: iphone 13 launch date, amazon black friday sale, etc.
Examples of evergreen keywords: how to lose weight fast, link building fundamentals, etc.
On-page SEO keywords
When creating a content, you use two types of keywords for SEO. You need to research both of them to make your content perfectly search engine friendly:
– Primary keywords
They are the head or focus keywords for your page. You use your head keyword in your page title, description, content, image, URL, etc.
– LSI or semantically related keywords
LSI keywords are the most used terms and phrases related to your primary keyword found in top ranking pages. Using any related keyword in your articles or pages helps improve your content score. Because, they are important theme words supporting your topic to make it a perfect content. Most SEO writing tools can generate such keywords from top search engine results.
How to find the best SEO keywords?
You should only focus on the keywords related to your niche. So, your best SEO keywords are those with high traffic volume, low competition, and high rank value. Use the following tools or services to find valuable keywords for your site or blog:
Keyword research tools
Several free keyword tools are available online. Google Keyword Planner is the most used keyword research tool. But most SEOs use paid tools like SEMRush, Moz, Ahrefs, etc. to find the best keywords quickly for their SEO campaigns.
| View the top keyword tools
Keyword research services
Beginners are often confused how to find the right keywords even though they use a good premium tool. In this case, they can hire an expert in this field. Click the link below:
| Affordable keyword services
Books & courses
SEO keyword research is a crucial part of search engine optimization. If you have a good experience in it, you can generate endless keyword ideas and traffic for your website. So, read some books or courses to learn in-depth lessons and new skills.
| Keyword research books and training courses
I hope this article helps you to learn why SEO keywords are important and which type of keywords you should target. Please share this page with your friends and social media pages or leave a comment below.
Ibochouba Singh is a content writer and reviewer with a passion for writing about digital marketing and tech gadgets, including software tools and new tech gadgets. He has over 15 years of experience writing for several consumers and clients, including tech startups, marketing agencies, and software companies. He is writing many articles and product reviews for many websites, including nigcworld.com, buywin.in, medium.com, and quora.com.
