Keywords are those terms or set of words which are used to search for something on Google. In SEO, keywords are selected in a way that helps search engines know about the contents of a website and present it to relevant searchers.
In this article we will take a look at keywords from a strict SEO perspective and understand how to execute them better for a greater SEO score.
If you wish to rank your website on Google or any other search engine for a specific search term, you need to execute 3 main functions:
- Find a Keyword
- Design Content
- Execute Backlinks
Table of Contents
5 Reasons For Using The Right Keywords
1. Faster Ranking, Less Competition
Right keywords help you rank faster by identifying those which are easier to rank. These keywords usually have a low SEO difficulty.
The SEO difficulty is the effort needed to beat existing competitors which are already ranking on Google. It is generally depicted as the number from 0-100. The higher the difficulty for a certain keyword, more difficult will be to rank your website for the same. It also takes a really long time to rank such keywords.
In the above example where the search term is “SEO”, the keywords with low KD(keyword difficulty) are easier to rank for. This is generally true for website with low DA.
However, if you have a website with higher DA, you would find it very little difficult to rank for those terms.
#Note: Google scans for those website with higher DA yet low quality content and punishes them by de-indexing or removing them from Google search.
As your website grows and gains a higher domain authority, SEO difficulty reduces for your website. You can rank for more difficult keywords relatively easier as your domain authority grows.
2. Capture Search Trends
There are certain type of search trends prevalent at certain times. For example, during Christmas, the most searched terms usually are christmas wishes, christmas decorations, etc. These search terms lose steam after a certain period as the event passes.
You can search for the latest trends through Google Trends. Below are the top 5 search trends in the US for 10 Nov 2023. If your website caters to that content, you might notice a surge in website visitors.
However, you cannot capture all trends. Just have a lookout for the ones relevant for your website.
3. More Traffic
Different keywords have different search volumes associated with them. I have seen businesses fall prey to the myth that all keywords have unlimited traffic. For keywords with low traffic, even if you rank on #1, your website visitors will be low, even if you have spent a fortune to rank for it.
Therefore, it is utmost important to lookout for keywords that have:
- high traffic
- low keyword difficulty (SEO difficulty)
- are relative to your niche
Here is a list of keywords with different search volumes. You can see that ranking for the term “seo“(119k search volume) is much more profitable than ranking for the term “seo meaning“(23k search volume).
Even though ranking for the term “seo meaning” looks easier and therefore attractive, it will yield a less amount of traffic than the term “seo“. Further, if you rank for a more difficult term “seo“, you can easily rank for any term with less difficulty and reap double benefits.
#Note: The final point “are relative to your niche” will be discussed later (#8) in the article.
4. Complements Your Search Ads
I have seen several business owners who think SEO and advertisement in exclusive terms. However, both of the perform the best when compliment each other. A SEO strategy when combined with a well designed advertisement strategy yields phenomenal results.
A keyword is the central pillar of both strategies.
To design the perfect mixture of SEO and advertisement for such results, you need to find a keyword which satisfies the following:
- low SEO difficulty
- low cost per click
- high volume
- contains low amounts of search ads in the first page
- is aligned with your business/niche
Here is a business which does both of them and reaps very high benefits. When you search for the term “rudraksha mala“, you will find the website himalayarudraksh.online ranks both organically as well as for paid results.
5. Type of Traffic: Informational, Commercial, Navigational or Transactional
In SEO, there are four types of searches:
- Informational, to search for any information
- Commercial, to search about something related to brands, products, etc.
- Navigational, to reach some website
- Transactional, to buy or sell anything
The choice of keywords depends upon your need. If your need is to create a website which will just need visitors for example a blog on gardening, you should use informational keywords like:
- Gardening tips
- Top 10 garden tools
- How to make a garden in a small space
Similarly for commercial websites which are selling something, you could use commercial keywords like:
- Finance Books From Wiley
- Honda Cars
- Best Motorcycle by Harley Davidson
Navigational keywords are those which take users to a certain website that they already have in mind. For example:
- SBI login
- Twitter privacy page
- Reset password on Amazon
Finally transactional keywords are those which customers search on Google to buy a product. They do not have a brand in mind like commercial, but they have an intent to buy.
- Thermal management products
- Cheap sport shoes
- Waterproof smartphone cover
5 Best Free Keyword Tools
Keywords form the central pillar of any website. You can search keywords with multiple free SEO tools available on the internet. some of which are
- Ahref Keywords Generator
- Ubersuggest Free Keyword Took
- Google Keyword Planner
- Moz
- Also Asked
In my experience as an SEO, for users looking for a free tool, the best you can get is Ahrefs Keywords Generator, its free to use and is very user friendly. Further, it can be used to search for keywords for Google, Bing, YouTube and Amazon.
5 Best Premium Keyword Tools
Since I have been using all of these tools for over 5 years, I would narrow down your search for premium tools to these five. They are ranked as per their effectiveness.
- Ahrefs, the best tool for any beginner, simple to use, easy to manage.
- SEMrush, the most powerful tool but often gets tricky due to its complexity.
- Ubersuggest, the cheapest one but as powerful as others. You need to buy credits to search for fresh data. 200 Credits per month are free ($12 plan).
- Moz, a very powerful tool if you want a comprehensive package.
- WordStream
FAQ
How can we rank keywords in SEO more quickly?
You can rank keywords faster by creating a lot of articles which help you establish your authority over that topic. Then you need to backlink those articles.
How do I get best keywords for SEO?
First, you need to study your niche and find out what kind of content is trending. Then you can search for those topics and find keywords which have low competition. Publish and create backlink to articles written on those topics, you will rank for those keywords.
How do I target a particular keyword in SEO?
If you want to target a particular keyword, you need content strategy. After you have chosen the topic, see how many articles are published by other websites which are ranking for the term. Now you just need to outrank them on no of artciles and backlinks.
How many keywords should I add in SEO on a page?
The number of keywords does not matter. Typically it should be around 2-3% along with all its variants. For example the terms “keyword for SEO” and “SEO keyword” will be counted as variants of one another.
What are negative keywords?
Negative keywords are those for which you do not wish to rank onGoogle. For example, “Seo”, a singer, often comes as a suggestion when you search for “Seo” on Google.
What is the importance of keyword volume in SEO?
Earlier websites which contained more keywords used to rank better. Websites used to stuff keywords in white letter on a white background to rank higher. Google then began to punish websites which stuffed keywords. Thereafter, keyword volume became a ranking factor. Typically, it should be around 2-3%.
What is the main purpose of using a keyword in SEO?
The main purpose is to let search engines know that you are writing content on that topic.
What are LSI keywords?
LSI stands for latent semantic indexing, is the list of related keywords to your targeted keywords. They are related on the basis of similarity to your keyword. LSI keywords are used to account for all the variations and combinations of keywords so that you are not punished for keyword stuffing.
