Then, you simply start adding the keywords to content pages where they make the most sense. Try not to overdo it, though. Most search engines frown upon those that stuff content full of unnecessary keywords.
Instead, keep your sentence structure conversational while still working in those pertinent phrases in a natural way. While the process of using keywords is actually pretty simple, there are ways digital marketers narrow them down into specific groups to differentiate types of content. Typically, short keywords are about very broad terms. By broad, we mean something like tacos or dogs. If you were to use either of those terms to try to rank your content , it would likely be very difficult as the search results are just too numerous to compete.
However, if you have a very specific niche without a lot of competition, you can often find ways to use short keywords to your advantage. In contrast, long-tail keywords are much more specific in their nature, which makes it easier to match the topic up to user intent.
As an example, something like green chili chicken tacos recipe or red running shoes would all be considered long-tail keywords. More adjectives and descriptive phrases narrow down the search process and make it easier for your audience to find exactly what they are looking for. Often, this is a great strategy if the product or service you offer solves a problem or relates to educating others in some way.
Pretend for a moment that you own a company that sells a special type of ghost pepper chili sauce. If you were trying to get the recipe section of your website to rank better organically, then you might use a keyword question like how do you make spicy cocktails using hot sauce? Depending on your niche, you might consider creating a content marketing strategy that includes seasonal keywords.
Things like Christmas decorating ideas and Halloween costumes for dogs would be prime examples. Now your pet store can create individual pages optimized for each small keyword group. A marketer attempting to optimize a web page for the "gourmet parakeet snacks" keyword group should consider doing most if not all of the following:.
When optimizing your web pages, keep in mind that keyword relevance is more important than keyword density in SEO. Try our Free Keyword Tool today. And, to make the most of your keyword research, be sure to check out our resources on keyword grouping and keyword niches. Our software and services help businesses and agencies take the guesswork out of pay-per-click advertising so you get more from your marketing budget. About WordStream Our software and services help businesses and agencies take the guesswork out of pay-per-click advertising so you get more from your marketing budget.
This is where the concept of search intent comes in. Your content will only rank for a keyword if it meets the searchers' needs. In addition, your content must be the best resource out there for the query. After all, why would Google rank your content higher if it provides less value than other content that exists on the web? Google will provide more weight to sources it deems authoritative. That means you must do all you can to become an authoritative source by enriching your site with helpful, information content and promoting that content to earn social signals and backlinks.
If you're not seen as authoritative in the space, or if a keyword's SERPs are loaded with heavy sources you can't compete with like Forbes or The Mayo Clinic , you have a lower chance of ranking unless your content is exceptional. You may end up ranking on the first page for a specific keyword, but if no one ever searches for it, it will not result in traffic to your site. Kind of like setting up shop in a ghost town. Volume is measured by MSV monthly search volume , which means the number of times the keyword is searched per month across all audiences.
If you don't know the difference between head terms and long-tail keywords, let me explain. Head terms are keywords phrases that are generally shorter and more generic -- they're typically just one to three words in length, depending on who you talk to.
Long-tail keywords , on the other hand, are longer keyword phrases usually containing three or more words. It's important to check that you have a mix of head terms and long-tail terms because it'll give you a keyword strategy that's well balanced with long-term goals and short-term wins. That's because head terms are generally searched more frequently, making them often not always, but often much more competitive and harder to rank for than long-tail terms.
Think about it: Without even looking up search volume or difficulty, which of the following terms do you think would be harder to rank for? If you answered 2, you're absolutely right. But don't get discouraged. While head terms generally boast the most search volume meaning greater potential to send you traffic , frankly, the traffic you'll get from the term "how to write a great blog post" is usually more desirable.
Because someone who is looking for something that specific is probably a much more qualified searcher for your product or service presuming you're in the blogging space than someone looking for something really generic.
And because long-tail keywords tend to be more specific, it's usually easier to tell what people who search for those keywords are really looking for. Someone searching for the head term "blogging," on the other hand, could be searching it for a whole host of reasons unrelated to your business.
So check your keyword lists to make sure you have a healthy mix of head terms and long-tail keywords. You definitely want some quick wins that long-tail keywords will afford you, but you should also try to chip away at more difficult head terms over the long haul. The same goes for keywords. However, understanding what keywords your competitors are trying to rank for is a great way to help you give your list of keywords another evaluation.
If your competitor is ranking for certain keywords that are on your list, too, it definitely makes sense to work on improving your ranking for those. This could be a great opportunity for you to own market share on important terms, too. Understanding the balance of terms that might be a little more difficult due to competition, versus those terms that are a little more realistic, will help you maintain a similar balance that the mix of long-tail and head terms allows.
Remember, the goal is to end up with a list of keywords that provide some quick wins but also helps you make progress toward bigger, more challenging SEO goals. How do you figure out what keywords your competitors are ranking for, you ask? Aside from manually searching for keywords in an incognito browser and seeing what positions your competitors are in, Ahrefs allows you to run a number of free reports that show you the top keywords for the domain you enter.
This is a quick way to get a sense of the types of terms your competitors are ranking for. Now that you've got the right mix of keywords, it's time to narrow down your lists with some more quantitative data. You have a lot of tools at your disposal to do this, but let me share my favorite methodology. I like to use a mix of the Google's Keyword Planner you'll need to set up an Ads account for this, but you can turn your example ad off before you pay any money , and Google Trends.
In Keyword Planner, you can get search volume and traffic estimates for keywords you're considering. Then, take the information you learn from Keyword Planner and use Google Trends to fill in some blanks.
Use the Keyword Planner to flag any terms on your list that have way too little or way too much search volume, and don't help you maintain a healthy mix like we talked about above. That last point is a particularly important one. While search volume, traffic potential, difficulty, and search intent are all important considerations, you also need to consider what traffic from that keyword will be worth to your business. Conventional wisdom says that the earlier people are in their journey, the less likely they are to buy.
How do people do this? That is what direct response copywriters are known for. They create one ad that takes the reader from barely understanding their problem to buying your solution.
It depends on how you look at it. Third , some marketers broaden their definition of TOFU to such a degree that they end up covering unrelated topics. Case in point, Hubspot:. And this is based mainly on how well we can pitch our product in our content. By pairing this score with the estimated search traffic potential of a topic, we can get a good idea of the most valuable topics for our business. Focusing only on low-difficulty keywords is a mistake that a lot of website owners make.
You should always have short, medium, and long-term ranking goals. Think of it like this: picking low-hanging fruit is easy, but those at the top of the tree are often juicier. You should still pick them. But you should also plan ahead and buy a ladder for the ones at the top now. For checking the top 1, keywords you already rank for and how much traffic those keywords send you.
For checking all the keywords you currently rank for, along with their estimated search volumes, Keyword Difficulty scores, traffic potential, and other useful SEO metrics. Find tens of thousands of keyword ideas in seconds, filter the keyword ideas reports for keywords that matter to you, and assess their traffic potential and ranking difficulty with ease.
Everything above should be enough to understand the basic concepts of keyword research and plan your content strategy. If you want to learn more and dig deeper into keyword research, check our links to further reading scattered throughout the guide.
These will give you a much deeper understanding of the metrics and tools available and how to use them. You might also want to watch this video , where we walk you through the entire process from start-to-finish.
Feel that we missed something? Ping me on Twitter. Tim Soulo. Tim is the CMO at Ahrefs. Article stats Monthly traffic 5, Linking websites 1, Tweets The number of times this article was shared on Twitter. Share this article. Keywords are the foundation of SEO. Monthly search traffic to the Ahrefs blog. This is chapter 3 in the. Did you know that most keywords are long-tail keywords?
How to Find and Use Them. Example of an ecommerce category page. Article by Tim Soulo.
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