If you want to appear first in Google searches and be a reference in your market, know that SEO keywords are the way to do it.
This is one of the techniques to have a successful blog. Therefore, I will teach you what keywords are, how to choose them, and how to use them correctly.
With them, you can generate more traffic to your blog and attract more leads to your business!
Keep reading and learn.
Contents
What are keywords after all?
Keywords are the main tool of a search. They are composed of one or more terms that provide direction when creating pages, blogs, and websites.
Initially, they are the way the user writes their query in the search engine in order to obtain answers.
Therefore, by defining a keyword, you will send a message to Google that your content is about a particular topic related to that specific term.
Above all, keyword research is a study that defines which words are important for your business.
Based on this research, you can create content strategies to improve the organic positioning of your website.
This way, if you choose the correct keyword and apply SEO strategies, your content will be displayed to the person who searched for that keyword.
Types of Keywords for SEO There are two distinct – but similar – ways to increase a site’s organic traffic and get opportunities.
They are:
- Short-tail keywords
- Long-tail keywords
Both of these types need to be considered when choosing the objective of the strategy.
The difference between them is simple, let me explain:
Short-tail keywords
It is important to note that this type of SEO keywords has a higher monthly search volume.
For example, the keyword “Marketing” has over 60,000 monthly searches. Imagine how much organic traffic a well-ranked content for this keyword can get!
However, similarly to the large search volume, this type of keyword has an enormous competition!
Thousands of contents, sites, and various other types of materials are ranked for just one absurdly broad keyword.
Therefore, when considering using a short-tail keyword, take into account:
The traffic volume and keyword competition; The high competition increases the need for complete and well-made content; Frequent updates to remain in positions; Although it has a large amount of organic traffic, the audience tends to be less qualified; They are generic; The choice of whether or not to use these short-tail keywords will depend on your objective and strategy.
Long-tail keywords
In contrast to short-tail keywords, these are considered the gold mine of marketing. This is because they are longer and more specific.
Imagine you have a blog about fashion and you are creating content about blue polo shirts.
Certainly, there is a loyal audience for this type of shirt that is always looking for promotions to buy another model.
Therefore, if you create a post with only the keyword “polo shirts,” the search volume will be higher, but the clicks on the CTA will be lower.
On the other hand, if the keyword is “blue polo shirt” – more specific, the organic traffic will be lower, but the conversion will increase because people are searching for exactly that.
Do you understand the difference between them? To help you even more, I’ll mention the characteristics of long-tail keywords, see:
- Lower organic traffic, but qualified;
- Content directed to a specific point;
- Better for answering questions;
- Ideal for converting visitors into leads.
How to choose keywords for SEO?
There are several ways to conduct keyword research, and in this regard, there are some relevant variables that you need to consider when doing your research. Here they are:
Volume
This refers to the monthly search volume for a particular term on Google. It’s a very important variable because it’s essential to ensure that there are many people actually searching for the SEO keywords you want to compete for.
Difficulty
There are words that are already explored by highly relevant and well-rated Google sites. As a result, it is very difficult to position your site among the top for some terms.
Therefore, a high difficulty means that ranking will be more difficult.
Purchase intent (funnel stage)
This is a variable to help make decisions about a term. For example, a word that is related to your product or service is considered a word with high purchase intent.
On the other hand, a word in your market that indicates a search for a problem solved by your product can be considered low purchase intent.
Current position
This is the variable that shows the current position of your site for a particular word.
From this diagnosis, you can see which pages you can optimize to improve your position or for which you do not have a ranked page and need to produce content.
Competition
This is a crucial factor in choosing a keyword for SEO. After all, if you don’t look at your competition, your ranking position may be low.
Therefore, analyze and get to know your competition.
In practice: how to do your keyword research
Now that you understand what keywords are and their types, I’ll teach you how to do an efficient research.
Step 1
Define the topic of your post. This is the point that will guide your research.
Step 2
Choose where to do your research. There are several tools for keyword searches for SEO that take into account the factors I mentioned above. I’ll recommend 4:
- Keyword Planner
- SEMRush
- Keywordtool.io
- Ubersuggest
Step 3
After choosing one of the tools, enter the keyword of your interest and analyze the data. These tools also show variations and related terms, as well as allow you to look at the competition.
Step 4
Select good keyword options considering the variables mentioned.
Step 5
Done! Now it’s time to get your hands dirty and start producing content based on the chosen keyword.
Where to place SEO keywords in your post
After learning how to search for SEO keywords, it’s important to know how to use them in your text.
To optimize your content pages, you should insert the keywords in:
- Meta titles;
- Descriptions;
- Alt images;
- H1 (main title);
- H2 (subtitles);
- Throughout the body of the text.
To know where to place the keywords, you can use a Yoast plugin, which is free for WordPress users.
Importance of Keywords for SEO
The starting point for any SEO strategy is to choose the best keywords to rank on Google.
Furthermore, it’s important to have a plan in place to achieve your objective. After all, creating content just for the sake of it won’t yield any results.
Therefore, for your website to reach its full potential, there must be a content production plan and a defined strategy.
In this sense, keyword research is the secret to your website’s success!
Think about it: wouldn’t it be amazing if your content appeared at the top of Google search results?
I imagine your answer is yes. However, you can’t rely on luck and take shots in the dark. You need a strategy – and it starts with keyword research for SEO.
By following the steps presented in this article, you’ll create content that actually contributes to the growth of your website.
Want to learn more about how to rank your text on the first page of Google? Then read our article:
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