Keywords are what search engines use to understand the content and relevance of web pages for a given query. When used effectively, they can connect your customers with your brand and increase relevant traffic to your website. Unfortunately, if you get it wrong, keywords can have the opposite effect. It is important to think about SEO as more than a technical process of how you configure your site and keywords. It is also about understanding your audience and creating relevant connections that build trust and trustworthiness.
To do this, you have to put on your marketing hat, and start by understanding your audience. If you jump right to the SEO hat and start with tools and spreadsheets, you may be missing out on important insights into what your audience is looking for, their needs, and the perspectives they hold. This is what gives meaning to your SEO strategy and what drives success in SEO.
There are many different types of seo keywords, ranging from short-tail to long-tail, by how they relate to the buyer journey or your business, industry and audience, as well as product & competitor keywords. You can also categorize keywords by their length or how they appear in a sentence, such as being singular or plural.
Long-tail keywords are those that are made up of a few words and are generally much more specific in intent than a broad search term, such as “dog.” Oftentimes the longer, more specific the keyword is, the less competition it will have and the higher your chances for ranking for it.
In a sentence, the best way to use seo keywords is to include them at the beginning of the sentence as close as possible to their natural occurrence in your content. This is best done for both human readability and SEO effectiveness. However, using too many keywords in a single sentence can come off as spammy and is a bad practice for search engine optimization (SEO).
Including keywords in your social media updates isn’t a direct ranking factor, but Moz recommends it as a best practice because of the strong correlation between social media shareability and SEO visibility. When using keywords in your social media updates, be sure to use them early in the update to maximize their visibility.
Keywords should be used throughout your content, but don’t be afraid to let your writing style shine and write for your audience first. Google wants quality, relevant, useful content that answers the user’s question and provides the information they are looking for. If you focus on your audience and write for them, Google will reward you with better search rankings.
Remember that SEO is a process, and it takes time to see results. When you have your research and target list set, execute on it consistently and keep track of your progress to benchmark your results. If you are not seeing the results you want, change your strategy and continue trying to improve your content, keyword selection, and placement.
