What Is a Keyword?

Do you want your site to rank above your competitors?

In other words, you must understand how people search for the products, services, or information that you provide in order to make it easy for them to find you—otherwise, they will end up on one of the many other pages in Google results.

Keywords are the foundation for all of your other SEO efforts; it’s well worth the time and money to ensure your SEO keywords are highly relevant to your audience and effectively organized for action.

As a result, creating a keyword list is one of the first and most important steps in any search engine optimization initiative. When it comes to running a successful content marketing campaign, keywords and SEO are closely connected.

This article will help you understand what is a keyword, its importance, how to find keywords, and what constitutes a good keyword for your SEO strategy.

What Is a Keyword?

In the context of search engines, a keyword is any search term entered into Google (or another search engine) that returns a results page with a list of websites.

The majority of keywords are discovered during keyword research and are chosen based on a combination of search volume, competition, and commercial intent.

Keywords are search terms that a website owner or SEO professional will use to optimize a website in order to rank at the top of Google results for specific keywords.

A keyword is anything that is searched on a search engine, whether it is a single word or a phrase. Here is the page of results for the keyword “famous artists paintings.”

Why are Keywords Important?

Keywords are important because optimizing your content around words and phrases that people search for can help your website rank higher for those terms.

Naturally, ranking higher in the SERPs can result in more targeted traffic to your website. As a result, finding keywords that searchers query for in the web pages is the first step in any SEO campaign.

According to Ahrefs, 70.87% of keywords with over 10,000 monthly searches are simply one or two words long.

If you have a marketing budget for your e-commerce campaign, you can target specific keywords with pay-per-click (PPC) ads. That is how Google Ads works; advertisers bid for the top spot on a search results page for specific keywords.

In general, there will be more advertisers focusing on a keyword that implies some sort of monetary action that is worth paying for the ad price.

For example, the keyword “loans” has four advertisements at the top of the results, while the example above “famous artists paintings.” had no ads.

You will need to select specific keywords to target with your website as you develop a marketing strategy for it. Organically obtaining high rankings is possible through search engine optimization (SEO) and content marketing (not via ads).

Keyword FAQ

What is an example of a keyword?

A keyword phrase is two or more words typed as a search query, similar to how a keyword is a single word used as a search query. “Classic car customization”, for example, is a good example of a keyword phrase.

Another example would be if you want to buy a new suit and type something like “men’s official suit” into Google. Even though that keyphrase contains more than one word, it is still considered a keyword.

What is a good keyword?

Your target keyword search must meet four criteria: high search volume, high relevance, high conversion value, and some level of competition.

If any of these are missing, your SEO strategy will most likely fail. As a result, it is critical to ensure that your target search terms have what it takes to bring the people you want to reach to your site.

Search volume: It’s pointless to optimize for terms that no one is searching for. Conduct research to identify keywords that receive a high volume of searches.

Relevance: Your target keywords should be a good match for what you have to offer. Your goal is to make contact with those who are looking for you, therefore avoid keyword stuffing.

Conversion value: Select relevant keywords that are more likely to result in actual results, such as sales or engagement, rather than just curious browsing.

Be realistic about the competition. After you’ve optimized your website, target keywords for which you can reasonably expect to rank at the top of Google results.

How do you find keywords?

Understanding how to find keywords is a critical component of any search engine optimization (SEO) strategy. You can increase your search visibility and drive more traffic from your target audience by using the right terms.

Despite being an important part of SEO and content marketing, keyword research can be time-consuming and costly. Fortunately, several free keyword research tools are available to help you make your work more fruitful without breaking the bank.

A variety of free keyword research tools to help you find SEO keywords for your website.

Include; Google Keyword Planner, Google Related Searches, Google Related Questions, Answer the Public, LSI Graph Keyword Generator, Seed keywords, and other paid-for tools like Ahrefs, SEMrush, and Ubersuggest.

How do I choose keywords?

One of the most important steps in successful search engine optimization is choosing the correct keywords and keyword phrases (SEO). Increasing traffic to your website is important, but attracting the right audience is essential. Choosing the most effective keywords to connect with your target market can take time and research, but the results will be well worth the effort.

Here’s how to choose the right keywords:

1. Consider yourself as a customer

When creating your initial keyword list, consider your target audience and put yourself in the shoes of a customer. ‘If I wanted to find one of these products or services, what would I type into my Google search?’

1. Research the competition

Make a list of your main competitors and visit their websites to see which keywords they are focusing on. To help identify the keywords they are targeting, read their different piece of content and look at the metatags. Examining your competitors’ keywords will not only help you see what you might be missing, but it will also help you broaden your list of ideas.

1. Fully understand the long-tail keyword

Long-tail keywords are made up of three words or phrases or more. Long-tail keywords have lower search volumes, but they generally attract more relevant traffic, are less competitive, and are easier to rank well on. Select long-tail keywords that help to define your product or service.

1. Make use of keyword research SEO tools

If you use Google Ads, you can use their Google keyword planner tool to find potential target keywords. You can gather data on keyword volume and trends, keyword competition, similar keywords, new keywords, and more using this tool and others like SEMrush, Ahrefs, Moz Keyword Explorer, and Raventools.

1. Analyze the outcomes

After you’ve chosen your keywords, don’t forget to track and analyze the results. There are popular keywords or phrases, as well as new keywords that your competitors might be using.

How do I find my competitors’ keywords?

Make a list of your top competitors and go to their websites to see which keywords they are focusing on. Read the content and look at the metatags to help identify the keywords they are targeting. Analyzing the keywords of your competitors will help you broaden your list of ideas.

Here are some tools that may be of assistance to you:

1. Google Keyword Planner Tool

You’re probably using this tool to find keywords to target on your website and in your monthly search, like many marketers. However, guess what? It may also be utilized to gather information about your competitors.

After you’ve logged in, follow these steps:

• Select “search for new keywords by phrase, website, or category.”
• Enter your competitor’s URL and press the “get ideas” button.
• Examine the list of competing keywords.

As said above, keywords will appear in the URL, meta description, title, and headings. keywords will be found in the URL, meta description, title, and headings.

1. SpyFu

The name is self-explanatory. It won’t be long before you have a complete picture of your competitors’ keywords, thanks to this tool.Although SpyFu can do a lot, it’s the keyword spy tool that gets the most attention.
Entering your competitor’s URL into the search box is all it takes to get started. You can then download their keywords and decide how to use the information to your advantage.

One thing you’ll notice is the breadth of SpyFu’s data. You receive more than just a list of keywords. You are also given information such as:

• Monthly SEO clicks are estimated
• Keywords purchased
• Organic competitors at the top

If you’re going to use SpyFu, make sure you leave enough time in your schedule to delve into the results’ finer points.

1. LongTailPro

Skip the number crunching and get right to the keywords that have been proven to work.

Long Tail Pro requires only a single seed keyword to generate up to 400 long-tail keywords in seconds. However, there are times when it is best to let your competitors do all of the keyword research.

Switching to Long Tail Pro’s Competitor Keywords mode allows you to begin with a competitor’s URL and watch Long Tail Pro extract their keyword strategy.

Keyword Difficulty Scores provide a general sense of the level of competition for a keyword. However, they are not entirely accurate.

Summary

Hopefully, this article has given you a better understanding of keywords.

Choosing the most effective keywords to connect with your target market can take time and research, but the results will be worth it.

If you want your web pages and content marketing, to deliver optimal results, then you’ve got to understand how to research and use keywords in the current environment. That is why at Loganix, we are experts at keyword research and we can’t wait to help you with your SEO strategy.