The year is 1972, and “Reggie Dwight” was on the verge of something big. But, his name didn’t quite fit one of a rock star. Today, this man is known as “Elton John.”
Elton John changing his name is similar to looking for a keyword. You want a keyword that people will use, stand out, and generate traffic. The switch from Reggie to Elton helped turn him into a rock star overnight- generating fans and standing out.
Well, websites use the art of keywords to show up on search queries. Companies use keywords throughout their site to show their relevance in that topic. A furniture store website uses keywords like “chair,” “Bed frame,” or “best furniture” throughout their site.
When you search up “ice cream places,” you are using that as a keyword. The search engine will then generate organic results that are relevant to your search.
Keywords are essential when optimizing your page and generating traffic. They can act as the make or break of the success of your website. The goal of the keyword is to increase search visibility.
Improving Search Visibility
Search visibility is the estimated average click-thru rate you would get when selecting a group of words.
Excellent search visibility is classified ideally in the top 3-5 rankings on the search engine results page (SERP).
The top rankings are what the search engine believes is most relevant to the query used. These high rankings drive the most traffic- the top search generally receives 35-40% of the traffic.
What to Do With the Keyword
When using a keyword, the goal is to input it into that page of a website to help improve the SERP ranking. When people search up this keyword, your goal is to be in the top spots of the SERP page.
It is important to note that every page of the site should target a different keyword. When multiple pages target the same keyword, the page highest in the website’s architecture will receive the most click-thrus. We want to spread our page as much as possible- different keywords mean different search engine result pages.
It is similar to playing volleyball. You want to have a player positioned in different spots on the court to maximize the efforts to catch the ball. If everyone were standing in the same place, they would miss the ball and lose the game. It is about catching as many click-thrus as possible.
While importing a keyword is essential in showing up on the SERP page, one thing to be cautionary of is overusing your keyword- this is known as keyword stuffing.
Keyword Stuffing
The main thing to avoid when working with keywords is keyword stuffing. The search engine may see your page as an error if you put in too much of a keyword. Do not sacrifice the quality of your page for the SEO of keywords.
An example of keyword stuffing would look like this:
“Are you searching for the best dairy-free ice cream? Well, the search for dairy-free ice cream can stop! Our store has the best dairy-free ice cream to cater to your dairy-free ice cream dreams. So the next time you crave some dairy-free ice cream, come get our dairy-free ice cream!”
Can you guess what the keyword is? If you said “dairy-free ice cream,” you’re correct!
Keyword stuffing is when you eat too much cookie dough. It seems like a GREAT idea initially, but then once you have a lot, you feel sick. You don’t feel right; how keyword stuffing doesn’t look right.
How to Choose A Keyword?
Choosing a keyword is a long and challenging process. You want to find the right word that helps generate traffic but isn’t too typical. If you choose a generic keyword, the difficulty of being on the SERP page increases.
To become successful with your keyword, using an online tool will be your friend. Easy tools to use that help evaluate the best keywords include Moz Keyword Explorer and Google Keyword Planner.
With both of the devices, you can search a keyword and get an overview of the word. You can see the volume of the word and other characteristics. The tool allows you to save multiple keyword ideas and compare them side by side. This makes your job A LOT easier.
The only key difference between both tools is that Moz Keyword Explorer costs money while Google Keyword Planner is free.
Keyword Generation Tools
A tool that can help you generate similar variants of keywords is Answer the Public. The website identifies multiple options of the word and categorizes them. Categories include “Who?” and “What?” types of questions. Another helpful tool is google trends.
These tools allow you to download an excel file of columns of all the variants. Allowing you to compare the options to choose the best for your brand.
We Have Keywords, How Do I Choose One?
When choosing the best keyword, make sure to take into account the overview the tools provided give it.
Choosing a keyword with high difficulty, but the most volume, may not be the best move. It is best to take into account your website and the competition you face.
Where Do I Insert the Keywords?
Keywords should be in the title and throughout the page. Choose one primary keyword based on data and then relevant secondary keywords.
There is no correct answer on how many keywords to target per page, but make sure it does not affect the quality of your work.
My Site is Still Not Getting More Traffic, Now What?
If you have gone through all of the optimization steps and see little to no increase in traffic, there could be an underlying issue.
Make sure to check that your site has been crawled, and you can show up on the SERP. Check the load speed of your page. Multiple images may cause a longer load speed- causing viewers to move on to another website.
Keywords can be easy to find when using the right tools. But, picking them is where it can get tricky. Comparing the keywords is the best option when trying to see what works best with your website.
You May Like Read:
- How to Get Your SEO Keyword Strategy Right
- How to Rank Your Site Effectively With Long-Tail Keywords
- The New Guide to SEO Optimization – Focusing on What Google Wants in 2020
Author Bio: Lucy Long is a Strategic Communications major with a Data Analytics minor at Texas Christian University and is a regular guest contributor at Social Media Delivered.
