Keyword (otherwise keyword) is one of the basic concepts of SEO. It has already appeared many times in articles on the SEOSki blog, as it is difficult to write about any action without it. Content marketing or optimisation elements of a website such as the title or meta description would not be possible without prior keyword analysis. That is why in today's article you will read everything you need to know about phrases, types of phrases, research and tools to help you do this. Get ready for a powerful dose of knowledge to help your website soar up the search results!
What are keywords?
Keywords (or keywords in Polish) are phrases that are typed into search engines by Internet users. They then select the most relevant pages whose content is related to the search term. For example, if you want to buy a new jacket, you could type 'men's brown leather jacket' into Google.
Choosing the right keywords for a page or specific articles is a fundamental (some might say crucial) SEO activity. After all, as site owners and content creators, you want the keywords on your pages to match what people are looking for. That way, they will have a better chance of finding you among the search results.
To sum up: the keyword is the common ground between what users are looking for and the content you provide to meet their needs.
Why are key phrases important?
Keywords are important because when Internet users type them into search engines, your website may appear to them. Depending on how many people per month search for a particular query, you can even gain thousands of new visitors! If they find that the content or offer you present meets their expectations, they may become your customers.
If you use the words that people in your target audience are looking for, your business will grow. By using the wrong key phrases, you will end up with a mismatched audience or no visitors at all.
What is keyword difficulty?
Keyword difficulty, otherwise known as competitiveness of the keyword is a measure of how difficult it is to get a good ranking position for a specific keyword. In addition to how many results there are already for a particular keyword, difficulty is also influenced by: domain authority and paid performance ratio. The lower the difficulty level of a keyword, the easier it is to 'rank' for it (appear in search results).
Types of keywords
General keywords
Such phrases are usually 1-2 words that are too general to understand the user's intention based on them. They tend to be characterised by high search volumes, high competitiveness and low conversion rates. Think, for example, of a person who types 'shoes' into Google. Is she looking for something specific? Is she ready to make a purchase? Not likely. Rather, she is looking for inspiration.
Examples: trips; dress; wall clock
Long-tail phrases
These are detail phrases with a high level of specificity. Their length is three or more words. They are usually made up of a main phrase and a sub-phrase. This type of phrase is characterised by fewer searches, less competition and a higher conversion rate than general keywords. When a site manages to be positioned for them, people who are genuinely interested in the content will come to the site. Most of a shop's potential customers will not search for general phrases (e.g. shoes). Instead, they will use phrases such as, for example, women's winter boots with heels.
Examples: last minute trips summer 2021, silver bracelet watch, foundation for combination skin
Regional (local) phrases
If the company operates in a highly competitive industry (e.g. building services), positioning for general phrases usually does not work. In this case, it is worth betting on local phrases, i.e. combinations of the word with the name of the city. Instead of "glazier laying", for example, choose "glazier laying Opole".
Examples: credit counsellor Augustów, roof laying Wrocław, Georgian restaurant Lublin
Branded keywords
Web users most often use brand/company name keywords when they do not know the name of the site they are searching for (navigational intent). Usually, sites position themselves for such phrases on their own, as the company name often appears on the page.
Examples: sprandi sports shoes, carino boots, hugo boss watch
Keyword research
You already know that key phrases are in other words the queries for which you want to appear in search results. You have also learned about their types. Now it's time to learn how to select keywords, i.e. how to carry out a keyword research. You will need to make use of tools. Some of them are completely free, so even if you do not want to budget for them at the moment, this is not a problem.
Tools from Google
What to do first? Address yourself to Google! The search engine itself will suggest the most popular queries. Just start typing the search term you are interested in in the bar.
Also use the free tool Google Trendsshows the average popularity of a phrase over time. It is useful if your business is dependent on the time of year and your industry is characterised by seasonality. Therefore, some phrases are only popular in summer or winter, during holidays or specific events.
Also indispensable for keyword research is the Planner from Google. It can be used for free by anyone with a Google account. What can you check with it? The competitiveness of keywords, their seasonality or the monthly number of searches. The planner also allows you to find new keywords based on existing ones.
Other tools
Other tools through which you can find keyword suggestions include. Keyword Generator i Keyword Sheeter. The former generates 150 keywords related to the one you typed in and gives you an estimated monthly number of searches (volume). The Keyword Sheeter, on the other hand, is for those who really need a lot of data. It generates 1,000 keyword phrases per minute and the results can be exported.
Another free tool to find out what users type into a search engine is Answer the Public. Enter the keyword you are interested in, set the location, language and click on the "Search" button. The results can be displayed as a list or graph. Answer the Public will help you find key phrase suggestions in the form of questions, comparisons or prepositional phrases.
Check out the competition!
I'm sure you know the sites that compete directly with yours in the search engines. Choose 3 that have the strongest position in Google and have the most similar subject matter to yours. Use Senuto - polish tool for SEO and content planning. You can try them out for 14 days for free. Thanks to competition analysis and the option "Competitor keywords - words on which my competitors are visible and my domain is not" in Senuto, you will get to know phrases that are worth considering when planning content, for example.
Keyword - the foundation of website positioning!
You cannot create or optimise content for search engines if you do not know what users are looking for. Choosing the right keywords is therefore a fundamental issue when gaining search engine visibility. They set the direction of SEO activities and are the core of the strategy. Already know your phrases? Focus first and foremost on creating valuable content where they will appear naturally.
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