If you have delved into the world of SEO you have undoubtedly heard the term keywords. SEO expects simply love keywords – they make us happy and it’s what we live for! There is nothing quite like a strong keyword to start the day!
But what are they and why do they matter? Why is everyone so intent on keyword research and making content that uses keywords? We explain this SEO phenomenon below!
What are Keywords for SEO?
A keyword or keyphrase is a single word or phrase that has importance and is typed in on search engines like Google.
Let’s say that you want to find gardening supplies and plants in Essex – ideally at a garden center. Therefore, you search on Google, “Garden centers in Essex”. The keywords in this phrase are garden, centers, and Essex, with “in” being a stop word.
Google then processes this and looks for relevant websites that utilize these keywords while also using advanced AI to understand your search intent. You are then given a host of garden center websites in Essex!
Keywords - Still Incredibly Important for SEO
In years past, keywords were even more important but the way they are used now has evolved as Google and other search engines have developed more complex indexing algorithms. Today, they are still highly important and should form the basis of your SEO strategies.
They give invaluable customer insight
Customer insight is incredibly important in today’s world of eCommerce. The more you know about your customers, the better you can tailor your services, products, and web content to match their needs.
SEO services London and expert companies that specialize in SEO can help too with customer insight but you can also use your keywords to great effect.
There are many keyword research tools you can use and also simple things like looking at Google’s suggested searches can give fantastic insight. Keywords help show user intent and allow you to get into your customer’s mind and really understand what they want.
By looking at the words they use and what is most commonly searched for you can really target your customers and create far more effective marketing.
Keywords are important for ranking highly on Google SERPs
The main benefit of keywords still remains that they can help your web pages rank highly on Google SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages). Google analyzes web content for keywords and looks at how you use them.
When someone searches for a phrase, keywords are defined from the search string and then the most relevant results are returned that use those keywords. Without keywords, your pages and web content probably won’t rank as high.
They help identify new opportunities and niches
Using keyword research tools like Google Keyword planner allows you to see potential new business opportunities. You can see lists of keywords and related phrases that you could use to reach different markets, or different demographics of customers.
This includes things like localized keywords for specific towns and regions you serve, or keywords for specific customer types.
Keywords help with new content generation
As part of your SEO strategy you must strive to produce new content regularly. This includes things like blog articles, product information articles, new product pages, email campaigns, and social media posts.
Google looks favorably on active businesses that keep their web content up to date. This can be difficult to keep things fresh and continually think of new ideas without repeating what you have already written.
Keywords can help with this. You can look at the keywords you utilize and see which ones you have not generated content for yet. This then gives you a wealth of new content potential and the possibility to write blog articles etc. based on the other keywords.
Keywords Should Form a Cornerstone of Your Businesses SEO Strategies
While the way keywords are used has changed over time, their importance remains, and to create a successful SEO strategy you must do extensive keyword research and create web content that uses them effectively.
Consider using tools like Google Keyword Planner and Semrush keyword locator to better understand which keywords and phrases will work for your business, and potential areas of untapped customers that you could target.
