SEO keywords are a complex field that can make it difficult for small businesses to do them efficiently on their own. If you’re not sure about how to rank your website and whether or not you are doing the right things, your spot in search engine ranking could fall like the search results from a top 5 performer to the bottom of page 3. And that hurts, I have to admit (guess who has experienced this first-hand.)
This article will provide step-by-step information on how to pick winning keywords that are appropriate to your website strategy.
Article overview:
What are SEO keywords?
SEO keywords are the words and phrases people use when searching for information on the internet. They are also the words and phrases that describe your business or website.
When you choose them carefully, you want to ensure that they are relevant to your business or website and that they are popular enough to get you found by potential customers.
There are several different ways to find popular keywords. Once you have them, you can use them in your website content, social media posts, and even in your offline marketing materials. These phrase combinations will be the backbone of your SEO-optimized articles.
Using them correctly can help you attract more visitors to your site and improve your chances of turning those visitors into customers.
Short-tail vs. Long-tail SEO keywords
In many articles, I see a pattern that opposes both of these two. Can you name the better type? Really? Both have their strengths, and if utilized properly, they can add so much value to your content. But let’s see a small recap, plus two quick examples.
Short-tail keywords
As the name implies, short-tail keywords are shorter and more specific than your average keyword. They’re generally made up of one to three words, and they’re more likely to be the kind of thing you’d type into a search engine if you know exactly what you’re looking for. As you can see from the image example, “men’s shoes” has a KD of 83, which is pretty high.
For example, if you own a clothing store, some short-tail keywords you might want to target could be “women’s dresses” or “men’s shoes.”These terms are highly relevant to your business, and they’re specific enough that they can help you attract targeted traffic.
Of course, short-tail keywords can also be quite competitive because they’re so specific. That means ranking them in search engines might take some time and effort. But if you can get your website to show up for these kinds of searches, you can expect to see a good return on your investment.
Best use cases for short-tail keywords: Long blog posts with general information. “How-to,” “Why,” and “What” articles are unique.
Example: “Why Buy Good Men’s Shoes?”
Long-tail keywords
Long-tail keywords are an essential part of SEO. They are 4-5 words long and specific to what you are trying to rank for. In our case, I narrowed the “men’s shoes” to be more specific.
We can draw three conclusions from that screenshot:
- Search volume is down by quite a bit, but it is still more than enough
- The keyword difficulty is lower
- The user intent has turned from Informational to Transactional.
Long-tail keywords are important because they help you rank for more specific searches. This means that when someone searches for this combination of words, they are more likely to find your website, and you can convert that traffic into a sale (which is your ultimate goal.)
If you want to rank for long-tail keywords, you need to make sure that you have content on your website that is optimized for those keywords. This means using the keyword in your title tags, meta descriptions, header tags, and throughout the body of your content.
Best use cases for long-tail keywords: Product comparisons or in-depth product reviews
Example: “The Top 3 Best Men’s Nike Volleyball Shoes”
3 Useful Tips to Optimize Your Content Strategy with Keywords
To ensure your content marketing strategy is effective, it is crucial to incorporate keywords throughout your content. By including keywords in your titles, headers, and within the body of your text, you can help improve your SEO and make it more likely that people will find your content when they are searching for relevant topics online.
- Use Google Trends – when choosing keywords to include in your content, you must consider what terms people are likely to search for when looking for information on the topic you are writing about. One good idea to find popular topics is to utilize Google Trends. And the best news about is that it’s free.
- Don’t sacrifice quality for quantity – remember to use keywords sparingly and never sacrifice quality for cramming phrases. In addition, focus on creating informative and engaging content that will interest your target audience even if they don’t know anything about the product or service you are promoting. If you can provide value and educate with your writing, then you are more likely to convert readers into customers or clients.
- Create a list of keywords and follow it – if you want to ensure your content is keyword-rich, start by creating a list of keywords relevant to your topic. Then, build your content around those keywords.
How to find SEO keywords successfully?
SEO keywords are the foundation of successful content. But how do you go about finding the right ones? Here are four tips to help you discover SEO keyphrases:
- Define what your content type is – there are many content types available, so you need to consider this in your equation. Informational keywords work well with long-form content, like YouTube tutorials, 2,000K+ words blogs, etc. You might prefer transactional keywords for landing pages, as you want customers to act fast and add items to their shopping carts.
- Use Google – Google is the best keyword source, and it gets even better – it’s free! But the $0 price tag doesn’t justify its quality. What makes it great is the search intent tool that can give you an idea of what other users are looking for. Thus, you can use it to your advantage.
- Utilize an SEO tool – SEO tools are a great way to improve your website’s search engine optimization. You can use various tools to increase your visibility in search engines, attract more visitors to your site, and improve your overall ranking. In addition, SEO tools can help you track your progress and find new opportunities for improvement.
Why use SEO tools?
There are a lot of different tools out there that can help you improve your ranking and visibility, and they’re all worth considering. However, before you start using any apps, it’s essential to understand why they’re so important. Here are three reasons why you should be using SEO tools:
- They save you time – Search engine optimization can be time-consuming, but with the help of tools, you can save a lot of time. With the right tool, you can automate many of the tasks involved in SEO, including research, link building, and keyword analysis. This means you can spend more time on other aspects of your business or website and less on SEO. Semrush is a
- They help you achieve more – Tools can also help you get better results from your SEO efforts. By doing SEO keyword research and competitor analysis, you can ensure that your website is as optimized as possible for search engines. This will help you achieve better rankings and more traffic over time.
- You can keep up to date with algorithm changes – The algorithms used by search engines are constantly changing, and it isn’t easy to keep up with them. However, if you use tools, they can keep track of the changes for you and ensure that your website doesn’t fall behind.
Top 3 SEO tools to invest in
I’ll provide info on 3 SEO tools I have personally tried and tested.. After all, I cannot recommend a product that doesn’t fit my style. For example, I am impressed by Ahrefs and their free tools, but the Lite plan I was subscribed for didn’t deliver what I would expect a $99 would bring to the table.
Semrush – the most complete tool on the market
Semrush is among my favorites, as it is a complete tool if you want to find great SEO keywords. I love the Keyword Magic Tool, which gives me unlimited inputs (yes, Ahrefs, I’m pointing at you) and about 20 billion phrases.
Even with the basic plan, you can track up to 5 projects (websites), and extract 500 keywords. It costs $120, but if you pay the annual sub, you’ll save 17% (which is quite a bargain).
In my opinion, this is a perfect choice for solopreneurs with a couple of blogs, or boutique agencies with 3-4 clients (considering you’ll also add your website, too).
Rankmath – the ultimate WordPress SEO plugin
Rankmath is the SEO tool I’m using for Digitalparrot, and I couldn’t be happier. There is a free version available, and quite honestly – it trumps Yoast, even though the latter is much preferred by webmasters.
The Pro plan (I’d disagree with Rankmath on that) is perfect for tiny blogs that want to test the software and see if it works for them. It costs $59 per YEAR (or just under $5 a month, how cheaper can it get?)
However, if you’re serious about your blog, I would advise you to use your Content AI tool, similar to Surfer SEO, albeit much more affordable. The business plan costs $199 per year (or about $16.60 per month).
Mangools – a good bang for the buck
Mangools is the last product that I’d like to suggest if you wish to use SEO keywords. This is the perfect balance between value and price, and you can get the Basic plan for just $49 per month, which is quite a deal.
You get 100 SEO keyword checkups per day, 20 site lookups, and 25 competitor keywords tracked. Bear in mind there is 1 user seat. I’d suggest you move to the next tier (Premium – $69/month), where you will have unlimited tracked keywords for your competitors, 500 daily checks, and unlimited suggestions.
The UI is also beginner-friendly. My last suggestion is to make an annual subscription, as you’ll end up paying $30 and $45 monthly fees for the Basic and Premium plans, respectively.
Final words
Picking the right SEO keywords can be tricky, but doing your research is essential. The better you understand your audience and what they’re looking for, the easier it will be to identify the right keywords to target.
Once you’ve found a few good keywords, make sure to track your progress so you can see how well they’re performing and adjust accordingly.
FAQ
Do I need an SEO keywords tool to write good content?
The short answer is no. You don’t need an SEO tool to write good content. However, I advise you to use one, as it can be a valuable asset if you want to ensure that your content is as optimized as possible.
Which are the best SEO keywords?
There is no such thing as “the best” SEO keywords. The most important thing is to find the most relevant keywords for your business and then apply them to your content. This will make sure your content is optimized for search engines so that your target audience can find it more easily.
