Yes! SEO keywords are still relevant (but anyone who mentions keyword density should be ignored). They tend to be viewed in one of two ways: with clarity of mind, or seen as a murky pool of uncertainty.
There are some businesses where it’s obvious what they should be targeting (i.e. because it’s the product they sell). For others, it’s not so clear-cut leaving those business-owners in a keyword frenzy.
This blog is going to look at:
- What are keywords?
- How do you find the right keywords for your SEO strategy?
- How you should use your keywords
What are keywords?
The first thing to remember is that a keyword isn’t necessarily a word; it can also be a phrase.
In a nutshell, it is what people use to search for a product, service or piece of information.
So if you sold designer leather dog collars, your keywords would be things like:
- Dog collars
- Leather dog collars
- Designer dog collars
- Leather designer dog collars
Every business will have more than one keyword, which is just as well because every page of your website must be optimised for a different keyword.
Your keywords can also include your geographical location to give your local search engine optimisation a boost.
How do you find the right keywords for your SEO strategy?
Write down everything that relates to your business, including technical and non-technical terms (your customers are more likely to use the latter).
That means things that relate to your product/service NOT things like ‘professional’, ‘caring’, ‘market leading’, ‘innovative’ etc.
Then use tools such as Google’s keyword tool to help work out which ones are the best to go for regarding their competitiveness (you can also use Google Trends to see how specific keywords are performing).
It is pointless going after keywords if they are:
- Hugely competitive
- Not competitive because that means no one uses that term to search for things
You can use Google’s keyword tool to find out the number of searches (globally and locally) and whether the competition is high or low.
Single keywords, for example ‘copywriter’ are incredibly competitive and will take a long time to rank well for, but if you opt for something such as ‘email copywriter’ or ‘copywriting services in Suffolk’ you’ll stand a better chance of getting quicker results. These long tail keywords will draw a lower search volume, but because they’re more targeted, they are likely to bring in buying customers.
How you should use your keywords
Earlier I said that every page of your website should be optimised for a different keyword, but that doesn’t mean cramming every inch of the page with it.
Firstly, work out which words are to be included on which page and create your navigation bar (each page should have its keyword in its title).
Then create a keyword rich title tag (that makes sense) to show Google what your page is about.
When it comes to your content, make sure your keyword is in your H1 heading (main heading) and any other subheadings you use (H2) and then write naturally. You will find that your keywords will appear without you having to shoehorn them in.
That last point is vital – write naturally. Your website is there to attract people not search engine spiders because it’s the people who’ll be buying from you.
That’s all you need to know about keywords.
Sally Ormond is a highly skilled copywriter who writes SEO copy that not only works, but that is natural and easy to read.