Keywords: Why Are They So Important?

Keywords help explain what your content is all about. They are words, phrases, ideas, and topics that people put into search engines. When you put everything on your page into simple words and phrases, you come up with your main keywords. When you own a website and create the content within your website, you want to make sure the keywords on your page are applicable to what people are searching for. This way they have a better chance of discovering your website among the many results that will pop up.

The Importance of Keywords

Keywords are important because they are the middle man between what individuals are looking for and the information you are providing. When it comes to setting a goal in ranking among search engines, you want to guide people to your website from the search engine results page. Keep in mind, the keywords you choose to use will determine what type of people view your page.

In order to come up with content that ranks well naturally and attracts people to your website, it is important for you to know what those people need, such as the language they use and the type of information they are looking for. A few ways for you to do this is by speaking with your customers, visiting forums and community groups often, and performing your own keyword research.

Using Long-tail Keywords

Long-tail keywords are a more specific combination of numerous terms. Even though you might want to use single keywords due to the fact they usually have high search volume, keep in mind they also often have very tough competition. Single keywords can also be frustratingly unclear. For instance, if someone is searching for “house”, you do not know if they are looking for a single-story house, a two-story house, a house with a backyard, or a house with a two-car garage.

On the other hand, long-tail keywords have a more definite focus. For instance, “best Italian restaurant St. Louis,” or “most popular inexpensive blender.” Long-tail keywords also have less competition.

Using Keywords on Your Website

It’s important for you to understand the basic rules for using keywords. Your unique keywords should be placed on every page in the areas that people usually look to assure them that you have what they are searching for. These areas include the title tag and the body of your content. However, remember the drawbacks of clickbait. You might think you are tempting people to click more by offering tempting vague titles, but you’re really hiding what your page is actually about and choosing not to use the power of keywords.

Other ways that will help inform search engines on what your content is about include putting your main keyword into your URL, an H1 tag on the page, the meta description, and alt attributes.

By using keywords in these areas you are using the most simple way to zone in your content to searches. It will not automatically send your website to the top of the results page, but it is necessary search engine optimization (SEO). If you do not follow these simple steps, you could be kept from ranking by other means.

Using Keywords to Create a Content Strategy

There are a couple of ways you can come up with a content strategy. Sometimes you may already have a keyword and, therefore, can create your content around that word. On the other hand, sometimes your content already exists. All you need to do is decide how to match it to keywords. In order to do this, you will need to make a “content to keyword map.” This map will help you see how influential your current content is and recognize any weak links or gaps that need to be filled.

Once you have chosen your keywords for each page of your website, you can then use those words to organize the content and create a strategy. The most simple way to do this is to begin your “content to keyword map” and figure out the main keyword for each article. From there, you will be able to form your map to your own specifications, include keyword search volume, natural traffic, and other things that are vital to your business. In the end, you want every page on your website to single out a unique main keyword.