Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of getting more organic traffic to your website. Why do you have to know this? You may already get a lot of traffic to your website, but some of that traffic may not be organic. This means those people who visit your website aren’t your target audience, which means they are less likely to convert. So, how do you drive more organic traffic to your site? The answer is keyword research.

Conducting some keyword research for your website is one of the most important things for you in regards to SEO. Keep in mind that simply using keywords isn’t enough to improve your SEO. You have to know what keywords to use and how to use them correctly. Fortunately for you, we have just the keyword guide! 

What Are Keywords? 

Keywords are words that are used to describe and define what your content/website is about. For example, you may write a blog on your website that’s about how to improve your cardiovascular health. In that blog, you would likely use keywords such as “cardiovascular” and “health” since that is what your blog is about. It sounds simple upon first seeing it, but knowing how to use these keywords effectively in the right manner is more important than just finding the right ones to use. 

How to Find Relevant Keywords

Finding the relevant keywords for any piece of content you write is important to make sure that your target audience finds said content by typing those keywords into search engines. This process is called keyword research and it is one of the most important parts of improving your website’s SEO. 

Business Identity

To begin finding relevant keywords for your website, you have to look at your website and find out its identity. What type of business are you involved in? Is it movies, fashion, perhaps food? Knowing what your business does can help narrow your search for what keywords to use. You wouldn’t want your keyword to be “popcorn” if your website is all about fashion and clothing, right? Make sure your keywords make sense to use before implementing them into your website. 

Main Keyword

Once you’ve identified your business’s identity, it is time to find that main keyword, also known as a head keyword, to use for your website. Finding these head keywords can help you find more keywords that you wouldn’t have thought of. Be sure when finding those main keywords that you write them down somewhere so you have that list on hand for them. This list will come in handy in the feature when it is time to update your keywords, which brings us to the next step of the process. 

Update Keywords

Keyword research isn’t just a one-off thing for your website. Many new keywords are created and used daily. Your original keywords may not rank as favorably as before. That is why you must regularly check keyword rankings to see how yours are doing. Find out whether or not you should update or keep your current keywords. 

Search engine optimization is a must for any website that wants to rank well on search engine indexes. Without the right keywords, your website will not rank well which can lead to little or no organic traffic coming to your website. When you do find the right keywords though, don’t think that simply plastering them all over your website is the best way to improve SEO. This practice is called keyword stuffing and can have a negative effect on your website.

Avoid Keyword Stuffing

Keyword stuffing is the practice of placing your keywords all over your website just to have it there. This means that you place your keywords in places you don’t need to place them in. For example, say you’re a soccer-based business. Your two main keywords for your content will likely be “soccer” and “equipment.” From there, you will likely make the mistake of just pasting those keywords all over your website’s content thinking that is what you need to do to improve your website’s SEO. 

Unfortunately, keyword stuffing, while easy to implement, is known to bring more bad than good. It can lead to something like this: “Come by for all of your soccer equipment needs. Our soccer equipment is top quality. If you have any questions about our soccer equipment, feel free to contact us anytime!” 

Notice anything from the previous sentence? It sounds a bit unnatural and forced which can come off a bit off-putting to the user. This can lead to your website providing a bad user experience, which can hurt your search engine rankings. This is why you must avoid using keyword stuffing on the pages of your website. It can leave your users with a negative impression of your business. 

The Right Way to Use Keywords                 

Now that you know what keyword stuffing is and why you shouldn’t use it on your website, you may be thinking to yourself, “So, what is the right way to use keywords?” There is not one single right way to use keywords, rather, there are a couple of different ways to correctly use keywords on your website. 

Where To Place Keywords

Knowing where to put your keywords is very important to improve your website’s SEO. Some of the best places to place keywords are in your page title, content, subheadings, and meta description. These are some of the first things that people see from your website so it is advised to put your keywords into them. 

Use Different Variations of Your Keywords

Using different variations of your keywords is something that should be more applied to your blogs and other pieces of written content. As we mentioned before, keyword stuffing is a practice that can negatively impact your website’s ranking in search engine indexes. One way to avoid keyword stuffing is using different variations of your keywords. This can help you avoid using the same keyword variation over and over again in your content, which can seem a bit forced and unnecessary to your users.

Use Keywords In Your Images

One of the things you probably loom over when it comes to SEO is your images. Images are indexed by search engines as well, which is why you must use keywords in them. The first thing to check is whether the images are relevant to your website. From there add your keywords, correctly of course, in their titles and alt texts. Don’t miss out on improving your SEO simply by not using keywords in your images. 

Use Keywords in Your URLs

Your URLs are important contributing factors to your search engine rankings. Be sure to use keywords in your URL as URLs that typically end with a mess of letters and numbers are looked at more negatively than ones with actual words. For example, which website URL looks cleaner than the other? random.com/839347dj8fasf7d8 or wundertredev.wpengine.com/get-started? It makes quite the difference to the user! Don’t leave out your URL when it comes to using keywords. It can make your website look more legitimate. 

Use Keywords in a Natural Way

Of course, the most obvious way to correctly use keywords is to use them naturally on your website. Keyword stuffing seems forced and can confuse and frustrate your readers as it seems a bit disingenuous and your website may be perceived as sketchy as a result. Fortunately, using keywords naturally isn’t necessarily difficult. Just keep in mind while writing your content where to place your keywords, and it should start flowing naturally. Before you know it, you have a blog optimized for SEO!

Use Them In Your Business Listings 

A prime example of where to use your keywords is in your Google listing. This listing typically contains information about your business such as what you do and what you’re about. This description is a great place to implement your keywords as search engines also rank those listings. If you use the right relevant keywords, then you will likely rank higher in those search engine rankings. Be sure you are taking full advantage of your business listings on search engines. They can be the driving force you need for your website.

Keyword Research Is Important

Keyword research is arguably one of the most important parts of search engine optimization. This research is necessary as it helps you find the best and most relevant keywords for your website. These keywords can be used on your website to improve your search engine rankings.

Organic traffic is important to your website because they are people who are looking for what your business offers. They need the products or services you provide to address and resolve their problems. This leads to a likelier chance of securing conversions on your website. 

Be sure to consistently research and update keywords on your website. They will improve your website’s SEO which of course can lead to a better ranking. Keywords just might be the game-changer that your website needs to start succeeding.  

Looking for some help with improving your website’s SEO? Contact us here to get started!