Despite the unending search engine updates, one thing still remains as an essential component to a successful search engine optimization (SEO) campaign: keywords.
The keywords you target through your content marketing will determine your ability to gain visibility and traction among your ideal customers. But the use of keywords has evolved over time, and many business owners aren’t sure what role they play in their marketing campaigns. Used correctly, keywords support all of your other marketing efforts.
But the use of keywords has evolved over time, and many business owners aren’t sure what role they play in their marketing campaigns. Used correctly, keywords support all of your other marketing efforts. The following will help you understand what keywords are and why they still matter to your business.
The following will help you understand what keywords are and why they still matter to your business.
The Evolution of Keywords
In the early days of online marketing, keywords were “stuffed” into site pages as an easy way to appear at the top of search engine results pages (SERP).
But this practice soon died out as search engine algorithms improved and began rewarding high-quality content.
The majority of your visitors find your site by searching for specific keywords. So ranking for the keywords that your potential clients use is essential to a successful keyword campaign.
When it comes to selecting the right keywords, you need to consider the level of traffic and competition for specific targeted keyword phrases.
Keyword traffic indicates how many online users currently search that keyword phrase. A keyword’s competition level is related to the number of businesses who are also targeting the same keyword.
These metrics are important since they influence the content you create to market your products and services as well as impact the cost of PPC and other paid advertising campaigns.
What Keywords Mean for Your Business
Ranking for keywords such as “automobiles” or “best smartphone” will be difficult. These are broad phrases that have a high level of traffic, which makes them very competitive and difficult to rank for.
You’ll be more successful by targeting long-tail keywords, which are those words and phrases that have a strong level of traffic and low competition. Long-tail keywords are more specific to the needs of your customers.
Having a clear understanding of the needs of your customers, the language they use, and their online behavior helps you utilize long-tail keywords more effectively.
By achieving high rankings for long-tail keywords, you’ll generate more traffic to your site when compared to more general and highly competitive keywords.
How to Implement a Successful Keyword Strategy
The results you get from your keyword strategy begin with your initial research process. Begin by creating a list of all of the possible keywords that online users may utilize to find products and services like yours.
Tools such as Google’s Keyword Planner make it easy to explore keywords that you might otherwise overlook. Your target keywords must be centered on the needs of your customers in order to achieve greater results.
Once you’ve created a list of potential keywords to target, you’ll need to begin developing content around those keywords. Google’s evolution into the use of semantic search means that you should use related search terms within your content.
Keywords must be incorporated into the structural components of your site. The following are the most important places to include your target keywords:
- Title tags
- H1 tags
- Page URLs
- Image titles
- Alt attributes
- Content text
By strategically placing your keywords within your site, Google and other search engines can easily index your pages and make sense of its content.
This allows your website to appear in the appropriate SERP, which places you in front of your potential customers.
Understanding what keywords are and why they still matter to your business is the first step in achieving success in your content and search marketing efforts.
By utilizing long-tail keywords that generate traffic and placing them in the most important locations within your site structure, you’ll establish a strong foundation for marketing your products and services online.
