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How do you find the right keywords to help your website rank higher in search engine results? It’s a question that vexes many site owners, and for good reason. The process of finding and using the right keywords can be confusing, and it’s easy to make mistakes that can hurt your rankings.
But don’t worry – we’re here to help. In this post, we’ll walk you through the basics of SEO keywords, show you where to find them, and teach you how to use them effectively. By the end of this article, you’ll know everything you need to start improving your website’s search engine ranking.
The basics of SEO keywords
To understand how to find and use SEO keywords, it’s important to first understand what they are and how they work. In short, keywords are the words and phrases that people enter into search engines when they’re looking for information. When used correctly, keywords can help your website show up in the search results for those queries – which can mean more traffic and more customers for your business.
There are two types of keywords that you need to be aware of:
– Short-tail keywords: These are general, one- or two-word phrases that are relevant to your business. For example, if you sell women’s clothing, some short-tail keywords you might target could be “women’s clothes” or “ladies fashion.”
– Long-tail keywords: These are more specific, three- or four-word phrases that are less common but can still be relevant to your business. For example, a long-tail keyword for the same women’s clothing store could be “plus size women’s clothes” or “affordable ladies fashion.”
In general, long-tail keywords are easier to rank for than short-tail keywords because there is less competition. However, they tend to get less traffic overall. As such, it’s important to target both types of keywords when optimising your website.
Where to find SEO keywords
Now that you know what SEO keywords are and how they work, it’s time to start finding some that you can use. Luckily, there are a number of tools and resources that can help with this task.
– Google AdWords Keyword Planner: This is a free tool from Google that allows you to enter seed keywords (terms related to your business) and see how often they’re searched for. It also provides data on the competition level for those keywords, which can be helpful in determining which ones are worth targeting.
– Google Trends: This tool lets you see how popular particular keywords are over time. This can be useful in understanding whether a particular keyword is seasonal (for example, “Christmas decorations”) or if it’s consistently searched for throughout the year.
– competitor analysis: Another great way to find relevant keywords is to see what terms your competitors are targeting. You can use a tool like SEMrush to enter a competitor’s URL and get a report of the keywords they’re ranking for. This can give you some ideas of which keywords you might want to target yourself.
How to use SEO keywords
Once you’ve found some relevant keywords, it’s time to start using them on your website. There are a few key places where you should include them:
– Page titles: The title of each page on your site should include one or two of your target keywords. This helps search engines understand what the page is about and index it accordingly.
– Meta descriptions: The meta description is the brief summary that appears under each page’s title in the search results. In addition to being appealing to potential visitors, it should also include one or two of your target keywords.
– Headings and subheadings: Keywords should also be used throughout the body of your content, in both the headings and subheadings. This helps search engines understand what the page is about and makes it more likely that your content will be relevant to a searcher’s query.
– Image tags: Whenever you upload an image to your website, be sure to include keywords in the file name and alt text. This helps search engines index your images and understand what they’re related to.
Conclusion
Finding and using SEO keywords is an important part of optimising your website for search engines. By targeting both short-tail and long-tail keywords, you can make sure that your site is visible for a variety of relevant searches. And by including them in key places on your pages, you can help search engines understand what your content is about and ensure that it’s being indexed correctly.
By following these tips, you can start to improve your website’s visibility in the search results and attract more traffic from potential customers.
Do you have any questions about finding or using SEO keywords? Let us know in the comments below!
Jamie Fallon is an SEO expert who lives life to the maximum, redlining every day on a rollercoaster straight to the grave.
In an SEO career of almost ten years, he’s seen it all, he’s done it all, and he’s not impressed: from white text on a white background to today, when you can have robots paint or write for you like some kind of sick science fiction come true.
No matter what life throws at him, Jamie always manages to come out on top. He’s an expert at seeing the silver lining in every cloud and making the best of every situation. His positive attitude and unshakable faith in himself have seen him through tough times. For some people, success goes to their heads; but Jamie never forgets what got him to wherever he thinks he is.
When he’s not busy gaming the system, you can find him writing angry thinkpieces on how Google is ruining everything good about the internet, or hanging out with his wife (pictured).
