What Are Keywords And How Do They Impact SEO?
What are keywords? This is a question many people are asking. Keep reading to learn all about keywords and how then can impact your SEO.
Even if you haven’t learned about SEO first-hand, and can’t answer the question “what are keywords?” you’ve certainly heard the term before. SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. Keywords are a way to optimize searches.
Search engines use an algorithm that detects how many of these keywords are in your content. The more you use these keywords, the higher your content will come up in a search result listing.
Still need more info? Read on.
What are Keywords?
Keywords are one of many tech trends available to every business, small or large.
But, what are keywords? Let’s say you use Google for your search engine. You want to learn about a topic, say, keywords, and you enter “what are keywords?”
Well, a lot of other people have done that. Google keeps track of how many people search for every word. Tools for tracking keywords are available. Try Google Keyword Research Tool or Wordtracker. These will give you a sense of specifically what people are searching for.
Be aware that as technology becomes more sophisticated, big search engines will be scanning websites for meaning more than for specific words.
Short Tail Keywords
Because your search “what are keywords” is only three words long, that’s called a “short tail keyword.”
As you can imagine, short tail keywords are the most-searched. When trying to optimize your page with keywords, remember that the majority of the competition is going to be using the most popular short tail keywords, too.
So, if you only use short tail keywords, your website will be one of many using the exact same words. How will your website make it to the top that way?
Long Tail Keywords
A “long tail keyword” is a more specific phrase. Maybe: “explanation of keywords in SEO.”
Of course, the more specific a set of words is, the fewer people will enter them in exactly that way. So, the better you know your customers, the more likely you’ll be to find a way of using the long tail keywords that they might search for.
Don’t Overdo it
Please note that you cannot boost your ranking by keywords alone. Your content also has to be readable and informative. If you don’t plan well, you’ll end up with content stuffed with keywords that no one likes to read.
Inserting just a few instances of your keyword should be enough to boost your SEO. Because Google scans your content, you can use more varied language, too. This is good news for your readers because you won’t be repeatedly using one word in your text.
The Tip of the Iceberg
What we’ve introduced here is just the tip of the iceberg. If you’d like more information about keywords and SEO (we haven’t even discussed Adwords) give us a call.
Many people like to manage SEO themselves or in-house, and that works to an extent. A lot of people try that and discover their business would grow better leaving the SEO to an expert.
However you do it, the bottom line is that once your website’s ranking is higher in Google, you should begin to see more traffic on your website. And that means more revenue for your business.
